Vatican

Friars: gift to world
POPE JOHN PAUL II has encouraged the Capuchins to be an example of brotherly love to a globalised world torn by divisions.
The Pope proposed this in a message sent to Italy's Order of Friars Minor Capuchins meeting in Assisi for the "General Chapter of the Mats".
The meeting was attended by 500 friars, led by their minister general, Fr John Corriveau, representing some 2,400 Capuchins of the 24 Italian provinces.
The papal message said: "A continuous and total conversion to fraternity on the part of individuals, local and provincial fraternities, will be able to lead you to a sort of globalisation of charity, lived by brothers at the level of the order."
Journalists dig deep for Pope
POPE JOHN PAUL II has received a donation from Catholic journalists in Belgium.
Each year the Holy Father accepts the collections made by the "Pro Petri Sede" Association of those countries, as well as from journalists' "Etrennes Pontificales" (Papal Gift) campaign.
In his brief address, deliv
ered in French, the Holy Father thanked the donors for their generosity and explained that this aid allows the Church "to continue, in its communities and in the world, its spiritual and material action in favour of all, primarily, in favour of the poorest of our brethren, so that their dignity will be more respected everywhere".
The Pope described these donations as a gesture of "communion," which characterises the Catholic Church "and which is expressed in the openness of each Church to other Churches, around the See of Peter, guarantor of the unity and communion of them all".
Belgian Catholic journalists have been offering this sign of communion with the popes since the time of Leo XIII.
Ad Limina meetings cut
TIIE FIVE yearly visits made to the Vatican by each bishop will continue to include a private meeting with Pope John Paul 11, but the length and content of the meetings have been cut.
Some of the bishops from England and Wales, who made their "ad litnina" visits in mid-October, had even less than five minutes with the pope. Their visits coincided with the pope's 25th anniversary, the beatification of Mother Teresa and the creation of new cardinals.
Honour St Gregory
POPE JOHN PAUL II says Europe should follow the example of Pope St Gregory the Great who said the legacy of classical and Christian antiquity "constituted a precious foundation for all subsequent scientific and human development".
With a message to mark the 14th centenary of St. Gregory's death John Paul II said: "The future cannot be built by disregarding the past." Gregory the Great was Pope from 590 to 604 AD.
Five faithful beatified JOHN PAUL II will beatify five people, including three founders of religious congregations, this Sunday.
The five are: Juan Nepomuceno Zegri y Moreno (1831-1905), priest and founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy; Valentin Paquay (18281905), priest of the Order of the Friars Minor; Luigi Maria Monti (1825-1900), religious and founder of the Sons of the Immaculate Conception; Bonifacia Rodriguez Castro (18371905), virgin and founder of the Congregation of the Sisters, Servants of St. Joseph; and Rosalie Rendu (1786-1856), virgin of the Society of the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul.
Knighthood for US statesman
THE POPE has named the American ambassador to the Vatican a papal knight.
Jim Nicholson received the Grand Cross of the Order of Pius IX during an October 27th ceremony at the Vatican.
Mgr Tommaso Caputo, head of protocol in the Vatican Secretariat Jim Nicholson of State, presented the cross and the knighthood declaration to the ambassador.
The Grand Cross is the highest papal award given to a layman or woman who is not a head of state. Fewer than 70 of the honours are awarded each year. Nicolson was appointed U.S. ambassador to the Vatican in 2001.
General audience
THE ENGLISH summary of Pope John Paul ll's weeldy general audience, given at St Peter's on Wednesday, October 29 2003:
"Dear Brothers and Sisters, during the Year of the Rosary the whole Church has contemplated with Mary the face of Christ and sought to become a genuine school of prayer.
In the face of war, violence and tension, praying the rosary is a conscious expression of faith: Meditating on Christ we implore the gift of peace, through the intercession of Mary, and we ask her foxthe strength to be peacemakers especially in the home. I encourage you all to continue to pray the rosary along the path of holiness. There you will find the peace of Christ!
I extend a special welcome to the English-speaking visitors and pilgrims here today, including the groups from England, Ireland, Finland, Japan and the United States. May Mary, Queen of the Rosary, protect you and lead you ever mom closely to her Son."