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Last Updated: 19 February 2013

VATICAN CITY, APR 22, 2007 (VIS) - Immediately on arriving in Pavia yesterday evening, the Holy Father travelled by car to the city cathedral where he appeared at the balcony to greet young people gathered in the square below.

The Pope called on them not to be afraid to commit their lives to Christ Who, he said, "never disappoints our expectations because He knows what is in our hearts ... The Church - which needs your commitment to carry the evangelical message, especially to your peers - supports you on the road of knowledge of the faith and of love for God and for our fellow man. ... Society ... awaits your contribution in order to create a less selfish and more cohesive form of shared coexistence, one truly animated by the great ideals of justice, freedom and peace."

At 9 a.m. today, Sunday, Benedict XVI visited the "San Matteo" hospital which treats sick people from Pavia and all Italy. Having greeted the president and a representative of the patients, the Pope expressed his thanks to the doctors, nurses and all the hospital staff.

Here, said the Holy Father, "truly inspiring results are achieved. It is my heartfelt hope that vital scientific and technological progress will always be accompanied by a concern to promote, alongside the good of sick people, such fundamental values as respect for and defense of life at every stage, upon which the authentically human quality of coexistence depend."

Benedict XVI highlighted the fact that "in each person suffering from illness it is He Himself Who awaits our love. Of course, suffering is abhorrent to the human heart, yet it remains true that when accepted with love and illuminated with faith, it becomes a precious opportunity that unites us mysteriously to Christ the Redeemer, the Man of suffering Who on the Cross took upon Himself the pain and death of man. With the sacrifice of His life He redeemed human suffering and made it the fundamental means of salvation.

"Dear sick people," he concluded, "entrust to the Lord the discomfort and pain you have to face, and in His plan you will become means of purification and redemption for the world entire."

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VATICAN CITY, APR 22, 2007 (VIS) - Having concluded his visit to Pavia's "San Matteo" hospital, the Pope travelled by car to the "Almo Collegio Borromeo" where he celebrated Mass at 10.30 a.m. Bishops of Lombardy, priests of the diocese of Pavia and a number of Augustinian Fathers concelebrated with the Holy Father.

In his homily, the Pope focussed on the "three great stages" of St. Augustine's journey of conversion.

These "conversions" of St. Augustine, he said, "were in fact one big conversion: searching for the Face of Christ and then walking alongside Him."

"The first fundamental conversion was Augustine's interior journey towards Christianity, towards that 'yes' of faith and Baptism. ... The saint was constantly tormented by the question of truth. ... He wanted to find the right path, and not just to live blindly without meaning or goal. This passion for truth is the true key to understanding his life."

"He had always believed - at times somewhat vaguely, at others more decidedly - that God exists and that He looks after us. But truly knowing God and really becoming familiar with Jesus Christ, to reach the point of saying 'yes' to Him with all the consequences it brings: this was the great interior struggle of the years of his youth."

St. Augustine's "second conversion," Pope Benedict explained, took place following his Baptism, when he returned to Hippo in Africa where he founded a small monastery and intended to dedicate his life to the contemplation of God. However, by popular request and almost by force, he was ordained a priest and so "had to live with Christ for everyone."

"The great philosophical work of his life, of which he had dreamed, remained unwritten. In its place came something more precious: the Gospel translated into the language of everyday life."

This, said the Holy Father "was the second conversion that this man, struggling and suffering, had to achieve: being there for everyone, offering his life, always and anew together with Christ, so that others could find Him Who is true life."

Finally, "the third and decisive stage" on St. Augustine's journey of conversion took place when he discovered that "only one person is truly perfect and that the words of the Sermon on the Mount are fully realized only in one person, in Jesus Christ Himself. And the entire Church - all of us, including the Apostles - must pray every day: 'forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us.'

"Augustine had understood an ultimate level of humility. Not only the humility to make his own great philosophy part of the faith of the Church, not only the humility to translate his great knowledge into the simplicity of announcement, but also the humility to recognize that he himself and the entire pilgrim Church were in constant need of the merciful goodness of a forgiving God. And we, Augustine added, become as similar as possible to the Perfect Christ when we become like Him people of mercy."

Following the Eucharistic celebration and before praying the Regina Coeli, the Pope addressed a special greeting to young people, to whom he expressed the hope "that you become ever more aware of the joy of following Christ and of becoming His friends. ... This is the same joy that brought me to write my recently-published book 'Jesus of Nazareth.' It may be a little difficult for the youngest of you, but I consign it to you ideally, that it may accompany the journey of faith of the new generations."

