The most important job for any mayor is to find issues that unify the people of a city, Boston Mayor Raymond Flynn said yesterday to Kennedy School Graduates and others at the Institute of Politics forum.

"Being respectful to the people that you represent, and dealing with the issue of unity" are the important roles for the chief executive of any large city, he said.

Flynn, who will leave office this summer to take over as the U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, expressed strong support for President Bill Clinton's jobs package and commitment to cities.

During the Reagan and Bush years, he said, attention turned away from the important role of the cities in American life.

"What's happening in America's cities is...people really feel like nobody's listening, nobody's on their side," he said. "The only logical conclusion is the Congress ought to pass this job bill and put people back to work."

He will bring his experience in drawing diverse interests together to his new post, he said.

The power of the U.S. and the spiritual might of the Catholic church could come together to help others, he said.

"I think we can really work together for social and economic justice," he said.

In response to an audience question, Flynn said his advice to the next mayor would be to stress the importance of personal contact.

"I think the personal touch is very important," he said. "Be completely open and accessible to the people of Boston's neighborhoods."

Another audience member asked about the physical legacies of his administration, and Flynn pointed to the planned Boston city hospital, the renovation of the city's parks and playgrounds and the city fire department's new equipment.