Speeches 2005-13 9061

TO H.E. Mr NARCISO NTUGU ABESO OYANA NEW AMBASSADOR OF EQUATORIAL GUINEA TO THE HOLY SEE Clementine Hall Thursday, 9 June 2011

Mr Ambassador,

I am grateful to receive from you, Your Excellency, the Letters that accredit you as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Equatorial Guinea to the Holy See, while at the same time I express to you my most cordial welcome at this solemn ceremony.

I thank you for the kind greeting you have conveyed to me from the President of the Republic. As I reciprocate with pleasure this act of respect, I implore the Almighty to ensure that the diplomatic mission which you, Your Excellency, are beginning today, will further strengthen the healthy independence and mutual respect that has developed between the Church and the State in your beloved Nation. The Holy See maintains close relations with your Nation and follows it with caring attention; a meaningful sign of this is the recent appointment of the new Bishop of Ebebiyin.

Mr Ambassador, your courteous words — which make me feel even closer to your country — clearly show the affection which your citizens cultivate for the Successor of Peter. They are filled with a deep and faithful devotion, fruit of the energy and care with which the seeds of the Gospel were sown in your noble land, taking root and producing a splendid harvest, both spiritual and material.

In the perfecting of society and in the deployment of new structures which can give it a more flexible fabric, the sons and daughters of Equatorial Guinea will not lack the encouraging presence of the Church which instils the light of faith in Christ, shows human beings their authentic vocation and helps them work so they do not lack all that dignifies and ennobles them. This nourishes the well-founded hope that your citizens, strengthened by this same faith, will not falter in their resolution to take an active and sensible part in building a serene and harmonious coexistence.

In this atmosphere, human beings will be able to fulfil themselves in conformity with their great dignity and their fundamental rights and will proliferate essential values such as the preservation of life, health care, the development of education and solidarity, as well as safeguarding the environment and the fair distribution of riches. All this is an indispensable condition for reviving true social progress that will reach everyone, especially the poorest and neediest. It is also a condition to which everyone can make their own adequate, free and responsible contribution.

In this regard I have no doubt that the authorities of your beloved country, whom you represent, Your Excellency, will be able to channel and interpret the genuine aspirations of your fellow citizens which mirror their historical, moral and cultural patrimony. With her constant and disinterested hard work, the Church has played an extremely important role in its successive consolidation in people’s consciences.

In this regard one cannot fail to note with deep pleasure the efforts made to recover and rebuild many places of worship and the projects embarked on to improve the living conditions of the citizens, especially those who have great difficulty in living a dignified life. I therefore encourage everyone to continue on this path with enthusiasm, compensating for the existing social, economic and cultural shortcomings. For its part, the Christian community will persist in the context of its mission with a fresh and generous commitment, making available to the people its long and fruitful experience in the promotion of marriage and family, of health care, of the formation of the new generations and of the exercise of charity and beneficence. It could not be otherwise, since the Church is well aware that everything which favours concord and brotherhood — the eradication of poverty, the increase of justice and dialogue, as well as the reinforcement of mutual understanding — unfolds bright horizons for the future and ennobles the human being who, it should never be forgotten, is in the image of God.

Mr Ambassador, as I ask the Almighty that the lofty mission entrusted to you be one of success. I assure you that the Roman Curia and its various offices will always be ready to help you in carrying out this mission. Upon you, Your Excellency, upon your relatives and upon your collaborators, as well as upon every inhabitant of Equatorial Guinea, I fervently invoke bountiful blessings from Heaven.



TO H.E. Mr HENRY LLEWELLYN LAWRENCE AMBASSADOR OF BELIZE TO THE HOLY SEE Clementine Hall Thursday, 9 June 2011



Mr Ambassador,

I am pleased to welcome you to the Vatican and to receive the Letters of Credence by which you have been appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belize to the Holy See. I am grateful to you for transmitting the courteous greetings from the Governor-General, Sir Colville Young, and in return I would ask you kindly to convey my own good wishes to him and to all the people of your nation.

The Holy See values its diplomatic relations with Belize as an important means for achieving mutual cooperation for the moral and material well-being of all its citizens. With the cooperation of men and women of good will throughout Central America, the Church works to promote peace and prosperity among all the peoples of the region, even amid challenging circumstances, based upon unchanging Gospel values which have always served the people of the region well. With a special care for the poor and the weak, the Church draws attention to the dignity of man and works to foster and promote that dignity through her many social, charitable and developmental initiatives. The commitment to this activity draws strength not only from a love for the human person, but first and foremost from a profound love for God, “in whose light the identity, meaning and purpose of the person are fully understood” (World Day of Peace Message 2011, 1).

