NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      VATICAN CITY, 22 (NE) Upon commencing his address before the Angelus Sunday prayer, Pope John Paul talked Sunday about Saint Joseph, to whom Christian popular tradition dedicates the month of March. The Holy Father underlined the special veneration that the People of God have toward the Patron Saint of the Universal Church.

      "Toward his figure and his mission as the Guardian of the Redeemer," he affirmed, "I have dedicated, 10 years ago, an Apostolic Exhortation, that I wish to put under everyone's attention in the context of this last year of preparation for the Great Jubilee, dedicated to God the Father." The Pope also manifested that "by means of the exercise of his paternity, Joseph cooperates, in the completion of times, with the great mystery of redemption."

      On the other hand, the Pope remembered the celebration of the World Youth Day, which this year will be carried out in each diocese on the 28th of March. The Holy Father invited all the youth of Rome to an encounter "of celebration and prayer" that will take place this Thursday in preparation for the World Youth Day.