Speeches 1969



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January 1969




TO THE NEW BISHOPS

Tuesday, 7 January 1969



Venerables Hermanos y queridos Hijos,

Ala inefable emoción vuestra y Nuestra por la ceremonia de ordenación episcopal que ayer vivimos, en el misterio de la Epifanía, se añade hoy el gozo de este encuentro con vosotros, amados Obispos de Bolivia y de México, y con vuestros familiares.

Vuestra presencia aquí Nos abla de reconocimiento y de devoción a Nuestra humilde persona; sentimientos que apreciamos y agradecemos vivamente, mientras os reiteramos la más cordial felicitación.

ConsentidNos la expresión de intimo deseo, Venerables Hermanos. Que vuestra labor pastoral en América ofrezca siempre un doble testimonio: él de Nuestra constante y afectuosa solicitud que vibra con las ansias y esperanzas de los Pastores e hijos de la Iglesia en ese cristiano continente y él de vuestra límpida y firme adhesión a la Cátedra de San Pedro, junto a cuya Tumba habéis recibido de Nós el supremo sacerdocio.

Llevad a vuestros Hermanos en el Episcopado de Bolivia y de México - en especial a los de La Paz y Cochabamba -, a vuestros sacerdotes y fieles Nuestro recuerdo y Nuestra Bendición, la misma qua ahora impartimos a vuestros familiares y, de modo particular, a vosotros como prenda de las gracias divinas que hagan muy fructuosa vuestra entrega generosa a Dios y a las almas.

Vénérables Frères et chers Fils,

C’est pour Nous une grande joie de vous recevoir, après la belle cérémonie d’hier matin en la fête de l’Epiphanie. C’était symboliquement présente autour de Nous en la basilique de Saint- Pierre, toute la foule du peuple de Dieu, de ses évêques, de ses prêtres, de ses religieux et religieuses, autour du Successeur de Pierre, unie dans une même foi, une même espérance, une même charité.

Aujourd’hui, Nous avons tenu à vous recevoir personnellement, malheureusement moins longtemps que Nous l’aurions désiré, mais le temps est si limité! A tous, Nous voulons dire la joie de Notre coeur. Aux mamans de Monseigneur Eugène Ernoult et de Monseigneur André Quélem, tout d’abord, Notre gratitude, pour avoir donné ces nouveaux successeurs aux Apôtres, afin d’annoncer, demain comme hier, la bonne nouvelle de l’Evangile du Christ Sauveur. A tous les pèlerins, membres de vos familles, ou amis, qui vous ont suivis au cours des étapes de votre ministère sacerdotal, à l’aumônerie de l’Action catholique générale, à la Direction des OEuvres à Rennes, au Grand Séminaire de Quimper, à Saint Louis de Brest, Notre joie de vous voir si nombreux entourer de votre affection les nouveaux évêques.

Aux délégations de Nantes et d’Angers, prêtres, religieuses et laïcs, Notre joie de vous donner Monseigneur Ernoult et Monseigneur Quélem pour aider de tout leur zèle pastoral les chefs des deux diocèses, Monseigneur Vial et Monseigneur Mazerat. Nous sommes heureux de cet échange fraternel entre les diverses régions de l’Ouest de la France. Un grand merci enfin à Monseigneur Gouyon - et à son auxiliaire Monseigneur Riopel -, à Monseigneur Barbu - et à son auxiliaire Monseigneur Favé -, pour avoir accepté de se séparer de collaborateurs de valeur en vue d’un meilleur service d’Eglise.

A tous, chers pèlerins de la Bretagne et de l’Anjou, Nous disons Notre admiration pour tant de vertus de foi chrétienne, de fidélité, et de générosité dans le service de l’Eglise. A travers vous, c’est à toutes vos familles, et à vos paroisses que Nous pensons. De retour chez vous, soyez les messagers de l’affection et de la gratitude du Pape. A tous, dites combien Nous comptons sur eux, pour l’Eglise. Que Notre Benediction Apostolique vous traduise aussi tous les voeux que Nous formons de grand coeur g l’intention de vos familles, de vos diocèses, et vous donne toutes les grâces de Dieu que Nous souhaitons pour vous en ce début d’année nouvelle.