Historically, the Catholic Church in Belize has enjoyed cordial relations with the civil authorities, in an atmosphere conducive to the fulfilment of the mission entrusted to her by the Lord. Such an atmosphere is due in large part to the foundations upon which Belize was established, a basis which supports traditional Christian values and acknowledges the perennial value of authentic human rights and fundamental civil and political freedoms that promote respect for the human person, social harmony and the progress of society as a whole. Among the laws established in your country are the rights to religious freedom and freedom of worship. As I had occasion to note recently, “the right to religious freedom is rooted in the very dignity of the human person, whose transcendent nature must not be ignored or overlooked” (ibid., 2). Freedom of religion and freedom of worship allow believers to flourish as individuals and to contribute positively and fully to the life of the country in every sphere of human activity. May your country, Mr Ambassador, be an example in this regard to its neighbours and to those who would seek to diminish the consequences of such rights and their corresponding values.

The Catholic Church in Belize involves herself in society in a variety of ways, including the education of the young in cooperation with the state. In principle, education prepares individuals and draws the best from them so that they in turn may willingly contribute socially, culturally and economically to society as a whole. Religious education, and Catholic education in particular, makes its own contribution to your people’s welfare, since it “leads new generations to see others as their brothers and sisters, with whom they are called to journey and work together so that all will feel that they are living members of the one human family” (ibid., 4). Education bears fruit when based on virtue already grounded in the family, “the first cell of human society,” and “the primary training ground for harmonious relations at every level of coexistence, human, national and international” (ibid.). Possessing a solid grounding in faith and virtue, intelligence and good will, the young people of Belize will be better prepared to assume the mantle of civic and social leadership, and provide for a stable, just and peaceful future for the nation.

With these sentiments, Mr Ambassador, I offer you every good wish for your new mission and assure you of the readiness of the Roman Curia to assist you in your high office. Upon you and upon all the people of Belize, I invoke Almighty God’s abundant blessings.




TO H.E. Mr HUSSAN EDIN AALA NEW AMBASSADOR OF THE SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC TO THE HOLY SEE Clementine Hall Thursday, 9 June 2011

Mr Ambassador,

I receive you with pleasure this morning as you present the Letters accrediting you as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Syrian Arab Republic to the Holy See. You have kindly wished to convey to me the greetings of His Excellency, the President of the Republic, and I would be grateful if you would thank him on my behalf. Through you I likewise wish to greet all the Syrian people, expressing the desire that it may live in peace and brotherhood.

As you emphasized, Mr Ambassador, Syria has been an important and beloved place for Christians from the time of the Church’s origin. Since Paul, who was to become the Apostle to the Gentiles, encountered the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus, a wealth of great saints has spangled the religious history of your country. Equally abundant is the archaeological evidence of churches, monasteries and mosaics, dating back to the early centuries of the Christian era, which binds us to the Church’s origins. Syria has traditionally been an example of tolerance, conviviality and harmonious relations between Christians and Muslims and today their ecumenical and interreligious relations are good. I warmly hope that this friendly coexistence of all cultural and religious members of the nation will continue to develop for the greatest good of all, thereby reinforcing a unity founded on justice and solidarity.

However, the construction of this unity can only be permanent if the centrality and dignity of the human person is recognized. Indeed, “As one created in the image of God, each individual human being has the dignity of a person; he or she is not just something, but someone capable of self-knowledge, self-possession, free self-giving and entering into communion with others” (Message for the World Day of Peace 2007, n. 2). The path of unity and stability for each nation therefore moves through the recognition of the inalienable dignity of every human person. The person must therefore be at the centre of the institutions, laws and actions of societies. Consequently, it is also essential to give priority to the common good, setting aside personal or partisan interests. Moreover, the process of listening, dialogue and collaboration must be recognized as the means through which the various members of society may compare their points of view and thus achieve a consensus on the truth of particular values or aims. Great advantages will result from this for individuals and for communities (cf. Discourse to the United Nations, 18 April 2008).

