VATICAN CITY, JUNE 29 (ZENIT.org)

    Some 50,000 people, the majority from the city of Rome, preferred to attend a Mass celebrated by John Paul II on the feast day of the Bishop of Rome -- the feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul -- than to go to the semi-finals between Italy and Holland for the championship of the European Soccer Cup, a veritable national event in Italy.

    There was a very moving ceremony in St. Peter's Square today, during which the Pope gave the pallium, a special white woolen band with six embroidered black crosses, representing the special authority of Metropolitan Archbishops, which the Pope gives personally to those he has named this year, entrusting them with the pastoral government of their respective ecclesiastical provinces. On this occasion, 24 Archbishops received the pallium: 5 were from Africa, 9 from the Americas, 3 from Asia, and 8 from Europe. Among them was recently appointed Archbishop Edward Michael Egan of New York, who is replacing the deceased Cardinal John O'Connor.

    "Every time you wear these palliums, remember, dear brothers, that as pastors we are called to safeguard the purity of the Gospel and the unity of the Church of Christ, founded on the 'rock' of Peter's faith."

    A delegation of Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, led by Athanasios, Metropolitan of Helioupolis and Theira, participated in the Mass. The head of the Orthodox delegation was accompanied by His Excellency Vsevolod, Archbishop of Skopelos, of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in America, dependent on the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and Reverend Archdeacon Tarasios of Fanar. The Patriarchate of Constantinople enjoys the most dignified role in the Orthodox Church. It has been separated from Rome since the Eastern schism, which took place on July 16, 1054.

    The Orthodox presence on the feast day of the Bishop of Rome, is a further step on the road toward unity to which the two Churches are committed. This courtesy will be returned by the Church of Rome on the occasion of the feast of St. Andrew, Peter's brother and patron of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which will be held on November 30.

    "Full unity in the Church!" the Pope exclaimed forcefully, during the homily of the Mass. "In my interior I hear the echo of this instruction of Christ. It is an instruction that is more urgent than ever at the beginning of the new millennium. Therefore, we pray and work and never tire of hoping."

    One of the key topics at present in the road of dialogue between Christians is understanding the primacy of Peter. Before the Mass, when he met with pilgrims to pray the "Angelus," the Holy Father said: "Intercede for us, St. Peter, so that the ministry of your successor is recognized and accepted by all in service of the unity of the people of God." This statement is in line with his proposal in "Ut Unum Sint," the encyclical on ecumenism, in which John Paul II listens to "the request made of me to find a way to exercise the primacy, without in any way renouncing that which is essential in his mission, but open to a new situation." ZE00062914

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