The Vatican has decided to observe1999 as the year of the aged in order to exhort the faithful to value, encourage and take care of the old, and to imbibe lessons from them. We are indebted to the old for their legacy-both spiritual and temporal-to the Church and to the world. In the developmental but erroneous view of this world, the old become the victims of more control and rejection. Their spiritual and physical rights are denied. The pontifical council for the laity strongly object to this state of affairs. The Vatican has exhorted the faithful all over the world to respect the old and to provide them with all the conveniences necessary.
 
 

The Pope has exhorted Christians to give more importance to the study and reflection on the Holy Bible. The prayers, preaching and theological reflections of the faithful should be based on the Bible. Having read and studied the Bible, the faithful should engage in dialogue with people of other faiths. If the word of God must enter into the experiential level of individual lives, the deep knowledge of the Holy Bible is absoutely necessary. The Pope was speaking on the 30th anniversary of the Catholic Biblical Federation.
 
 

the Pope has declared July 9 of the Jubilee year as the day set apart for visiting prisons. Mgr Caniatto, who holds the responsibility of the Jubilee celebrations, has given this information. According to the study made in Britain in 1998, there are about 8 lakh people who languish in prisons among whom a good percentage are denied even basic living conveniences. Prisoners cannot come to participate in the Jubilee celebrations. Mgr Caniatto, has requested that Bishops along with the faithful, visit the prisoners and express their brotherliness towards them.
 
 

Representatives of the Catholic Church and the Lutheran church were engaged in dialogue from 15th to 18th April on Koinonia, ie, fellowship that becomes evident in the service of the priestly ministry and in other fields of the episcopal ministry of Bishops and in efforts for church unity. The discussion which took place in Chicago, was the second in the series of inter-Church dialogue. Bishop Richard J Scheba, the Bishop of Milwaukee, has opined that the study on Koinonia was a very detailed one. The Catholic-Lutheran dialogue, that was initiated in 1965, has issued joint statements on the Bible, the saints and on justification through faith.
 
 

The sisters of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who work for the poorest of the poor, have established their fifth convent in Pakistan. It is situated in Faisalabad, about 500 k m from Islamabad.