In this perspective, the events that have occurred in recent months in which some countries surrounding the Mediterranean — including Syria — demonstrated the desire for a better future in the areas of economy, justice, freedom and participation in public life. These events also show the urgent need for real reforms in the country’s political, economic and social life. It is nevertheless highly desirable that these developments do not take place through intolerance, discrimination or conflict, and even less through violence, but rather through absolute respect for truth, for coexistence, for the legitimate rights of individuals and groups, as well as for reconciliation. Such principles must guide leaders while taking account the aspirations of civil society as well as of the international authorities.

Mr Ambassador, I would like to emphasize here the positive role Christians have in your country; as citizens, they are engaged in the building of a society where all may find their place. I cannot fail to mention the Catholic Church’s service in the social and educational sectors, which is appreciated by everyone. May I be permitted to to offer a very special greeting to the faithful of the Catholic communities, with their bishops, and to encourage them to nourish the bonds of brotherhood with everyone. Daily relations with their Muslim compatriots shed light on the importance of interreligious dialogue and on the possibility of working together — in many ways — for the common good. May the impetus given by the recent Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops yield abundant fruit in your country, for the benefit of the entire population, and an authentic reconciliation among peoples!

A global solution must be found, if peace is to make headway in the region. It must not be harmful to the interests of any of the parties involved and must be the result of a compromise and not of unilateral decisions imposed by force. Force resolves nothing, it merely provides partial or unilateral solutions which are inadequate. Aware of the suffering of all the populations, it is necessary to proceed with a deliberately global approach that excludes no one from the quest for a negotiated solution which takes into account the aspiration and legitimate interests of the various people involved. In this manner the situation that the Middle East has been experiencing for years has led you to welcome a large number of refugees, mainly from Iraq, and among them many Christians. I warmly thank the Syrian people for their generosity.

As you embark on your noble mission as representative to the Holy See, I address to you, Mr Ambassador, my best wishes for the success of your mission. You may be sure that you will always find with my co-workers the welcome and understanding you may need. I wholeheartedly invoke upon you, Your Excellency, upon your family and upon all the inhabitants of Syria an abundance of divine blessings.



TO H.E. Mrs GENEVIÈVE D. TSEGAH AMBASSADOR OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA TO THE HOLY SEE Clementine Hall Thursday, 9 June 2011

Your Excellency,

In welcoming you to the Vatican and accepting the Letters of Credence by which you are appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Ghana to the Holy See, I wish first of all to express my gratitude to you for transmitting the courteous greeting of your President, His Excellency John Evans Atta Mills, and I would ask you kindly to reciprocate and to convey, in turn, my good wishes to him, as well as my appreciation of the cordial relations existing between the Holy See and your country.

It is widely acknowledged that Ghana has been able to overcome certain obstacles in order to make steady economic, social and political progress in recent times. Certainly, the conduct of regular and peaceful democratic elections does credit to both the people and the political leaders of your country. The establishment of ethnic harmony, too, not without the contribution of the local Christian communities including the Catholic Church, has been an important factor in creating conditions of peace, stability and greater social progress for all your citizens. I hope that this process will be crowned by the positive outcome of the ongoing constitutional consultation, in such a way that the nation’s legislative and administrative framework will consolidate a culture of responsible and active participation in the development of the country in freedom, justice and solidarity.

I have also noted the climate of religious freedom enjoyed in Ghana. A democratic society that fosters freedom of religion and freedom of worship, and that appreciates the presence of religious institutions that strive to rise above political interests and are instead motivated by faith and moral values, understands that there is much to gain through these freedoms for the positive growth of all the country’s institutions. Indeed, countries that do so may derive many benefits from those institutions, by drawing on the wisdom found in religious traditions, especially when citizens are confronted by questions for which science and technology provide little or no answer. Indeed, here secular and religious interests find common ground and are able to grow together by combining the demands of macroeconomic progress and scientific knowledge with religion’s perennial wisdom and understanding of man and society. All stand to benefit from such cooperation in a world that has grown uncertain about moral choices and is often drawn towards narrow interests and selfishness.

Your Excellency, your land has been blessed with natural resources which are now bringing prosperity to your people. It is much to be hoped that, through social solidarity, the proceeds from the correct exploitation of these resources will contribute to the sustainable economic development of your people. Let this be achieved, however, while giving due attention to those who are much poorer, or unable to provide for their families through no fault of their own. In this sense, may your country give an example in establishing effective instruments of solidarity (cf. Centesimus Annus CA 16), to the true enrichment of all members of society.