Venerable Brothers, beloved sons and daughters

It is a great consolation for Us to receive your visit; to see four of Our Brothers, ordained by Us personally to the fulness of the Priesthood, surrounded by parents, relatives and friends.

We seem to hear again the magnificent words of the new rite of Ordination, asking God to pour forth upon you, Venerable Brothers, that power and spirit which He gave to His beloved Son Jesus Christ, and which Our Lord gave to His holy Apostles.

Two among you, after years of devoted service here in the Roman Curia, will continue in duties of higher rank and greater responsibility to the Holy See. Two others, having been faithful “collaborators in the Sacred Orders” with your Bishops, will now assist them in the fraternal charity of the Episcopate. May the Holy Spirit prosper your labours, and may Our blessed Lady, Mother of the Church, help you all. to “please God in goodness and simplicity of heart”.

Beloved sons and daughters, the families and friends of these new Apostles: in the words of the final blessing of the Ordination ceremony: “May you be preserved from all adversity and filled with every blessing; by your loving devotion to these new Bishops, may you enjoy tranquillity and peace in this world, and with them merit to attain one day the company of the saints in heaven!”.

To each of you, to your family members at home, and to all those whose thought and intention you bear in your hearts, We lovingly impart Our special Apostolic Blessing.





February 1969




TO THE ARCHBISHOPS AND BISHOPS OF THE

ECCLESIASTICAL PROVINCES OF LAGOS, KADUNA AND ONITSHA

Friday, 7 February 1969



Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate,
Archbishops and Bishops
of the Ecclesiastical Provinces of Lagos,
Kaduna and Onitsha



We are happy to receive you and to greet you in the Lord Christ, Venerable Brothers. Indeed, We say with sincerity that We are grateful for your visit, since it offers Us the opportunity to open Our heart to you, as We have already opened Our home.

We know that in these past days you have met together, to discuss with Our assistants your pastoral and religious problems, which have been made still more difficult because of the abnormal situation - abnormal, because it is a situation of war - which has too long endured. We have followed and are familiar with the situation in which so many people in your regions find themselves -We think especially of the children.

Several times, as you well know, We have expressed Our anxiety, Our desires and Our hopes for an end to such a state of affairs. Before God and Our conscience We feel that We have left undone no action or undertaking that was in Our power in order to bring any person in authority to find a peaceful solution which would silence the sound of arms.

Unfortunately, until now all attempts, those also springing from other authoritative sources, have failed to bring the wished-for success. Must We therefore .yield to a sense of discouragement and resign Our-self to the inevitability of hatred between brothers and of mutual destruction? Must We perhaps say that there is no longer hope that the good sentiments of brotherhood and love can finally prevail, that above disagreements the voice of concord and charity can find victory? Christian conscience can in no way accept these hypotheses.

You have just performed the sacred rite of Concelebration, united around a single altar, the image of Christ, together with Our Cardinal Secretary of State. The prayer in common, with tears and trust, was for peace: that God would restore peace to those regions so dear to Us, to those sons so close to Us, closest to Our heart because the most severely suffering.

In you, worthy representatives of the Bishops of the three Ecclesiastical Provinces of Lagos, Kaduna and Onitsha, We see the image of Our other Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate, of the priests and religious, of the Sisters, and of all the Catholics of all regions of Nigeria. In them We find a single aspiration, which reflects both the conscience and the good will of all the people of those noble regions, the aspiration for peace. From Our brotherly meeting there arises a single cry, that for peace, and a single petition for peace: “Domine, dona nobis pacem”.

