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   EUROPE MUST STRENGTHEN ITS CHRISTIAN ROOTS   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 31 DEC 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father has sent a Letter to   
   Archbishop Julian Barrio Barrio of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, to marks   
   today's closing of the Compostela Holy Year.   
      
   The people who have made the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela during the   
   course of this year "must return to their homes as the disciples of Emmaus   
   returned to Jerusalem", the Pope writes. "We cannot be credible witnesses of   
   God if we fail to collaborate with men and women and to serve them. This   
   service to profound understanding and to the courageous defence of man is an   
   evangelical requirement and an essential contribution that we, as Christians,   
   can make to society".   
      
   Addressing himself in particular to the young, "whom I will have the joy to   
   meet next year in Madrid for World Youth Day", the Pope invites them to let   
   themselves "be attracted by Christ, establishing a frank and serene dialogue   
   with Him and asking themselves: Will the Lord be able to rely on me to be His   
   apostle in the world, to be His messenger of love? May your response not be   
   lacking in generosity, nor in the enthusiasm which led St. James to follow his   
   Master with no concern for the sacrifices involved".   
      
   The Holy Father then goes on to encourage seminarians "to identify themselves   
   increasingly with Jesus, Who calls them to work in His vineyard. The priestly   
   vocation is an admirable gift of which we should be proud, because the world   
   needs people completely dedicated to making Jesus Christ present, shaping their   
   lives and their activities around Him, daily repeating His words and gestures   
   with humility, so as to be His image in the flock entrusted to their care".   
      
   "As I conserve in my heart the recollection of my happy stay in Santiago de   
   Compostela, I ask the Lord that the forgiveness and the aspiration to sanctity   
   which have developed during this Compostela Holy Year may, under the guidance   
   of St. James, help to make the redeeming Word of Jesus Christ present in that   
   particular Church and in all of Spain. May this light", he concludes, "also be   
   perceptible in Europe, as an incessant call to strengthen its Christian roots   
   and thus increase its commitment to solidarity and the defence of man's   
   dignity".   
   BXVI-LETTER/VIS 20110103 (390)   
      
   SUMMARY   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS =Meridian, MS= bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)