You also mention the work of the Catholic Church in Ghana in the fields of education, health care and other social services. Motivated by the love of Christ, and acting on the basis on the human dignity shared by all members of the human family, the Church wishes to contribute in many ways to the good of society, especially in the areas you have mentioned. She is a willing partner with civil authorities wherever she is able to fulfil her mission untrammelled, in the light of Gospel values.

Finally, Your Excellency, I wish you every success in your mission as Ambassador of the Republic of Ghana to the Holy See and I assure you of the willing cooperation of the departments of the Roman Curia. May Almighty God bestow upon the people of Ghana abundant and lasting blessings of harmony, prosperity and peace!



TO H.E. Mr GEORGE ROBERT FURNESS TROUP AMBASSADOR OF NEW ZEALAND TO THE HOLY SEE Clementine Hall Thursday, 9 June 2011

Your Excellency,

I am pleased to welcome you to the Vatican today and to accept the letters accrediting you as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of New Zealand to the Holy See. I thank you for the kind greeting which you conveyed from Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand, and I would ask you kindly to assure him of my good wishes and prayers for the well-being of the nation.

I take this opportunity to express once more my solidarity with all those still suffering from the devastating earthquake which struck Christchurch on 22 February last. Conscious of the considerable work of reconstruction on which you and your fellow citizens have embarked, I am confident that the impressive outpouring of generosity and the countless acts of charity and goodness which were seen in the wake of the disaster will contribute in no small part to meeting the material and moral challenges of the immense task now before you.

In your address you kindly made reference to the cordial relations existing between the Holy See and New Zealand. By its presence in the international community, the Holy See seeks to promote universal values which are rooted in the Gospel message of the God-given dignity of each man and woman, the unity of the human family and the need for justice and solidarity to govern relations between individuals, communities and nations. These values are deeply inscribed in the culture which gave birth to New Zealand’s political and legal institutions. A cornerstone of that heritage remains respect for the rights of freedom of religion and freedom of worship, to the benefit of all. These rights, enshrined in the legal traditions to which you are heirs, are proper to each person because they are inherent in the humanity which is common to us all. Through the promotion of these freedoms, society is better equipped to respond to profound political and social challenges in a way consonant with humanity’s deepest aspirations.

Due to its geographical position, your country is able to assist in the development of smaller, more distant countries with fewer resources. Some neighbouring countries, including the Small Island Developing States, look to New Zealand as an example of political stability, rule of law and high economic and social standards. They also look to you as a source of assistance, encouragement and support as they develop their own institutions. This gives your country a particular moral responsibility. Faithful to the best of its traditions, New Zealand is called to use its position of influence for the peace and stability of the region, the encouragement of mature and stable democratic institutions, and the fostering of authentic human rights and sustainable economic development. The desire for development poses a number of important challenges concerning the environment, some of them with serious consequences for people’s well-being and livelihoods, and especially for the poor. I would like to encourage the work being done to promote models of development at home and abroad that reflect a truly human ecology, are economically sustainable and fulfil our duty as stewards of creation (cf. Caritas in Veritate Caritas in Veritate, 48; 51).

The Catholic Church in your country, drawn from the populations both ancient and new of your islands, strives to play her part in knitting together a truly multicultural society with a sense of mutual respect, shared purpose and solidarity, for the peace and prosperity of all. She wishes to serve the common good by bringing the spiritual and moral wisdom of the faith to bear upon the important ethical questions of the day. In a particular way, the Church wishes always to nurture the greatest respect for the whole human person, defending the inalienable right to life from conception until natural death, promoting a stable family environment and providing education.

Regarding this last point, the Church has always placed great emphasis on the education of young people, recognizing it as an essential component in the preparation and development of individuals for the good, so that they might take their proper place in society. In addition to the pursuit of excellence in academic studies, athletics and the arts, Catholic schools are concerned above all with the moral and spiritual formation of their pupils. The enduring attraction of educational institutions steeped in authentic Christian values demonstrates the perennial desire of parents to have their children prepared for life in the best possible way in a healthy environment that will bring out the best in young people as they prepare for life’s challenges. I am confident that your Government will continue to support parents in their role as the primary educators of their children, by ensuring that the faith-based education system remains accessible to those who wish to avail themselves of it for the good of their children and of society at large.

Finally, Mr Ambassador, let me take this opportunity to reiterate my good wishes as you begin your mission and to assure you that the Roman Curia stands ready to assist you. Upon you and your family and upon all the people of New Zealand, I cordially invoke God’s abundant blessings.