The Church is one, above every conflict; the Church loves and is loved, above every division; the Church wishes to bring peace and love where there is war and hatred; the Church wishes to aid the suffering; the Church wishes to exercise her witness especially in the most tragic moments of the history of peoples. That is what the Church is doing in your regions. Your presence and your fraternal embrace would point out to all in authority the way to reconciliation, and would affirm that it is possible and that it is one’s duty to find a solution. It is not for Us or for you to suggest a concrete political plan, but it is Our duty and yours to declare solemnly that it is not by war, but by sincere negotiations, not in an atmosphere of opposition, but in one of open cooperation, that the wished-for solution of the baneful controversy will be found.

Let those in authority know that the Holy See follows with lively anxiety and disinterested impartiality the sorrowful happenings, and that it dares to call on them to exert a supreme effort in a dedicated search for peace, Let them be assured that in doing so they will also render a valuable service to humanity, which will act as a model and will win the highest esteem.

We would wish you, Venerable Brothers, to take back to your own dioceses, and to those which you represent, the assurance that the Pope loves all without distinction with the same intensity of affection; that for all He would wish to be the good Samaritan who pours oil on their wounds; that the Pope would like to be able to give even greater assistance without any discrimination whatever: that His love is extended spontaneously to all, expecially to the most grievously suffering, because they are living images of Christ.

The fervent message which We entrust to you is suggested by the Apostle Paul: “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts” (Col 3,15), because “He is our peace, who has made us both one” (Ep 2,14). May the Blessing which We from Our heart bestow on you, make this Our wish effective and lasting.





March 1969





TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA*


Sunday, 2 March 1969




Mister President,

We are very happy, and deeply grateful too, that your courtesy has made this visit possible, at the close of your strenuous working journey through Europe.

In the past, We have already had the honour of visits from you: but now you come to Us in another capacity, with the heavy responsibilities of the President of the United State s of America.

It is as such that We greet you, giving expression immediately to a warm and spontaneous wish: May you, in your administration, experience the deep satisfaction of making a real contribution to the total cessation of those conflicts now, unfortunately, in progress; and of putting an even more effective stop to the outbreak of new armed struggles, by following the sure way towards a lasting peace, and promoting true prosperity by means of a widely-based and fruitful understanding.

This is the mission which your great Nation, Mister President, along with the other members of the international community, is called upon to fulfil: a mission of peace, a mission of noble-hearted collaboration with all peoples, and particularly with the developing peoples, in mutual esteem, with respect for the fundamental freedoms of men and of Nations, and in the promotion of genuine human values.

All peoples are closely bound together, now more than ever before, in a common destiny, the great world-wide effort to build, on solid foundations, the earthly city in which each individual lives and works.

An exalting and difficult task, this, It is one that calls for foresight, in order that, while uncovering the immensity of mankind’s needs, it may also realize. the no less immense possibilities offered today, especially by science and technology employed in the service of man.

It is also a task that requires good, constructive, and generous ideas, noble desires, moral energy, a clear vision of reality, firm decision, courage to make choices, and persevering constancy in the way that is chosen.

It is therefore a task which has need of an assistance that cannot be physically measured, yet is absolutely indispensable; for “unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it will labour in vain” (Ps 126,1).

To construct this earthly city in unity, prosperity, wisdom and concord, the Catholic Church, inspired by the Gospel message, will unfailingly continue to offer her disinterested and active contribution of moral energy and support.

That the serene vision of peace may ever shine in your mind and heart, Mister President, to inspire and sustain your valiant efforts, Our repeated good wishes go with you, and Our heartfelt prayer accompanies you, as We invoke upon you, and upon the people of the United States of America who are so dear to Us, abundant divine blessings.
* * *


Terminata l’udienza al Presidente Nixon, il Santo Padre si reca nella sala Clementina per salutare gli alunni del Pontificio Collegio Americano del Nord, colà convenuti in occasione della visita del Presidente.

