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BENEDICT XVI: NEWS, PAPAL TEXTS, PHOTOS AND COMMENTARY

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30/05/2009 01:36
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THE HOLY FATHER'S OMNIBUS ADDRESS
TO EIGHT NEW AMBASSADORS




Here is a translation of the speech addressed by the Holy Father to eight new ambassadors who presented their credentials earlier today, Friday (5/29/09). It was delivered in French. In addition, the Holy Father had individual statements for each of the new envoys.


Excellencies:

This morning, I welcome you with joy at the presentation of the letters accrediting you as ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary of your countries to the Holy See: Mongolia, India, the Republic of Benin, New Zealand, the South African Republic, Burkina Faso, Namibia and Norway.

I thank you for conveying to me the kind words of your respective heads of state. Please extend to them in return my cordial greeting and my deferential wishes for their them and their elevated mission in the service of their respective countries and peoples.

Allow me to greet through you all the civilian and religious authorities in your countries, and all your compatriots. My prayers and thoughts go out particularly to the Catholic communities in your countries. Please be assured that they wish to collaborate fraternally in nation building, contributing as best as they can according to the Gospel.

Madame and Messieurs Ambassadors, a commitment in the service of peace and making more firm the fraternal relationship among nations are at the heart of your mission as diplomats.

Today, in the social and economic crisis the world is experiencing, it is urgent to have renewed awareness that a battle must be fought, effectively, to establish authentic peace in order to build a world that is more just and more prosperous for everyone.

Indeed, the often strident injustices among nations or in their very midst, as well as all the processes that contribute to incite divisions among peoples or to marginalize them, are dangerous threats to peace and create serious risks for conflict.

We are all called on to bring our own contribution to the common good and to peace, each according to his own responsibilities.

As I wrote in the Message for the World Day of Peace last January 1, "One of the most important ways of building peace is through a form of globalization directed towards the interests of the whole human family. In order to govern globalization, however, there needs to be a strong sense of global solidarity between rich and poor countries, as well as within individual countries, including affluent ones" (No. 8).

Peace cannot be built unless one seeks courageously to eliminate the disparities engendered by unjust systems in order to assure everyone a level of living that allows a worthy and prosperous existence.

These disparities have become even more marked because of the present financial and economic crisis which is spreading through different channels in the low-income countries.

I will limit myself to mentioning a few: the refluz of foreign investments, the collapse in the demand for raw materials, and the tendency towards a reduction in international aid.

To these, one must add the slowdown and decrease in the funds sent home by immigrants to the families they left behind,as they become victims themselves of the recession in the countries which have welcomed them.

This crisis can become a human catastrophe for the residents of many weak and poor nations. Those who already live in extreme poverty are the first to be affected since they are the most vulnerable. But the crisis can also tip into poverty those who have so far had a decent if not comfortable life. So poverty grows, with serious and sometimes irreversible consequences.

Thus, the recession engendered by the economic crisis can threaten the very existence of numberless individuals. The children are the first victims, innocent ones, who must be protected as a priority.

The economic crisis also has another effect: The despair which it provokes leads some persons to an anguished search for a solution that will allow them their day-to-day survival. And this search is sometimes accompanied, alas, by individual or collective acts of violence which can lead to internal conflicts that risk further destabilizing weakened societies.

In order to meet the current situation of crisis and find a solution, some nations have decided not to decrease their aid to the most threatened countries, proposing instead to increase this aid. Their example must be followed by other developed nations in order to allow the needy nations to support their economie and to consolidate social measures that can protect their neediest populations.

I appeal for more fraternity and solidarity and for a global generosity that is truly made concrete. Such sharing calls on the developed nations to recover a sense of proportion and moderation in their economy and lifestyle.

Madame and Messieurs Ambassadors, you are aware that new forms of violence have been manifested these last several years and that, unfortunately they call on the name of God to justify their dangerous practices. Knowing man's weakness, did not God say on Sinai: "You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain. For the LORD will not leave unpunished him who takes his name in vain" (Ex 20,7)?

Such disorders have led some to consider religions a threat to societies. Therefore, they are attacked and discredited, on the grounds that they are not conducive to peace.

Religious authorities have the duty to guide believers and enlighten them so that they may progress in holiness and interpret divine words truthfully. Therefore, we must facilitate the emergence of a world where religions and societies can open up to each other, thanks to the openness which they practice within their own religion and with each other.

That would mean giving an authentic testimony of living. That would mean creating a space that renders dialog positive and necessary.

In bringing its contribution to such a world, the Catholic Church wishes to bear witness to a positive vision of mankind's future. I am convinced of "the irreplaceable function of religion in the formation of consciences and of the contribution that it can bring, in other circumstances, to the creation of a fundamental ethical consensus in society" (Address at the Elysee Palace, Paris, September 12, 2008).

Your mission to the Holy See, Madame and Messieurs Ambassadors, has just begun. You will find among my co-workers the necessary support for you to accomplish it well. I reiterate my most heartfelt wishes for the success of your delicate task.

May the Almighty support and accompany you - yourselves, those near and dear to you, your co-workers and all your compatriots! May God fill you with the abundance of his blessings!



[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 30/05/2009 01:48]
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