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VATICAN CITY, APR 22, 2007 (VIS) - This afternoon at 4.15, the Pope travelled to the University of Pavia where he met with representatives from the world of culture in the university's "Tersiano" courtyard. Following a greeting from Angiolino Stella, rector of the university, and from a representative of the students, the Holy Father pronounced a few words of his own.

"All universities," he said, "should safeguard their identity as centers of study 'made to man's measure,' in which students do not remain anonymous but are able to cultivate a fruitful dialogue with professors, drawing incentives for their own cultural and human development."

"It is of fundamental importance," he went on, "that the commitment to academic research remains open to the existential question of meaning in peoples lives. ... Only by valuing the person and interpersonal relations can didactic interaction become an educational relationship."

The love of Christ gave form to St. Augustine's life commitment, said Pope Benedict. "From a life dedicated to searching for worldly success he passed to a life totally donated to Jesus Christ, the only Master and Lord. May St. Augustine be for everyone a model for the dialogue between reason and faith."

"By the intercession of St. Augustine," the Pope concluded, "may the University of Pavia always stand out for its special attention to individuals, for a marked community dimension in academic research, and for a fruitful dialogue between faith and culture."

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VATICAN CITY, APR 22, 2007 (VIS) - After his meeting with representatives from the world of culture in the University of Pavia, Benedict XVI travelled to the basilica of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro to celebrate Vespers. Before entering the basilica, the Holy Father paused on the patio of the convent of St. Augustine where he blessed the cornerstone of a new Augustinian cultural center, which the Order intends to dedicate to him.

Once inside the basilica, the Pope incensed the urn containing the relics of St. Augustine and, after greeting Bishop Giovanni Giudici of Pavia and Fr. Robert Francis Prevost, prior general of the Augustinian Order, pronounced his homily.

"In this moment of prayer I would like to gather here, at the tomb of the 'Doctor gratiae,' a significant message for the journey of the Church," said the Pope. "This message comes to us from the encounter between the Word of God and the personal experience of the great bishop of Hippo. ... Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word, ... is the revelation of the face of God Love to all human beings as they travel along the paths of time towards eternity. ... This is the heart of the Gospel, the central nucleus of Christianity. The light of this love opened Augustine's eyes and brought him to encounter the 'beauty, ever ancient and ever new' in which alone the human heart finds peace."

"Here before the tomb of St. Augustine," the Pope continued, "I would like once again to consign ideally to the Church and to the World my first Encyclical, which contains this central message of the Gospel: 'Deus caritas est,' God is love," and which is "greatly indebted to the thought of St. Augustine who was enamoured of the Love of God."

"In the wake of the teachings of Vatican Council II and of my venerated predecessors, I am convinced ... that contemporary humanity has need of this essential message. ... Here everything must begin and here everything must lead, all pastoral activity and all theological treatises."

"Love is the heart of Church life and of her pastoral activity. ... Only those who have a personal experience of the Lord's love are able to exercise the task of guiding and accompanying others on the road of following Christ. ... Following Christ is above all a question of love."

The Holy Father went on: "May your membership of the Church and your apostolate always stand out for their freedom from any kind of personal interest and for their unreserved adhesion to Christ's love. Young people in particular need to receive the announcement of freedom and joy, the secret of which is in Christ. He is the most authentic response to the expectations of their hearts which are troubled by the many questions they carry within."

"Following the footsteps of St. Augustine, you too must be a Church that frankly announces the 'good news' of Christ. ... The Church is not simply an organization for collective expression nor, at the other extreme, is she the sum of individuals living a private religion. The Church is a community of people who believe in the God of Jesus Christ and commit themselves to living in the world the commandment of love that He left us."

"I encourage you," the Holy Father concluded, "to pursue the 'exalted degree' of Christian life which considers charity as the bond of perfection, and which must also be translated into a form of moral life inspired by the Gospel."

A the conclusion of Vespers, the Pope went to Pavia's "P. Fortunati" stadium whence he travelled by helicopter to the airport of Milan. There he boarded a plane that took him back to Rome where he landed shortly before 8.30 p.m.

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Expresses Christian and Muslim Hopes for Peace

ANKARA, Turkey, APRIL 22, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The vicar apostolic of Anatolia expressed hopes that religions could join to defeat violence, after three Christians were killed last week at a Bible publishing house.