We welcome you to Our home, where you have just greeted the President of your great country. We are grateful to Mr. Nixon for ,his courteous visit, and We have assured him of Our complete and disinterested collaboration in all that helps the cause o f World peace, and promotes loving brotherhood among all the peoples of this planet of ours.

As We said during the first visit of a Pope to the United States of America: “You must love peace . . . You must serve the cause of peace” (Oct. 4, 1965). Each one of you can make your contribution to World peace: first, by being at peace with yourself, your own conscience, your own ideals; then, by seeking peace in humility and truth with your neighbor, near and far, of every color, nationality and religion; finally, by living in peace with God, Who made you to be eternally happy with Him, after serving Him in all our brothers and sisters of the human race.

We recommend Our prayers for you, your families, your loved ones, your President, and the United States of America, to your most powerful heavenly patron, Our Lady, conceived without sin; and in the name of her Divine Son, We impart to you all Our Apostolic Blessing.



*AAS 61 (1969), p.242-243;

Insegnamenti di Paolo VI, vol. VII, p.132-134;

OR 3-4.3.1969, p.1;

ORa n.10 p.1.






TO LESTER B. PEARSON, CHAIRMAN OF THE

COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT*

Saturday, 15 March 1969



We are most pleased to welcome the Right Honourable Lester B. Pearson, Chairman of the Commission on International Development, together with the distinguished members, all internationally-known authorities on development. We are pleased that Rome should have been chosen as the place for this regular meeting of the Commission, prior to the five regional meetings scheduled with 33 African and Asian Governements in Abidjan, Kampala, Rawalpindi, Delhi and Singapore, to hear their views on economic development and aid.

The purpose of this Commission is, in the Chairman’s words, to “examine the progress and problems. experienced in the field of international aid and development assistance over the past twenty years and to make recommendations on the best policies and methods to help promote the economic growth of the developing world in the years to come”.

We must thank you, Mr. Pearson, for having accepted the heavy but challenging responsibility of presiding over this analysis and planning which promises so much for the developing world, as we prepare for the Second Development Decade. It is most appropriate that you, a former President of the United Nations Assembly and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, should preside over this Commission, because “development is the new name for peace”.

Our words of welcome come from Our heart; for since the beginning of Our pontificate, We have constantly given Our fullest support to all efforts, including those of the great inter-governmental organizations, to achieve the full, integral development of men everywhere.

Indeed it was for this purpose that, responding to the request of the bishops of the recent Council, we decreed the establishment of our own Commission for Justice and Peace. To this Commission we have given the task of “bringing to the whole of God’s People the full knowledge of the part expected of them at the present time, so as to further the progress of poorer peoples, to encourage social justice among nations, to offer to less developed nations the means whereby they can further their own progress” (Populorum progressio PP 5).

We have encouraged this Commission to cooperate in every way with such development efforts as you gentlemen represent, and, in particular, to give its most serious attentions to the kind of report your own Commission is preparing. Through the National Justice and Peace Commissions the understanding and support of citizens will be aroused on behalf of world cooperation for development.

So it is, We repeat, with great joy that We welcome and encourage your strenuous efforts, for it is precisely men like yourselves whom We address when We say in Our encyclical, Populorum progressio: “Finally, we turn to all men of good will who believe that the way to peace lies in the area of development. Delegates to international organisations, government officials, gentlemen of the press, educators: all of. you, each in your own way, are the builders of a new world”.

*Insegnamenti di Paolo VI, vol. VII, p.148-149;

OR 16.3. 1969 p.1;

ORa n.13 p.2






TO THE STUDENTS OF THE PONTIFICAL BEDA COLLEGE

Friday, 21 March 1969



We bid a warm welcome to you, Our sons and daughters, who have come here together from many lands to be present at the ordination to the priesthood of ten of the students of the Beda College.

