.- Pope John Paul II will meet tomorrow with various U.S. bishops on the occasion of the third anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks on U.S soil. The Pope met with a group of American bishops today at the Apostolic Palace in Castelgandolfo – in Rome on their ad limina visit – in anticipation of tomorrow’s commemoration.
Vatican Radio transmitted the reflections of Cardinal Justin Francis Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, who noted that the United States and the world has suffered a lot of fear during these last few years.
“The role of the Church is to offer to the world a great hope, a great trust – the hope and trust that come from the Gospel,” said the Cardinal. “Believers receive their peace from Christ,” he said, “therefore His promise of peace is more significant than ever. Thus, in the end, we don’t despair: we face a great challenge, the perennial challenge of the Church.”
In this context he reiterated that “the challenge is to trust in the mercy of the Lord and to commit ourselves in prayer and in action, but always with the trust that comes from Jesus Christ.”
