NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- In his weekly catechetical audience today, Pope John Paul II explained that the Holy Spirit helps believers to understand human events, showing the "signs of the times" that aid discernment.

      "The Spirit allows us to understand the plan of salvation established by God the Father, and to perceive the progress of the kingdom of God in the world," the Pope said. "He helps us to recognize that Jesus Christ, according to the words of the Second Vatican Council, is 'the key, the center, and the end of all human history,' the 'joy of every day and the answer to all our desires.'"

      The Holy Father reflected that while we do not know the time when Christ will come again to bring an end to human history, the Holy Spirit "strengthens us to bear witness to the kingdom of God, even to the ends of the earth."