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Skriven 2006-05-31 22:11:20 av Marc Lewis (1:396/45)
Ärende: Vatican Information Service (Press Release)
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                The following press release is Copyrighted by the
                          Vatican Information Service.
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                               VIS-Press releases

CULTIVATE THE RICH HERITAGE OF FAITH

VATICAN CITY, MAY 26, 2006 (VIS) - At 9.15 this morning, the Pope travelled
from the apostolic nunciature, where he had spent the night, to Warsaw's
Pilsudski Square, also known as Victory Square, where he presided at a
Eucharistic concelebration. It was in Pilsudski Square, on June 2 1979, that
John Paul II began his first pastoral visit to his homeland.

Concelebrating with the Holy Father were Polish cardinals and bishops, as well
as bishops from other countries and a large number of priests. The service was
attended by 270,000 people, including Lech Kaczynski, president of Poland, and
other civil authorities.

Addressing the faithful gathered under the driving rain, Benedict XVI recalled
in his homily how in the same square, "on the eve of Pentecost, Pope John Paul
II uttered the significant words of the prayer 'Let your Spirit descend, and
renew the face of the earth.' And he added: 'The face of this land'."

"How can we not thank God today for all that was accomplished in your native
land and in the whole world during the pontificate of John Paul II? Before our
eyes, changes occurred in entire political, economic and social systems. People
in various countries regained their freedom and their sense of dignity."

Faced with people or groups who obscure Church tradition, "seeking to falsify
the Word of Christ and to remove from the Gospel those truths which, in their
view, are too uncomfortable for modern man," said the Pope, "every Christian is
bound to confront his own convictions continually with the teachings of the
Gospel and of the Church's Tradition in the effort to remain faithful to the
word of Christ, even when it is demanding and, humanly speaking, hard to
understand.

"We must not yield to the temptation of relativism or of a subjectivist and
selective interpretation of Sacred Scripture. Only the whole truth can open us
to adherence to Christ, Who died and rose for our salvation."

After highlighting how "faith consists in an intimate relationship with
Christ," Benedict XVI made it clear that to love Christ means "trusting Him
even in times of trial. ... Entrusting ourselves to Christ, we lose nothing, we
gain everything. In His hands our life acquires its true meaning. ... To love
Him is to remain in dialogue with Him, in order to know His will and to put it
into effect promptly."

He added: "Yet living one's personal faith as a love-relationship with Christ
also means being ready to renounce everything that constitutes a denial of His
love. ... Faith as adherence to Christ is revealed as love that prompts us to
promote the good inscribed by the Creator into the nature of every man and
woman among us, into the personality of every human being and into everything
that exists in the world."

The Pope concluded his homily by recalling that 27 years ago, "in this place,
Pope John Paul II said: 'Poland has become nowadays the land of particularly
responsible witness.' I ask you now," he added, "to cultivate this rich
heritage of faith transmitted to you by earlier generations, the heritage of
the thought and the service of that great Pole who was Pope John Paul II. Stand
firm in your faith, hand it down to your children, bear witness to the grace
which you have experienced so abundantly through the Holy Spirit in the course
of your history."

At the conclusion of the Mass, the Holy Father returned to the apostolic
nunciature, where he had lunch with members of his entourage.

Early this afternoon, he will travel by helicopter to Czestochowa where he will
visit the most famous Marian shrine in Poland and meet with religious,
seminarians and representatives from Catholic movements and institutes of
consecrated life. He will then move on to Krakow where he is due spend the
night in the archbishop's place.
PV-POLAND/MASS/WARSAW VIS 060526 (650)

SUMMARY

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