Pavens julebudskap til den romerske kurie

JOHN PAUL II EXCHANGES CHRISTMAS GREETINGS WITH ROMAN CURIA

VATICAN CITY, DEC 21, 1996 (VIS) - John Paul II met this morning in the Clementine Hall with members of the Roman Curia for the traditional exchange of Christmas greetings and reviewed the principal events in the life of the Church in 1996.

The Pope spoke of the just-initiated three-year preparation period for the Great Jubilee and said that the first year "must be one of growth in our love for Christ, to whom we must give an ever clearer and more coherent witness. I hear in me the strong echo of the question that Christ asked Peter. 'Do you love me?' This is a question that fills me with a great sense of responsibility. I would like to redirect this to you, who help me daily in the care of the entire Church."

The Holy Father recalled that one of the "strong moments" of this year was the publication of the Postsynodal Apostolic Exhortation "Vita Consacrata," which is part of a trilogy together with "Christifideles Laici" and "Pastores Dabo Vobis."

He explained that "in the lay life Christ is glorified as the foundation from which all of created reality draws its value and meaning. In the lives of consecrated persons, who dedicate themselves to him with 'an undivided heart', in taking on the evangelical counsels, he is contemplated as the eschatological end to which everyone aims. In the priestly ministry ... he is revealed as the Good Shepherd, who never ceases caring for the People acquired with his blood."

Later, he referred to the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination: "In the affection which the entire Church showed me, accentuated by the circumstance of my hospital stay, I not only saw regard for my person, but also the esteem that the Christian community cultivates for the priestly ministry."

"The Church," added the Pope, "has continued this year to walk on the path of ecumenism, with the ardent desire of full unity along all believers. I recall in this regard the visits of the Catholicos-Supreme Patriarch of all Armenians Karekin I, and of the Archbishop of Canterbury George Leonard Carey.

John Paul II spoke of "the specific witness which the Holy See has given by sending delegations" to UN-sponsored conferences in recent years: Rio in 1992, Cairo in 1994, Copenhagen and Beijing in 1995 and, in 1996, the conference in Istanbul, Turkey, on Human Settlements.

The FAO World Food Summit, which took place in Rome this past November, ""wished to call everyone's attention to the 'scandal' of hunger and malnutrition, which still strikes one person in five throughout the world. ... In this perspective, the Pontifical Council 'Cor Unum' has recently published a document on 'Hunger in the World'."

"Several populations are then afflicted by the tragedy of ethnic and nationalistic conflicts which casts numerous innocents into desperation and death." Even if "significant progress was made this year ... in solving the problem of Bosnia-Herzegovina, in the meantime a drama of disturbing proportions is taking place in central Africa. The Church wants to be the voice for those who have none, and asks all who have power and responsibility not to back away from this dramatic emergency."

John Paul II concluded by assuring the members of the Roman Curia that he knows that "you draw your deepest motivation from God Himself, whose inexhaustible source of grace nourishes your love for the Church. Precisely such motives are the secret behind curial work, even though it has the inevitable weight of bureaucratic aspects, never losing its Gospel inspiration and a great human warmth. Please accept every expression of my appreciation. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!"

Before the Pope's speech, Cardinal Bernardin Gantin, dean of the College of Cardinals, addressed a greeting of gratitude to the Holy Father for the work he achieved in 1996.

AC/CHRISTMAS GREETINGS/ROMAN CURIA                           VIS 961223 (640)