Pope, beatifying five Europeans, says charity strengthens church

Published: 2003-11-10

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The church is made up of faithful who are bound together by charity and who reject modern culture's tendency to give value only to money, Pope John Paul II said after beatifying five European religious. During the Nov. 9 Mass in St. Peter's Square, the pope beatified a Spanish priest and nun, a Belgian priest, an Italian brother and a French nun. The church, he said in his homily, is made up of "living stones, that is, of the those united by one faith, by participation in the sacraments and by the bond of charity." "The saints are the particularly precious stones in this spiritual temple," he said. Pope John Paul read the introduction to his homily, then allowed aides to read the sections of the texts that referred to each beatified religious. Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes, was the principal celebrant of the Eucharist; the pope remained seated facing the altar.

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