TO SIX NEW AMBASSADORS ACCREDITED TO THE HOLY SEE Clementine Hall Thursday, 9 June 2011

Your Excellencies,

I receive you with joy at the Apostolic Palace this morning for the presentation of the Letters accrediting you as Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of your respective countries to the Holy See: Moldova, Equatorial Guinea, Belize, the Syrian Arab Republic, Ghana and New Zealand. I thank you for the courteous words you have just addressed to me on behalf of your respective Heads of State. I ask you kindly to reciprocate and to convey, in turn, my respectful greetings to them and my good wishes both for themselves and for the lofty mission they are carrying out at the service of their country and their people. I would also like to greet through you all the civil and religious authorities of your nations, as well as all of your compatriots. My prayers and thoughts of course also go to the Catholic communities in your countries.

Since I have the opportunity for a special meeting with each one of you, I would now like to speak more broadly. The first six months of this year have been marked by innumerable tragedies which have concerned nature, technology and peoples. The magnitude of these catastrophes calls us to wonder. Man comes first, as it is right to remember. Man, to whom God entrusted the good stewardship of nature, cannot be dominated by technology or subjected to it. An awareness of this must bring States to reflect together on the future of the planet in the short term, facing their responsibility for our life and for technology. A human ecology is an imperative need. One of our political and economic priorities must be to adopt in every way a manner of life that respects the environment and supports the research in and use of forms of energy that preserve the patrimony of creation and are that safe for human beings. In this regard, it is necessary to review our entire approach to nature. It is not a place solely for exploitation or for play. It is man’s native land, in a certain sense his “home”. This is fundamental for us. The shift of mentality in this domain, that is, the constraints it brings, allows us rapidly to become more proficient in the art of living together that respects the alliance between man and nature, without which the human family risks disappearing.

Serious reflection must therefore be undertaken and precise and viable solutions proposed. Every Government must be committed to protecting nature and to helping it carry out its essential role in humanity’s survival. The United Nations seem to me the natural setting for such reflection which, if it is to give priority to solidarity rather than to personal interest, must not be clouded by political and economic interests that are blind and partisan.

It is also right to question oneself about the proper place for technology. Its marvellous potential goes hand in hand with social and ecological disasters. By extending the relational aspect of work to the planet, technology impresses on globalization a particularly accelerated rhythm. Now, it is the human worker who is responsible for this dynamic of progress and not technology which is only a human creation. To stake everything on technology or to believe that it is the exclusive agent for happiness brings a reification of the human being which results in blindness and unhappiness when powers it does not possess are attributed and delegated to it.

It suffices to note the “damage” of progress and the risks to humanity of an all powerful technology which, ultimately, has not been mastered. Technology that dominates human beings deprives them of their humanity. The pride it engenders has brought an inflexible economic focus into our societies and a certain hedonism that determines behaviour subjectively and egotistically.

The weakening of the primacy of the human being brings existential bewilderment and a loss of the meaning of life. For a vision of the human person and of things without a reference to transcendence uproots man from the earth and fundamentally impoverishes his very identity. Hence it is urgently necessary to succeed in combining technology with a strong ethical dimension, for the human capacity to transform and, in a sense, to create the world through his own work is always based on the first and original gift of things that are made by God (cf. John Paul ii , Centesimus Annus, CA 37). Technology must help nature blossom according to the will of the Creator. Working in this way the researcher and the scientist adhere to design of God, who willed that man be the summit and steward of creation. Solutions with this as its foundation will protect human life and human vulnerability, as well as the rights of present generations and those to come. And humanity will be able to continue to benefit from the progress that man, with his intelligence, succeeds in achieving.

Aware of the risk humanity runs in the face of a technology seen as a more efficient “response” than political voluntarism or the patient effort of education in cultivating morals, government leaders must promote a humanism respectful of the human being’s spiritual and religious dimension — because the dignity of the human person does not vary with the fluctuation of opinions. Respecting the human aspiration to justice and peace makes it possible to build a society that promotes itself, when, for example, it supports families or rejects the exclusive primacy of money. A country thrives on the fullness of the life of its citizens, each aware of his or her own responsibilities and each able to bring to bear his or her own convictions.

Furthermore, the natural tendency towards the true and and the good is a source of dynamism which generates the desire to collaborate in order to realize the common good. Therefore social life can be constantly enriched by integrating cultural and religious diversity through the sharing of values, a source of brotherhood and communion. Life in society must be considered first and foremost as a spiritual reality. It is the role of political leaders to guide people towards human harmony and towards the wisdom so longed for which must culminate in religious freedom, the authentic face of peace.

