LETTER TO PRESIDENT OF PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR THE LAITY

VATICAN CITY, APR 17, 2001 (VIS) - Made public today was John Paul II's Letter, dated April 5, to Cardinal James Francis Stafford, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, regarding the statutes of the Neocatechumenal Way.

The Pope recalls his January 24, 1997 meeting with the founders of the Neocatechumenal Way, and how in that encounter he joined in their prayer of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord for the "precious" fruits brought forth by the Way in its 30 years of life, emphasizing the importance "of certain essential accomplishments, upon which depends the very existence of the Way. Among these, is the draft of a specific normative set of statutes with a view to formal juridical recognition."

"In the Apostolic Exhortation 'Christifideles laici'," the Holy Father writes, "I recalled that 'no charism dispenses a person from reference and submission to the Pastors of the Church' and I referred to what is written in the Dogmatic Constitution 'Lumen Gentium': 'Those who have charge over the Church should judge the genuineness and proper use of these gifts, through their office not indeed to extinguish the Spirit, but to test all things and hold fast to what is good.'"

John Paul II emphasizes that "it is not, therefore, an easy process of recognizing and welcoming charisms. It requires a profound discernment of God's will and must be accompanied by constant prayer." The culmination of this process, the Holy Father goes on to write, is "the official act of recognition and approval of the statutes as a clear and sure rule of life."

"I entrusted this task," John Paul II concludes, "to the Pontifical Council for the Laity, due to the authority within their jurisdiction, ... as well as for the particular experience that it has in this area. Upon this is based the hope of a happy outcome to the proceeding, now in its final phase."

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REGINA COELI: IN JESUS THE HOPE OF HUMANITY IS RENEWED

VATICAN CITY, APR 16, 2001 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father left the Vatican for his residence at Castelgandolfo, where at noon, from the balcony of the inner courtyard of the Pontifical Palace, he led the faithful present in the recitation of the Regina Coeli, the prayer which substitutes the Angelus during the Easter season.

Before this prayer, the Pope indicated his desire to spend, as he traditionally does, some days at Castelgandolfo. He had hoped to do so last Christmas, he said, but "it was not possible for me, due to the numerous commitments of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, which called a great many pilgrims to Rome."

The Holy Father dedicated a particular greeting to the "people who, on the contrary, cannot fully enjoy the joy of these Easter celebrations, because they are in difficulty, or are experiencing moments of suffering and solitude." He assured everyone of remembrance in his prayers.

"On this Easter Monday feast day, called Angel Monday," the Pope continued, "the liturgy still strongly notes the echo of the heavenly messenger's words to the women who ran to the tomb; 'Then go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead'. We hear this invitation as also directed to us, to 'make haste' and to 'go' to announce the Gospel to the men of our time. ... May Mary ... help us in this demanding mission which belongs to every baptized person. May she especially support us in faithfully giving witness that Christ is truly risen, and in Him the hope of humanity is renewed."

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VOICE OF REASON AND CONSCIENCE MUST REPLACE SOUND OF ARMS

VATICAN CITY, APR 18, 2001 (VIS) - At the end of today's general audience in St. Peter's Square, the Pope told the 20,000 pilgrims present that, "while the light of the Risen Christ shines over the whole universe, we cannot fail to feel solidarity with our brothers in the Middle East who are enduring a maelstrom of armed violence and retaliation."

"The voice of reason and conscience must take the place of the sound of arms," added the Holy Father. "Sincere attention to the legitimate aspirations of all the peoples and scrupulous observance of international law are the only means capable of leading the sides back to the negotiating tables and tracing a path of fraternity for those populations.

"May God speak to the heart of those who kill and have mercy on those who suffer such violence! Tu nobis, Victor Rex, miserere!"

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CONTEMPLATING THE FACE OF THE RISEN CHRIST

VATICAN CITY, APR 18, 2001 (VIS) - This week's Wednesday general audience was held in St. Peter's Square in the presence of 20,000 pilgrims from numerous countries around the world. The Holy Father's catechesis, given in Italian, with summaries in French, English, German, Spanish and Portuguese, focussed on "Contemplating the Face of the Risen Christ."

