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 VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE

 THIRTEENTH YEAR - N.173
 ENGLISH
 MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2003

  The Pope said that "in order to confront the challenges that this age of vast and swift social changes places before the Christian community, it is necessary to remain faithful to the perennial values of the faith and to represent them with language that is appropriate for today's world. Only a coherent proclamation of the Gospel can motivate men and women of the third millennium, who are ever more tired of words and often tempted to get discouraged."

  "It is necessary," he continued, "to begin again with Christ Who died and rose for us. He is the font we must draw from in order to confront the problems and aspirations of young people, the concerns of families and the suffering of the sick and elderly, who find themselves alone. Christ gives us the courage to fight against the sad phenomena of criminality and homicidal violence. With your help, it is possible to build up a unified society that respects the dignity of all persons."

  The Holy Father assured pilgrims from the diocese of Ozieri that "Jesus needs you so that His gospel may be better known and heard. ... May no effort be spared, no initiative be overlooked, no energy neglected for the purpose of making the Lord known to the men and women of Sardinia." AC/.../DIOCESE OZIERI VIS 031013 (270)

  In remarks made before praying the Angelus with the faithful, the Holy Father noted that "next Thursday, October 16, marks the 25th year of my pontificate. At 6 p.m. in St. Peter's Square, I will celebrate a Mass of thanksgiving. As of now I would like to thank everyone who joins me through prayer, giving thanks to God for His continual and provident assistance."

  "I remember well the days of October 1978," he went on. "In a special way I recall today the first Angelus that I prayed from this window on October 22. In the mystery of the Incarnation, that this prayer helps us contemplate, I sought then to 'embrace the entire future of my pontificate, of the People of God and the entire human family because - as I said - the family gets its start from the will of the Father, but is always conceived in the heart of the Mother'."

  "Now, while I think with gratitude of the past, my thoughts turn to young people, with whom I established, right from the start of my petrine ministry a preferential dialogue. I remember that, at the end of that first Angelus, I added a special greeting for them, saying: 'You are the future of the world, you are the hope of the Church, you are my hope."

  "I must recognize," John Paul II said in conclusion, "that the response by young people has been truly encouraging. Today I wish to thank them for always having been close to me during these years and I would like them to know that I continue to count on them." ANG/PONTIFICATE:YOUNG PEOPLE/... VIS 031013 (320)

  "We must recognize," he writes in the Message, "that in recent years we have not invested much to defend peace, rather preferring at times to commit enormous resources to acquiring arms. It is as if peace has been 'wasted'. Many hopes have been dashed. Daily news reminds us that wars continue to poison the lives of people, above all in the poorest countries. And how can we not think of the persistent violence which causes blood to be shed in the Middle East, for example and, in particular, the Holy Land?  How can we remain indifferent before a panorama of conflicts that continues to widen and to involve more regions of the earth?

  "What can we do?" the Holy Father asks. "Despite the difficulties we must not lose faith. It is our duty to continue to work for peace and to be artisans of peace. Peace is a good for everyone. And each person is called to be a builder of peace in truth and love."

  The Pope notes the theme chosen for the Peace March: "Let us build together a Europe for peace." He remarked that, "as a young man I was able to see firsthand the drama of a Europe without peace. That made me work even more tirelessly so that Europe would rediscover solidarity in peace and become ... an artisan of peace, within and outside its confines." He closed by saying that Europe "must dedicate generously, in favor of all of mankind, its rich cultural patrimony that matured in the light of the Gospel of Christ." MESS/PEACE MARCH/GORETTI VIS 031013 (330)

  In the message, dated October 4, the Pope writes that "the harsh legacy of atheistic totalitarian regimes, which have left emptiness and deep scars on consciences, requires that the countries of Eastern Europe take up today the hard work of proceeding with religious, moral and civil reconstruction; of strengthening refound sovereignty, freedom and democracy; of mending the economy."

  "For the laity, this is a time of hope and courage! The Church needs you and knows that she can entrust great responsibilities to you." After asking them not to get discouraged in the face of the "challenges of our day," the Holy Father says: "Make your families true domestic Churches and your parishes true schools of prayer and Christian life. You have regained freedom at the price of great suffering; do not ever let it turn into the pursuit of false ideals suggested by the utilarianism, individualistic hedonism or unrestrained consumerism that characterize so much of modern culture. Preserve your rich Christian traditions, resisting the insidious temptation to exclude God from your lives or to reduce faith to gestures and sporadic, superficial occurrences."

  The Pope concludes by indicating that "the lay faithful, with a proper formation and always in respect of freedom, in brotherly love, in dialogue and in cooperation, can open new paths to Christian unity, which is a 'walking together towards Christ' ... You too are called to bear witness to Christ together with all our Christian brothers and sisters. ... Pray unceasingly so that what seems impossible by the standards of human logic will be made possible by God, Who offers His powerful assistance. Bring to fulfillment the commandment of His Son: 'Ut unum sint'." MESS/LAITY EASTERN EUROPE/... VIS 031013 (340)

  In this 1,600-page volume, all of Karol Wojtyla's philosophical essays, written between 1948 (when he got his licentiate in theology at the Angelicum in Rome) and 1978 (the year of his election to the pontificate), have been collected for the first time ever. The most important writings were published during the years in which he taught at the Catholic University of Lublin, Poland. "The doctrine of the faith in St. John of the Cross (1948); "Evaluations on the possibility of building up the Christian ethic on the foundations of the system of Max Scheler (1954); "Love and Responsibility" (1960); "Person and act" (1969), and "Man and responsibility" (1978). In addition, ten integrative essays written between 1974 and 1978 are included in this work. OP/PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS POPE/... VIS 031013 (200)

  On Saturday October 11, the Holy Father received in separate audiences:

  It was made public on Saturday October 11 that the Holy Father:

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