Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – Prior to the recitation of the Angelus with faithful gathered in Saint Peter's Square, on Sunday, July 12, the Holy Father Benedict XVI focused his address on the recent G8 Summit and on his recent encyclical, “Caritas in veritate.” “Some of the topics on the agenda were dramatically urgent. In the world there are social inequalities and structural injustices that are no longer tolerable,” the Pope said, highlighting that “the heads of state and of governments of the G-8 again stressed the necessity of arriving at common accords with the purpose of assuring humanity a better future. The Church does not have technical solutions to present, but, as an expert in humanity, she offers to everyone the teaching of the sacred Scripture on the truth about man and proclaims the Gospel of Love and justice.”
Benedict XVI then reaffirmed what he had said this past Wednesday, in commenting on the encyclical Caritas in veritate at the General Audience: “a new economic plan is needed that will reshape development in a global way, basing itself on the fundamental ethics of responsibility before God and before man as a creature of God..."in an increasingly globalized society, the common good and the effort to obtain it cannot fail to assume the dimensions of the whole human family” (No. 7).
The Holy Father affirmed that he would follow the path marked by Paul VI, who in the encyclical Populorum progressio “recognized and pointed to the global horizon of the social question,” which in our time implies that “the way itself of conceiving man is more and more placed in the hands of man himself by modern biotechnology (cf. ibid. No. 75). The solutions to the current problems of humanity cannot be merely technical, but must take account of all the needs of the person, who is endowed with soul and body, and must thus take the Creator, God, into consideration. The 'absolutism of technology,' which finds its highest expression in certain practices that are contrary to life.”
In facing the complexity of the present world situation, the Pope affirmed that “the Church looks to the future with hope and reminds Christians that 'the proclamation of Christ is the first and principal factor of development,'” and called upon the intercession of the Virgin Mary to “to walk the path of development with our whole heart and intelligence.”
After the Angelus, the Holy Father launched an appeal for Honduras and announced his parting for a brief time of rest in Valle d'Aosta. Here are his own words: “In these days I am following the events in Honduras with lively concern. Today I would like to invite you to pray for that dear country so that, through the maternal intercession of Our Lady of Suyapa, the authorities of the nation and all its inhabitants can patiently follow the way of dialogue, of reciprocal understanding, and reconciliation. That is possible if, overcoming particularist tendencies, everyone makes an effort to seek the truth and pursue the common good with tenacity: This is the condition for assuring peaceful coexistence and authentic democratic life! I assure the beloved Honduran people of my prayer and impart a special apostolic benediction. Tomorrow, if it pleases God, I will depart for a brief period of rest in the mountains. I will travel to Valle d'Aosta, to Les Combes, an area that is celebrated for the sojourns of my beloved predecessor John Paul II and also much loved by me. In saying 'goodbye' to St. Peter's Square and to the city of Rome, I invite all to accompany me with prayer. Prayer does not know distances and separations: wherever we are, it makes us one heart and one soul. In regard to departures, I will take this occasion once again to stress the duty of all to be prudent in driving and to respect highway laws. A good vacation truly begins with this!” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 13/7/2009)
