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go s: o S| ro O 05 C«Q x o gd§ b"<a. co ☆ The ☆ Sou Diocese of Savannah ☆ ☆ hern Cross Vol. 81, No. 2 Thursday, January 11, 2001 $.50 PER ISSUE Final jubilee document outlines vision of church’s path r By John Thavis Vatican City (CNS) [ n a final document on the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, Pope John Paul II revisited high lights of the Holy Year and suggested how its spir itual gifts can help lead others to the Gospel. The apostolic letter, titled Novo Millennio Ineun- te (“At the Beginning of the New Millennium”), offered some last words on several controversial jubilee themes, including the tension between mis sion and proclamation. It also sketched out the pope’s vision of church priorities in the third millennium, emphasizing that the personal encounter with Christ should ulti mately influence the economic and social behavior of modem society. The pope signed the 84-page document January 6 on a small table brought to him in Saint Peter’s Square, where he had just celebrated a Mass to close the jubilee. The document calls for a “new sense of mission” built on the enthusiasm of the jubilee, one that leads people to holiness and finds new ways to proclaim the Gospel in a culture marked by diver- 6 sity and globalization. Pope John Paul II signs his 84-page apos- After the jubilee, it said, there is “no time for tolic letter January 6 in Saint Peter's lookin 8 back > even less for settlin S int0 laziness ” _ - i * . .. , . “A new millennium is opening before the church Square after celebrating the closing Mass ... . . , „ . ^ ® like a vast ocean upon which we shall venture, of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. relying on the help of Christ,” it said. S 01 cC E o o -C Q. In the context of religious pluralism, the pope pointed to the importance of dialogue with non- Christians and respect for their beliefs, especially in warding off the “dread specter of those wars of reli gion which have so often bloodied human history.” But for the church, he said, interreligous dia logue can never be understood as negotiation, as if the faith were a matter of mere opinion. Likewise, the Christian’s joyful proclamation of the Gospel should not be considered “an offense to the identi ty of others,” he said. Citing the recent and controversial document, Dominus Iesus, the pope said interreligious dia logue cannot simply replace proclamation. The pope delivered a realistic assessment of the state of ecumenism, saying Christians had carried into the third millennium the “sad heritage of the past” and that there was “still a long way to go” before Christian unity can be attained. But he noted with joy that for the first time in 2000, a holy door was opened together by leaders of the Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox churches. He also looked ahead to planned trips to Ukraine, Armenia and Syria later this year and said he had great hopes for relations with Eastern churches. In describing the unity of the church of Christ, the pope appeared to choose his words carefully, especially after ecumenical tensions in the wake of Dominus Iesus. (Continued on page 2) Celebration closes Jubilee in diocese Left: Members of Saints Peter and Paul Parish, Savannah, attended the closing Mass of the Jubilee on January 7 at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist garbed in native Vietnamese dress. Right: Chalk and an Epiphany blessing were distrib uted after the Mass in accord with a German tradition of blessing houses in honor of the three Magi. For excerpts of Bishop J. Kevin Boland’s homily at the service, see page 4. Photos by Jonas N. Jordan