May this occasion bring you joy, and also a deeper sense of your closeness to the sanctifying mission of the Church’s ministers.

You have long known these men as your sons and friends. The very fact of your coming here proves the strength of the links joining you to them. Now, in the words of the Epistle to the Hebrews (5: l), they have been «chosen from among men» and «appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God». You may never know how great a part you have played in God’s plan of choosing them and appointing them for that purpose.

Theirs is a high calling. It came not without the aid of their acquaintances; these acquaintances must not now withdraw their aid. You have been close to them until now. Remain with them; help them with your prayers and your encouragement. You will share in the work they do to build up the Body of Christ, which is the Church. You will share, too, in the reward which the Lord will surely give for their devoted service.

Our prayer goes with the newly ordained priests, that the beauty of perfect justice may shine in them, and that they may lead others to the faithful following of Christ by the example of their holiness. May they and all of you receive strength and encouragement from Our Apostolic Blessing, which We from Our heart bestow on you and on your dear ones.





ADDRESS OF PAUL VI FOR THE CREATION

OF THE «POPULORUM PROGRESSIO FUND»

Wednesday, 26 March 1969



Il y a deux ans aujourd’hui. Nous avons publié Notre Encyclique Populorum progressio, afin d’éveiller plus profondément les consciences au drame de centaines de millions de nos frères qui souffrent de la faim, des maladies, de l’analphabétisme et de la misère. Nous avons demandé avec insistance que des moyens soient fournis pour leur permettre de s’organiser eux-mêmes, afin que chaque personne soit en mesure d’atteindre un développement plénier.

Nous avons fait appel à tous les pays pour qu’ils réalisent une plus juste distribution des abondantes ressources naturelles dont le Seigneur a pourvu la terre, et Nous avons invité toutes les Nations à coopérer, dans un partage des merveilles de la technologie et de la production, à la restructuration de l’ordre économique mondial sur une base plus équitable, de sorte que soit rendu possible le développement solidaire de tous les peuples.

On this second anniversary of the Encyclical Populorum progressio, as a continuation of our visit to Latin America, We have decided to create a special Fund to aid, as far as is in our power, the development of that dear continent. It will be called the “Populorum progressio Fund”.

We are happy to extend Our greeting to Doctor Felipe Herrera, who is present at this morning’s audience in the company of his collaborators. Dr. Herrera will have the responsibility of directing this Fund for the better service of our brothers of Latin America. We thank him for placing the institution of which he is the heat at the service of Our project.

This Fund will be used in the first place to aid the “campesimos” of Colombia in the realization of the agrarian reform of their country which We had the joy of visiting.

May this modest contribution be the concrete symbol of the appeal that Christ makes to us to help those who suffer, and may it be an encouragement to all those who work for the development of the Peoples in the bosom of the great human Family.






TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE SYMPOSIUM

ON «THE CULTURE OF UNBELIEF»

Thursday, 27 March 1969



It is with respectful regard that We great Our visitors, participants in the Symposium on “ The Culture of Unbelief”. We thank them for this visit, which takes on for Us the character of a highly significant encounter. This is not the usual meeting of friendly persons; it is rather the encounter of diverse cultures and differing thoughts. We say this with humility; We know that here before Us are men of high intellect and deep study; but We say this also with joy and with hope: for it is always Our desire to listen to those voices which express the thinking of our times, as it is ever Our desire that Our own voice should be heard – a voice which, only because of the debility and lack of skill of Our lips, may seem to be uncertain and out of tune; yet, We must add, holds within itself the sureness of the truth, and the yearning to communicate its message of hope and of life.

This moment, therefore, seems to Us to be as it were dramatic and symbolic.

The Secretariat which is called that for Non-Believers was instituted, first of all, for the purpose of promoting the study of those attitudes of negation which modern man assumes-whether in cultural expressions, in sociological and political terms, or in practical and unthinking ways-with regard to that religion which believes in a transcendental, personal God, the beginning and end of the entire universe, including man, and with regard to that religion which finds in Christ the solution of the great problem of the true and living God, the loving God of our salvation.