At the time when you are beginning your mission to the Holy See, I would like to assure you, Your Excellencies, that you will always find with my collaborators the attention and help you may need. Upon you, upon your families, upon the members of your diplomatic missions and upon all the nations which your represent, I invoke an abundance of divine blessings.





TO THE COMMUNITY OF THE STUDENTS OF THE PONTIFICAL ECCLESIASTICAL ACADEMY Consistory Hall Friday, 10 June 2011

Venerable Brother in the Episcopate,
Dear Priests,

I am glad to meet the community of the students of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy once again this year. I greet Archbishop Beniamino Stella, the President, and I thank him for his kind words expressing your sentiments too. I greet with affection all of you who are preparing yourselves to carry out a special ministry in the Church.

Papal diplomacy, as it is commonly called, has a very longstanding tradition and its activity has made a considerable contribution to shaping the actual features of diplomatic relations between States in the modern day. In the traditional conception of diplomacy, even in the ancient world, the envoy, the ambassador, was essentially a person invested with the office of conveying the sovereign’s words authoritatively and, for this reason, could represent him and negotiate on his behalf. The solemnity of the ceremonial and the honours traditionally paid to the envoy himself, which also acquired religious features, are in fact a tribute to the person he represents, as well as to the message he conveys.

Respect for the envoy constitutes one of the loftiest forms of recognition, by a sovereign authority, of the right to exist on an equally dignified footing with people other than himself. Therefore, welcoming an envoy as a partner in dialogue, listening to his words, means laying the foundations of a possible peaceful coexistence. It is a delicate role that demands on the envoy’s part an ability to offer these words in a manner that is both faithful — respecting as far as possible the sensibility and opinion of others — and effective. The real skill of the diplomat lies in doing this and not, as is sometimes mistakenly thought, in astuteness or in those approaches that represent rather the degeneration of diplomatic practice. Loyalty, consistence and profound humanity are the fundamental virtues of any envoy, who is called not only to place his work and his talents, but indeed, his whole self, at the service of a word that is not his own.

The rapid transformations of our time have profoundly reshaped the figure and role of diplomatic representatives; their mission however, remains essentially the same: that of being the intermediary of a correct communication between those who exercise the function of government and, consequently, of being an instrument for building possible communion between peoples and consolidating peaceful relations and solidarity among them.

How does the Holy See diplomat and his activity — which obviously has quite particular aspects — fit into all this? In the first place, as has been stressed several times – the diplomat is a priest, a bishop, a man who has chosen to live at the service of a word that is not his own. In fact, he is a servant of the Word of God and, like every priest, is invested with a mission that cannot be carried out part time but requires him, with his whole life, to make the message entrusted to him, the Gospel message, resonate. And it is on the very basis of this priestly identity, very clear and lived deeply, that he succeeds with a certain naturalness in fulfilling the specific task, in the context of the state or of international organizations, of conveying the Pope’s word in the perspective of his universal ministry and of his pastoral charity — to particular Churches and to institutions in which sovereignty is legitimately exercised.

In carrying out this mission the Holy See diplomat is called to exercise his human and supernatural gifts. It is easy to understand that in the exercise of such a delicate ministry care for his own spiritual life, the practice of human virtues and his education in a solid culture go hand in hand and support one another. They are dimensions that enable him to maintain a profound inner equilibrium in a job which, among other things, demands the capacity for openness to others, fair judgement, a critical distance from personal opinions, sacrifice, patience, constancy and at times also firmness in dialogue with all. Besides, service to the Successor of Peter, whom Christ has constituted as the principle and perpetual and visible foundation of the unity of faith and of communion (cf. First Vatican Council, Pastor Aeternus, DS 1821 [3051]; Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium LG 18), permits him to live with a constant and profound reference to the Church’s catholicity. And wherever there is openness to the objectivity of catholicity, there is also the principle of authentic personalization: life spent at the service of the Pope and of ecclesial communion is, from this point of view, extremely enriching.

Dear students of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, in sharing these thoughts with you I urge you to commit yourselves to your training process without reserve and, at this moment, I am thinking with special gratitude of the Nuncios, Apostolic Delegates, Permanent Observers and all those who serve in the Papal Representations scattered across the world. I willingly impart the Apostolic Blessing to you, to the President, to his co-workers and to the community of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Child Jesus.

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Speeches 2005-13 9061