CHURCH ESTEEMS SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

Saturday morning Pope John Paul greeted the 100 participants in the International Conference on Space Research, promoted by the Vatican Observatory, which had just concluded at the University of Padua, Italy.

The Pontiff told those present that their “dedication to scientific research constitutes a veritable vocation at the service of the human family, a vocation which the Church greatly honors and esteems.”

“Through you,” he said, “I address an appeal to all your colleagues in the various fields of scientific investigation: Make every effort to respect the primacy of ethics in your work; always be concerned with the moral implications of your methods and discoveries.It is my prayer that scientists will never forget that the cause of humanity is authentically served only if knowledge is joined to conscience.”

A ‘PILGRIMAGE OF PEACE’

The Pope met Monday morning in the Sala Regia with members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See and, in response to their New Year's greetings, delivered his annual address on the state of the Church and of the world (excerpted).

“…In my message for the 1997 World Day of Peace, I invited all people of good will to ‘set out together on a true pilgrimage of peace, starting from the concrete situation in which we find ourselves’…. At the beginning of this year, what is the state of hope and peace? This is the question which, together with you, I would like to answer”.

“[Peace] still seems precarious in more than one place on the earth, and, in any event, it is always at the mercy of the self-interest and the lack of proper foresight on the part of many leaders of international life”.

“All people together, Jews, Christians and Muslims, Israelis and Arabs, believers and non-believers, must create and reinforce peace: the peace of treaties, the peace of trust, the peace in people's hearts! In this part of the world, as elsewhere, peace cannot be just nor can it long endure unless it rests on sincere dialogue between equal partners, with respect for each other's identity and history, unless it rests on the right of peoples to the free determination of their own destiny, upon their independence and security.There can be no exception”.

“Every juridical system, as we know, has as its foundation and end the common good.And this applies to the international community as well: the good of all and the good of the whole….Justice is for all, without injustice being inflicted on anyone. The function of law is to give each person his due, to give him what is owed to him in justice.Law therefore has a strong moral implication.And international law itself is founded on values.The dignity of the person, or guaranteeing the rights of nations, for example, are moral principles before they are juridical norms”.

“For a long time international law has been a law of war and peace.I believe that it is called more and more to become exclusively a law of peace, conceived in justice and solidarity.And in this context morality must inspire law; morality can even assume a preparatory role in the making of law, to the extent that it shows the path of what is right and good.”

“On our pilgrimage of peace, the Christmas star guides us and shows us mankind's true path as it invites us to follow the path of God.”

JESUS LOSTAND FOUND IN THE TEMPLE

At Wednesday morning's general audience, John Paul focused on the Gospel story of Jesus lost and found in the Temple in Jerusalem, in which “Jesus reveals, with his strong personality, his awareness of his mission.”

“Through this episode,” said the Pope, “Jesus prepares his mother for the mystery of the Redemption.Mary and Joseph, during the three dramatic days in which their Son is separated from them to remain in the Temple, experience the anticipation of the triduum of his passion, death and resurrection.”

The finding of Jesus on the third day “constitutes for his parents the discovery of another aspect relative to his person and his mission.” He recalled Mary's question to Jesus: “Son, why have you treated us so?” And he added “here one might hear the echo of the ‘whys’ of so many mothers in the face of the sufferings that their children bring them, and also the questions that arise in the hearts of all men at times of trial.”

John Paul evoked Jesus' answer to his mother: “How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” With this expression [Jesus], in an unexpected and unforeseen way, uncovers for Mary and Joseph the mystery of his person, inviting them to go beyond appearances and opening for them new perspectives on his future.”

Although “Mary and Joseph perceive neither the content nor the form of his response, which seems to have the appearance of rejection,” the Blessed Virgin, concluded the Pope, “preserving in her heart an event so laden with meaning, reaches a new dimension of her cooperation in salvation.”

(VIS)