Thus it comes about that we must recognize many aspects and many motives of non-belief; that we must receive the many objections which non-belief proposes to us; that we must respect the scientific contributions which it makes to the study of the religious problem, with arguments drawn from unquestionable sciences such as psychology and sociology; that we must admit the difficulties raised today by the pedagogico-social context, particularly in young minds engaged in scientific studies; and in the employment of sensitive knowledge, in preference to speculative knowledge, when dealing with the traditional religious mentality. We wish also to acknowledge that frequently that a-religious form which defines itself as secularization, and is so widely spread today, is not in itself antireligious; rather, it tends to claim for the autonomous forces of human reason the knowledge and exploitation of the world as proposed to man’s direct experience. In a word, then, we are fair, and in part assenting, in regard to “Non-Believers”.

At a certain time, however, we must say that we, too, are “Non-Believers”. For example, we do not believe that the development of modern thought, provided it is consistent with its intrinsic exigencies, 1ea s o necessity to the denial of God. More- d f over, although we admit that the knowledge of God requires an assistance which only God can give (cf. Ps. XXXV, 10; Denz.-Sch., n. 2732), we do not believe that the certitude of God’s existence is inaccessible to the human mind (cf. Rom Rm 1 Rom Rm 20 Denz.-Sch DS 3004); that is to say, we do not believe that science and belief in God are antithetical terms, mutually exclusive of each other; we do not believe that the theoretical and practical forms of the modern denial of God are beneficial to the progress of culture and of human happiness; we do not believe that the economic, social and civil liberation of man requires the necessity of banishing religion as being a deviation from the struggle to establish truly human dimensions and to build up the earthly city (cf. Gaudium et spes GS 21); and finally we do not believe that the ineffable, mysterious, transcendental and unknown God is inaccessible and distant (cf. Acts Ac 17,22-28 DE LUBAC: Sur les chemins Dieu, p. Ac 112). In this, we too are «protesters»!

We are protesters because we wish to raise up again the idea of God, from the degradation into which it has fallen with many men of our time, and from the fantastic, superstitious or idolatrous counterfeit which we often encounter, even in modern life, as well as from the despair, the anguish, the void, which its absence produces in the heart of man.

Therefore We greet with pleasure the initiative taken by the Secretariat for Non-Believers, and by its Eminent President, Cardinal König, with the valid and disinterested contribution of the “Giovanni Agnelli” Foundation of Turin, and the scientific collaboration of the Department of Sociology of the University of California, by convoking in Rome during these days a group of illustrious scholars from various parts of the world, who have, under the chairmanship of Professor Peter Berger and in the company of several theologians, analyzed the theme: “The Culture of Unbelief”.

Together with Our congratulations for the good work done, We express the hope that these studies will continue, and develop, by means of collaboration with personalities and institutions of the scientific world. The Church will, to the extent of her possibilities, favour this type of undertaking which, besides the contribution which it can offer to her own specific mission, will also, We fervently hope, share in securing peaceful and orderly living together of all peoples.





ADDRESS OF PAUL VI TO THE REPRESENTATIVES

OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES OF CHRIST

IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Friday, 28 March 1969



My dear Brothers in Christ,

It is a pleasure and a joy for Us to welcome you in Our home today. We would like to express our appreciation that such distinguished representatives of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America have desired to discuss with Us and with Our Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity the progress that has been made and the questions that are being raised concerning the development of the movement towards unity among Christians in your great country.

We are also grateful for the delicate gesture by which you have invited to accompany you, as your guests, the Secretary of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in the United States as well as the Director of the Bishops’ Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs. We interpret this not only as a sign of the Christian cooperation which already exists between your Council and the Roman Catholic Church in the United States, but also as a happy omen of your desire to find ways and forms for even closer collaboration with Our brother Bishops of that nation.

