NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- At his Sunday Angelus audience, which took place on October 4 in Split, Croatia, Pope John Paul II appealed for help on behalf of the people of Kosovo.

      Speaking at a time when officials of both the UN and NATO were reportedly considering an intervention in Kosovo, the Pope voiced his prayer that "understanding, mutual respect, pardon and reconciliation would finally replace violence and devastation."

      Continuing along the same lines, the Holy Father also observed that many people in Croatia remain scarred by the warfare that enveloped the former provinces of Yugoslavia. Many people are still missing, many families are unable to return home, and many have found their old homes destroyed. These people, the Pope said, "need help, so that they can begin the process of rebuilding their homes, and regain a quiet family life."

      Meanwhile at the Vatican, the fourth World Congress on pastoral care for migrants and refugees opened yesterday in Rome. The meeting, organized by the Pontifical Council for Migrants, will continue until October 10.

      The 459 participants in this week's meeting come from 103 different countries, including 35 African nations. The objective of the meeting, according to a press statement issued before the formal opening of the congress, is to define common standards that would guide pastoral work for migrants, in both their native lands and the lands to which they have moved.

      Msgr. Francesco Gioia, the secretary of the Pontifical Council, told the Fides news agency that it is crucial to be "as close as possible to migrants," and especially to refugees. He lamented that many people do not yet comprehend the magnitude of the problem. There are, he continued, 100 million people now living outside their native countries, and that number is growing rapidly.