The Pope said that "today's audience is diffused with the luminous joy of Easter, ... a profound and inextinguishable joy, founded on the gift given by the Risen Christ of the new and eternal covenant. ... It is a joy which lasts not only throughout the Easter octave, ... but for fifty days, right up to Pentecost."

"In this splendid framework of the light and happiness proper to Easter time," he went on, "today we wish to pause and reflect together on the face of the Risen One, resuming and putting into practice what I did not hesitate to indicate as the 'essential nucleus' of the great legacy left to us by the Jubilee of the Year 2000."

John Paul II remarked that "just as we contemplated the suffering face of Christ on Good Friday and Holy Saturday, now we turn our glance, filled with faith and grateful love, to the face of the Risen One."

He went on to say that "Christ reveals Himself to us today as he did to the disciples on the road to Emmaus: through the Scriptures and through His Body and Blood which he gives to us in the Eucharist. He asks us to bear witness to Him, by our words and by the example of our lives."

"Christ has many things to explain regarding His and our destiny," the Pope concluded. "Above all He reveals that every human life must go through His Cross to enter into glory. But Christ fulfills something more: He breaks for us the bread of sharing, offering this Eucharistic meal in which the Scriptures take on their full meaning and reveal the unique and shining traits of the face of the Redeemer."

In multi-lingual greetings after the catechesis, John Paul II greeted the newly ordained deacons of the Pontifical Irish College and the bishop and pilgrims from the diocese of Nanterre, France, who came to the Rome at the end of their diocesan synod. He also had special words for groups from Croatia, Slovakia, the Netherlands and Hungary.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, APR 18, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Bishop Charles Kambale Mbogha, A.A., of Isiro-Niangara, Democratic Republic of the Congo, as metropolitan archbishop of Bukavu (area 8,815, population 1,620,000, Catholics 831,562, priests 172, religious 517), Democratic Republic of the Congo. The archbishop-elect was born in Kilubo in 1942, was ordained a priest in 1969 and a bishop in 1990.

- Appointed Fr. Dulcenio Fontes de Matos, pastor of the Cathedral of Estancia, Brazil, as auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese of Aracaju (area 7,048, population 963,598, Catholics 739,631, priests 106, permanent deacons 1, religious 162), Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in Lagarto, Brazil, in 1958, and ordained to the priesthood in 1985.

On Tuesday, April 17, it was announced that he appointed Archbishop Paolo Romeo, apostolic nuncio in Canada, as apostolic nuncio in Italy and the Republic of San Marino.

On Saturday, April 14, it was made public that he accepted the resignation of Bishop Yves-Georges-Rene Ramousse, M.E.P., from the pastoral care of the apostolic vicariate of Phnom-Penh, Cambodia, in conformity with canon 401, para. 2, of the Code of Canon Law. He is succeeded by Coadjutor Bishop Emile Destombes, M.E.P.

On Thursday, April 12, the following appointments were announced:

- Msgr. Arthur Roche, of the clergy of Leeds, England, secretary general of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, and Msgr. George Stack, administrator of Westminster Cathedral, England, as auxiliaries of the archbishop of Westminster (area 22,000, population 4,415,000, Catholics 460,000, priests 770, permanent deacons 4, religious 1,901), England. Bishop-elect Roche was born in Batley Carr, England, in 1950, and ordained to the priesthood in 1975. Bishop-elect Stack was born in Cork, Ireland, in 1946, and ordained to the priesthood in 1972.

- Fr. Filippo Iannone, O.Carm., vicar general of the archdiocese of Naples (area 274, population 1,600,000, Catholics 1,592,235, priests 987, permanent deacons 159, religious 3,004), Italy, as auxiliary bishop of the same archdiocese. The bishop-elect was born in Naples in 1957, and ordained to the priesthood in 1982.

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