ROME, DEC. 3, 2000 (ZENIT.org).- At the Jubilee of the Handicapped, John
Paul II called on politicians to ensure the rights and dignity of the
diabled, and urged more biomedical research to prevent and alleviate
handicaps.

More than 7,500 handicapped people from 15 countries, accompanied by 4,500
relatives and volunteers, gathered in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the
Walls, to participate in the Mass celebrated by the Pope.

At one point, the Holy Father, visibly moved, said: "Today has been one of
the most significant and desired Jubilee celebrations for me."

Hymns for the Mass were accompanied by the Essagramma orchestra, made up of
50 handicapped musicians. Some were autistic boys, others had severe mental
retardation, and some were only able to play a small percussion instrument.

The readings, Prayers of the Faithful, and the offertory procession, were
all carried out by the handicapped themselves. The whole eucharistic
celebration was also translated into sign language for the deaf. Several
priests with physical disabilities concelebrated the Mass with the Holy
Father.

A handicapped girl greeted the Pope on behalf of all those present,
describing him as "the father of men and women of good will." She added:
"Your tired walk also makes you a teacher of suffering, but from your
suffering, flows wisdom that, like the bow of a ship that plows the waves,
traces a wake that leads to the meaning of life and suffering.

"We are aware that we have bodies that are too impaired to contain souls
that are too large. Our souls have grown because they are not contaminated
with the power of possession, success and the conquest of first places."

In a shaky voice, the Pope said, "In your body and your life, you are
carriers of acute hope of liberation."

"Every person marked by a physical or psychic difficulty lives a kind of
existential advent, awaiting a liberation, which will only be fully
manifested for him, as for all, at the end of times," he said. "Without
faith, this waiting can assume the tones of disillusion, discouragement.
Supported by the word of Christ, it becomes lively and effective hope."

John Paul II explained that he convoked this Jubilee event so that all
Christians "will make your anxieties and expectations, your gifts and your
problems, our own."

The Pope did not call them handicapped, but rather people with "a different
ability," because "disability is not just a necessity but also and above
all a stimulus."

He directed his most urgent words to politicians. "In this solemn
circumstance," John Paul said, "I would like to request that you work to
ensure conditions of life and opportunities such that your dignity, dear
brothers and sisters with handicaps, may be effectively recognized and
protected."

"In a society rich in scientific and technical learning, it is possible and
it is a duty to do more with the means demanded by civil conscience, both
in the field of biomedical research to prevent handicaps, as well as in
treatments and assistance in rehabilitation, including new social
integration," the Pope emphasized.

However, the Holy Father was not satisfied with requesting respect for the
"civil, social and spiritual rights of the disabled." He called for the
guaranteeing of "human relations: relations of help, friendship, in which
everything is shared. For this reason, forms of attention and
rehabilitation must be promoted that keep the integral view of the human
person in mind."

At the end of the Mass, John Paul II greeted the sick, including each
disabled priest. He then embraced the children who were introduced by their
parents. The Pope moved down the central aisle of the basilica, as planned,
but later broke protocol and went into the side aisles. In the afternoon,
the handicapped and their companions joined in a celebration in the Vatican
general audience hall.
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