After the slayings on Wednesday in Malatya, in eastern Turkey, Bishop Luigi Padovese said: "This latest episode has profoundly disturbed us. … We do not yet know the organization behind this bloody deed."

Three people were killed -- one a German citizen -- and one person was wounded in the assault on Zirve Publishing, where the victims were at work. Initial erroneous statements reported that the fourth victim died from his wounds.

Authorities in Ankara have said today that the police have arrested 10 people in connection with the murders and are questioning witnesses.

Among the suspects are some members of the Islamic nationalist group The Gray Wolves, who have threatened the publishing house in the past.

According to Bishop Padovese: "We cannot exclude that the recent insistence on the danger posed by Christian missionaries to the national and religious identity of Turkey has played a role in inciting this incident.

"But how many are there of these missionaries who are seen as a phenomenon of destabilization? Perhaps 100. But what do they mean to a population of over 70 million? I think, therefore, that in these actions there was an attempt to strike at a symbol."

A blasphemy

Bishop Padovese said that on Wednesday, he had participated with local religious and civil authorities in a celebration of the birth of Mohammed.

"I observed their regret and sadness over this bloody violence," 57-year-old vicar apostolic said. "I was struck by the mufti of Antioch's testimony before the crowd that was gathered. 'If we are afraid of those who distribute the Gospel,' he said, 'this means that our faith is very weak.'"

"Faced with these incidents," Bishop Padovese affirmed, "I believe that it is a good thing to promote common 'symbolic' actions with Turkish religious leaders so that our unity is seen and all, Christians and Muslims, are shown that we consider violence in the name of God a blasphemy against God."

He continued: "It is in this common action of dialogue, that on May 12-13 here in Iskenderun, in the house that we have dedicated to Father Andrea Santono, there will be a Muslim-Christian symposium on the Word of God in Christianity and in Islam.

"I believe that a meeting such as this should serve to isolate the violent acts of some irresponsible people and show that in Turkey the desire for dialogue prevails over that of confrontation."

Code: ZE07042211

Date: 2007-04-22

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May Day Message Recognizes Most Vulnerable

NEW DELHI, India, APRIL 22, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Despite a growing economy, 93% of workers in India are unprotected by legislation or trade unions, say the Indian Catholic bishops' in a statement on the occasion of May Day.

The May Day Message issued by the Commission of Labor of the Catholic bishops' conference of India (CBCI), considered ways to improve the lives of workers in light of India's growing economy.

Focusing on the most vulnerable, the May Day Message underlined the need to find new ways to relieve the suffering of children, migrants and women who frequently find themselves victims of forced labor or human trafficking.

Bishop Joshua Mar Ignatios, chairman of Commission for Labor of the CBCI, said he and his fellow prelates are "committed to strengthening all the labor initiatives which lead to the dignity of workers and eventually to the development of the nation."

Faster than ever

The Indian economy, according to the May Day message, is experiencing "reasonable growth in GDP and strong Indian rupee."

Tourism, financial services, insurance, banking and the service industries all report various stages of continued growth, with "impressive progress in information technology," and a boom in construction to meet the housing needs of the middle class.

Bishop Ignatios said in the May Day message, "Employment opportunities are growing faster than ever, especially technically and academically skilled personnel are finding it easier to get well paid jobs. The advent of many foreign companies has raised a big demand for well-qualified hands."

Forgotten sector

Despite all the good economic news, India's labor force, the bishops' message says, "is constituted of both the unorganized and the organized sector."

According to the latest statistics, the unorganized sector, making up 93% of the work force "is considered least and hardly receives any attention."

"They are an unprotected lot as they do not benefit from any legislation or even the trade unions," Bishop Ignatios continued. "Sadly the most vulnerable in the unorganized sector are children, women and migrants, who are also closely connected with felonious human trafficking."

Finding solutions

To find solutions, the May Day message called for action in "the trade unions, labor movements, labor facilitation centers that should take up the issues of laborers," including better labor legislation and its enforcement.

The bishops' message cautioned that "there is no magical solution but only the 'sweat on the forehead' for the fulfillment of man that leads to the development of society and thereby his own liberation."

Bishop Ignatios added that workers are "not mere chattel but partners with the Creator. [The worker's] actualization can be attained only in partnership with the Creator realizing his likeness embedded in us."

Code: ZE07042227

Date: 2007-04-22