In 1964, We stated to the representatives of the various Christian Churches and Communities gathered in Bombay: “It is Our hope that Our efforts can accompany yours, can mingle with yours so that together, in humility and charity and mutual understanding, we can seek out the ways by which Christ’s will ‘that all may be one’ can one day be fully realized” (Cf. Il Viaggio di Paolo VI in India, p. 74). More recently We affirmed that “the ecumenical question has been raised by Rome in all its gravity, its breadth, and its innumerable doctrinal and practical implications. It has not been considered with an occasional and passing glance, but has become the object of permanent interest, of systematic study and of unceasing charity. It remains such, in accordance with a line which has now become part of Our apostolic ministry. The Council makes this an obligation for us and traces the way for us” (cf. L’Oss . Rom Rm 28 April, 1967).

What a consoling source of joy it is for Us to know that the Roman Catholic bishops and faithful of the United States have well understood and warmly accepted this serious engagement, so that already many fruitful accomplishments have been realized in close cooperation with your Council and those who belong to its member churches.

Your distinguished spokesman had mentioned the common initiatives which you are making as Christians to help resolve the pressing problems of war and violence, of conflict between races and between the rich and the poor, of the gap between the generations. Indeed, “not everyone who cries, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but those who do the Father’s will and take a strong grip on the world at hand” (Gaudium et spes GS 93). We are happy to know that while you are endeavoring to carry out these activities, you are together reflecting on the biblical message itself.

For We are convinced that doctrine and practice are inextricably intertwined in the common effort towards that unity through which Christ will truly be a sign to the world. Doctrine animates action; it guides it, gives it deeper inspiration and ensures that action is truly Christian. On the other hand, action gives a new and dynamic dimension to reflection upon the doctrine of Christ and its meaningful application to the concrete problems of today’s world.

This dialectic between truth and love, doctrine and action, experience and reflection, is the fulfilment of those words of St. Paul which form, what could be called, “the great ecumenical commandment : ‘Veritatem facientes in caritate?. Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (Ep 4,15).

Fidelity to that Pauline “commandment” will help us to search out, understand and exploit those many bonds which already unite us as brothers in Christ, so that both in our teaching and in our common activity, the Good News of the Resurrected Lord may become more visible in the living practice of Christians. Such fidelity will indeed more clearly reveal the painful differences which still exist among brothers in Christ, but will help us discern better those ways of activity which can make an authentic contribution towards resolving those differences, and distinguish them from others which, though often inspired by sincere good will and love, in the final analysis impede rather than assist the search for that restoration of christian unity which will make more vivid our common witness to the world.

You no doubt are aware that the witness of your ecumenical spirit, attitudes and activities is not confined to your own country. The relations between Roman Catholics and Protestants in the United States have, in many ways, implications for the general ecumenical and-We would add-missionary movements troughout the world. A difficult task, but should we not be hopeful? Ecumenism is indeed a mission of hope, for its holy objective “transcends human powers and gifts”, and we place our hope “entirely in the prayer of Christ for the Church, in the love of the Father for us, and in the power of the Holy Spirit” (Unitatis redintegratio UR 24). Your visit and the words of your spokesman have also expressed this common confidence. This encourages Us in the exercice of Our own apostolic office; We are deeply grateful.

We wish to assure your that We are deeply sensitive to the seriousness and the loyalty to our common Lord Jesus Christ which marks the work of your Council itself, and the various types of collaboration you have already undertaken and propose to undertake with the Roman Catholic Church.

In a particular way, then, may Christians in the United States, “being rooted and grounded in love” (Ep 3,17) realize in themselves and for the world “the immeasurable greatness of his power, in us who believe, according to the working of his great might which he accomplished in Christ when he raised him from the dead and made him sit at his right hand in the eavenly places” (Ep 2,19-20).






Speeches 1969