VATICAN - Life, peace, food and freedom, four challenges for humanity today the Pope tells Diplomatic Corps in the Vatican: “The Catholic Church, because of her universal nature, is always directly engaged in the great causes for which the men and women of our age struggle and hope…wherever there are Christians, the whole body of the Church is called into play; indeed, wherever there is any one individual, we sense a bond of brotherhood”.

Monday, 10 January 2005

Vatican City (Fides Service) - This morning Pope John Paul II exchanged New Year wishes with the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See received in audience in the Vatican. In his address to the national representatives the Pope spoke of four challenges facing humanity and the Church’s position in this regard. “The Catholic Church, because of her universal nature, is always directly engaged in the great causes for which the men and women of our age struggle and hope. She considers herself a stranger to no people, since wherever there are Christians, the whole body of the Church is called into play; indeed, wherever there is any one individual, we sense a bond of brotherhood.”.
The Pope remarked that the quiet joy of Christmas this year had been overshadowed by the enormous catastrophe in Southeast Asia and as far as the coasts of East Africa and he mentioned other tragedies in 2004 and terrorism which caused bloodshed in Iraq and other countries of the world, the savage attack in Madrid, the terrorist massacre in Beslan, the inhuman acts of violence inflicted on the people of Darfur, the atrocities perpetrated in the Great Lakes region of Africa.
“These events have caused great anguish and distress, and we would feel a tragic concern for the future of humanity, were it not for the fact that from the cradle of Bethlehem there comes to us a message, both divine and human, of life and more certain hope: in Jesus Christ, who comes into the world as the brother of every man and woman and takes his place at our side, it is God himself who asks us not to yield to discouragement, but to overcome every difficulty, however great it may be, by strengthening the common bonds of our humanity and by making them prevail over all other considerations.”
At this point the Pope mentioned his Message for World Day of Peace this year which focused on the words of St Paul: ""Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good": (Rom 12:21)" and he said these words can be a guide to all “in meeting the great challenges facing humanity today” mentioning four major challenges in particular, the first being the challenge of life. “Life is the first gift which God has given us, it is the first resource which man can enjoy. The Church is called to proclaim "the Gospel of Life". And the State has as its primary task precisely the safeguarding and promotion of human life.” In recent years this challenge has involved particularly the beginning of human life, when human beings are at their weakest and most in need of protection (abortion, assisted procreation, the use of human embryonic stem cells for scientific research, and cloning). For the Church “the human embryo is a subject identical to the human being which will be born at the term of its development. Consequently whatever violates the integrity and the dignity of the embryo is ethically inadmissible. Similarly, any form of scientific research which treats the embryo merely as a laboratory specimen is unworthy of man.” Scientific research in the field of genetics needs to be encouraged and promoted, but, like every other human activity, it can never be exempt from moral imperatives”. In this context the Pope recalled social and cultural facing the family including “legislation which - at times directly - challenge its natural structure, which is and must necessarily be that of a union between a man and a woman founded on marriage.”.
The second challenge is that of food. This world, made wondrously fruitful by its Creator, possesses a sufficient quantity and variety of food for all its inhabitants, now and in the future. Yet the statistics on world hunger are dramatic: hundreds of millions of human beings are suffering from grave malnutrition, and each year millions of children die of hunger or its effects.. Admirable efforts by leading international organisations are not enough: “An adequate response to this need, which is growing in scale and urgency, calls for a vast moral mobilization of public opinion; the same applies all the more to political leaders, especially in those countries enjoying a sufficient or even prosperous standard of living” The Pope said, recalling the principle of the universal destination of the goods of the earth a principle included in the Social Teaching of the Church.
Peace is the dream of every generation yet how many wars and conflict continue to take place. “Our thoughts naturally turn to different countries in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America, where recourse to arms and violence has not only led to incalculable material damage, but also fomented hatred and increased the causes of tension, thereby adding to the difficulty of finding and implementing solutions capable of reconciling the legitimate interests of all the parties involved. In addition to these tragic evils there is the brutal, inhuman phenomenon of terrorism, a scourge which has taken on a global dimension unknown to previous generations..” To meet the great challenge of peace Pope John Paul II said: “The arrogance of power must be countered with reason, force with dialogue, pointed weapons with outstretched hands, evil with good. Many indeed are the men and women who are working towards this goal with courage and perseverance, and there are some encouraging signs that the great challenge of building peace can be met.” Nevertheless, “bringing about an authentic and lasting peace in this violence-filled world calls for a power of good that does not shrink before difficulties. It is a power that human beings on their own cannot obtain or preserve: it is a gift from God.”
The last challenged which the Pope mentioned in his New Year address to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See was freedom: to which every state and every person has a right, according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. “Freedom is a great good, because only by freedom can human beings find fulfilment in a manner befitting their nature.... At the very heart of human freedom is the right to religious freedom, since it deals with man’s most fundamental relationship: his relationship with God….In many States, freedom of religion is a right which is not yet sufficiently or adequately recognized. Yet the yearning for freedom of religion cannot be suppressed: as long as human beings are alive, it will always be present and pressing… There need be no fear that legitimate religious freedom would limit other freedoms or be injurious to the life of civil society. On the contrary: together with religious freedom, all other freedoms develop and thrive, inasmuch as freedom is an indivisible good, the prerogative of the human person and his dignity. Neither should there be a fear that religious freedom, once granted to the Catholic Church, would intrude upon the realm of political freedom and the competencies proper to the State: the Church is able carefully to distinguish, as she must, what belongs to Caesar from what belongs to God”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 10/1/2005; righe 71, parole 1.075)


Share: