Speeches 1986 - Canberra (Australia), 24 November 1986
As pastor of all Catholic Australians I urge them – and indeed I appeal to all people of good will – to cooperate with their Governments, individually and in appropriate organizations, in seeking these goals.
4. I have been informed that Australia has committed herself through successive Governments to a dual system of education that ideally allows parents freedom of choice as to the type of schooling their children will receive. The Government and non-Government schools of this country endeavour to help each individual child to grow and develop physically, socially and intellectually. This is indeed a great mission.
In the field of health care, your tradition again provides for a dual system of Government and non-Government institutions working side by side for the well-being of the total community. In this area too, great service has been rendered to society and much care shown for the people and their needs. For the honour of Australia and the good of humanity, I hope that this service and solicitude will continue and increase, and always respect the inviolable nature of human life.
In social welfare your country has consistently striven to help the less fortunate among you: widows, the aged, the unemployed, the infirm. Australia looks after her own people. That is your first obligation and I praise you for the way in which successive Federal and State Governments have fulfilled it.
5. As a nation you have been generous to the less fortunate ones of this world. The great influx of, immigrants after the Second World War met Australia’s needs, but it also offered to many who were desperate the chance of a peaceful and prosperous life. Over the years humanitarian motives have prompted you to accept refugees from many countries. This openness to the needs of others has been, is, and always will be worthy of high commendation. I also wish to encourage you in your instinctive readiness to give a "fair go" to whoever is suffering oppression or misfortune. In today’s world no country can isolate itself or remain indifferent to the need of others.
And so I take the liberty of asking from you, who have received so much from God, something more than a generous response to the crises that afflict other people. Seize the initiative to go out to other people everywhere. You are a very important part of a world that needs to experience reconciliation and solidarity. It needs men and women who are prepared to sacrifice themselves for others rather than sacrifice others for a cause. If my presence among you and my words can help to promote a society in which people always treat each other with genuine respect and love, then I will feel my journey has been of real service.
6. In accordance with the principles laid down by the framers of your Constitution, the Church claims no special institutional treatment. Nevertheless, she does not cease to insist that justified pluralism is not to be confused with neutrality on human values. Thus it is that the Church’s members wish to make use of the opportunity given by the democratic pluralism which so characterizes Australian society to proclaim insistently those values which are bound up with the dignity and rights of every human being without exception. I hope that all Catholics, and all your fellow citizens, will invite you by their voice and by their votes to ensure that nothing is done by the legislature to undermine these values. On the contrary) may these values become ever more tightly woven into the fabric of the law that shapes Australian society.
My hope is that all your political activity will help promote a civilization characterized by sharing, solidarity and fraternal love – the only civilization worthy of man. The only strong bases for this civilization are reverence for human life from the moment of conception and throughout every stage of its earthly pilgrimage, respect for all fundamental rights of the human person, and true justice and equity in concern for the common good.
7. In view of the world situation, and knowing your own political and diplomatic efforts, I would like to add some words on a subject of vital concern to all the peoples of the world: the urgent need for appropriate disarmament and world peace. I know that Australia has shown special interest in this regard, naming an ad hoc Ambassador for this purpose.
At the beginning of this year, the International Year of Peace proclaimed by the United Nations Organization, I renewed my commitment and that of the whole Catholic Church to the cause of peace expressed in this way:
"Peace as a value with no frontiers;
North-South, East-West,
everywhere one people united in only one Peace".
Permit me to emphasize two areas of action that are particularly effective in contributing to peace: the defence of human rights and efforts for the development of peoples. These areas touch the very foundation of peace. As long as these elements are missing at any level, peace is imperfect and world peace is imperilled. Everything that protects human rights, everything that promotes human dignity through integral development, leads to peace. Ladies and gentlemen: as servants and leaders of democracy, you are in a splendid position to contribute to the lofty cause of world peace.
Yes, dear friends, you are indeed able to exert great influence for the good of humanity. The well-being of this nation, and, to some extent, of all nations, depends on the conscious effort of each person here. Go forward together. With God’s help you can fulfil his will for you and make – each of you – your own special contribution to the peace of world.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Your Excellency the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia,
Mr Prime Minister,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
1. It is with great gratitude and joy that I set foot on Australian soil: gratitude to God who has enabled me to make this visit, and joy at the thought that I am among friends. I thank you, Your Excellency, for your kind words of welcome on behalf of the people of Australia, and I thank you and the Prime Minister, as well as many other distinguished Australian citizens, for inviting me to come. I also wish to express my gratitude to the Australian bishops for their invitation, and to the Catholic community for its generous endorsement of the official invitations. My gratitude extends, in fact, to all the citizens of this country.
I come to Australia in the footsteps of my predecessor Paul VI, who was the first Pope in history to visit Australia. For me personally it is the second time. My first visit to your beautiful country took place in 1973 on the occasion of the International Eucharistic Congress in Melbourne. At that time I was able to come here to Canberra, where I met the Prime Minister and other leading members of Parliament. I also visited the War Memorial and the Australian National University. I still have warm memories of that visit, which was followed by brief visits to the State capitals as well as to Geelong and Queanbeyan.
2. On this occasion, however, I come as a pilgrim, as one who journeys as an act of religious devotion. I come here as Pastor of the Catholic people, to celebrate the Eucharist with them, to strengthen them in their faith, to confirm their hope and to invite them to an ever more generous love of God our Father and of men and women everywhere. I come as a fellow Christian to all who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord, and confess that he is the Son of God and the "one Mediator between God and mankind". I look forward to praying with my fellow Christians, listening with them to the word of God in the Scriptures, and encouraging them in fidelity to the faith we share.
To all Australians, people of undoubted good will, I come as a friend: to urge you to pursue in your lives all those values worthy of the human person; to encourage you to be open-hearted, generous to the unfortunate and caring towards those who are pushed to the margins of life. In the words of Saint Paul, may "the Lord be generous in increasing your love and make you love one another and the whole human race".
3. All the invitations and the letters I have received from Australians tell me that you look to the Pope to remind you of things that your hearts may be saying to you, but which are often drowned out by the hurly-burly of everyday life. I shall try to respond to your hopes and expectations, so that together during these days we can direct our hearts to God and in him find the full explanation of our human dignity.
The message that I bring and offer to all those who would freely listen to my voice is not mine. It is the message of Jesus Christ. Many of you follow him in discipleship and still others of you revere his teachings. But whether or not you profess faith in Jesus Christ, or talk about this faith with the language that I use, I ask you to consider the profound truths of the Fatherhood of God and be unity of all men and women as children of God. I ask you to reflect on what the world could be if people everywhere acknowledged these truths and lived their lives in accordance with them.
We were made – all of us – for life and for love. We need mutual encouragement and support. In the loving providence of God our Father, the world is meant to provide a home for the whole human family; there is room for everyone to live and there can be sustenance for all. And everyone has the right to pursue his or her destiny with dignity, and to share in the good things that God has made available to his children.
If these thoughts strike a chord within you, then lift up your hearts and ponder the mystery of God and the mystery of humanity. From quiet meditation and the peaceful exchange of reflections, you will discover or rediscover your personal relationship to God and to each other, and find out just how effective you can be in building a society worthy of your children and your children’s children.
4. Dear friends: I greet you all. with respect, esteem and love. I wish it were possible to speak to each of you, to shake everyone’s hand, to bless every child, to embrace each person who is ill or infirm. I do, however, offer personally to every one of you the tender wishes of my heart, and I pray that we may be held gently together in the strong arms of the God and Father of us all.
Everywhere you turn, there is a challenge for you to show your faith in God, a challenge to show your love and concern for all who share with you the gift of human life and bear its burdens. From this land of yours, so blessed by God, you must lift up your eyes and see again and again the needs of people everywhere. As Australians you have a very special calling to be mindful of all the dimensions of world justice and all the requirements of universal human solidarity.
Dear people of Australia: I have come here to your land to bear witness also to the greatness of your mission and to your immense capacity for good. In this sense too, with generous and uplifted hearts: Advance Australia Fair!
Dear Friends,
1. It is with great pleasure that I have looked forward to this meeting with representatives of the communications media. I welcome you, and I offer you a warm fraternal greeting not only on my own behalf, but also on behalf of those who have made the long journey with me from Rome to these distant but very hospitable southern lands.
Some of you are old friends whom I see frequently in Rome and who have accompanied me on my Pastoral Visits throughout the world. Others are new friends from communications organizations in Australasia.
Your presence here is much appreciated. So too is the attention which your organizations have given to this visit, which has as its first aim to proclaim Jesus Christ’s perennial message of reconciliation, peace and unity among all God’s children.
2. As you know, the Catholic Church realizes very clearly the importance of the communications media. This has been demonstrated in one of the Decrees of the Second Vatican Council and by many practical measures taken by the Church in Rome and throughout the world.
Not only must the Church use the communications media to proclaim the Gospel, but the Church also has the responsibility to join with others in affirming certain principles to be observed by communications proprietors and professionals for the moral and even physical well-being of society.
The Second Vatican Council’s Decree affirms the existence within human society of "a right to information about affairs which affect people individually or collectively". Thus, you have a central role in ensuring, on the one hand, that the community is not denied this right to information and, on the other, that the communication of information conforms fully with moral principles, especially those of truth, charity and justice.
3. Technical advances within the last quarter century have further increased the capacity of the communications media to influence events through the opinions and actions of vast numbers of people. Therefore, great power rests in the hands of those who own, control or work within the mass media. If they have a profound understanding of and respect for the dignity and rights of every individual human being as a child of God, then their use of that power can help bring peace to a world which greatly needs it. If they lack this concern for the rights and dignity of every individual, then this power can be used to deceive, to oppress and to divide.
4. My message to you today is a paraphrase of Pope Saint Leo the Great’s challenge to Christians. I say to you: "Communications specialists: realize your dignity".
Realize the opportunity you have not only to report on evil but to help eliminate it. Realize the responsibility you have not only to report on suffering, but to help alleviate it. Realize the challenge you have not only to report good deeds but to encourage them. Realize your dignity: to be the world’s witnesses at events which can influence its destiny; to be the lens through which others focus on reality; to be the lamp which casts light not only into the dark corners of human life but also on to the pathway of the human pilgrimage, to give guidance, direction and reassurance to those who seek to walk securely in the company of their brothers and sisters towards union with God.
5. Many of you - perhaps most of you - have already done these things, and I commend you on behalf of a grateful world. All of us, however, can become discouraged; all of us can lose perspective as we focus on a deadline near at hand and forget the significance, the importance, the lasting impact of every word we write or speak and of every image we transmit.
How precious each one of you is to God! How important is your work as you share with him the task of communicating truth and love to the world! You have my admiration; you have my gratitude; you have my prayers. And I sincerely ask not only that you report about my visit but also that you pray for me in what is really our mutual work of communicating truth.
In just a few days I shall be returning to Rome, but the happy memories of this Pastoral Visit, like those of my first visit nearly fourteen years ago, will remain with me. The beautiful lands and the wonderful people of the South Pacific will also remain in my prayers, as will all of you and your loved ones, on whom I now gratefully invoke the blessings of the Lord.
Your Excellencies, dear Friends,
I am grateful to Archbishop Brambilla for his words of warm welcome to this Apostolic Nunciature. I am indeed pleased to have this opportunity to greet all of you and to express my esteem for your important role as Heads of the Diplomatic Missions here in Canberra.
1. In 1970, during his visit to Australia, my predecessor Paul VI also met the members of the Diplomatic Corps. At that time he spoke of a number of similarities between the mission of the Diplomatic Corps and his own mission. As he said: "You are working for the cause of the international order and the peaceful progress of peoples, committing yourselves to that general effort of collaboration which is so necessary for the world of today – collaboration in establishing the conditions of a just peace, and in laying the foundations of an interdependent society where the rich help the poor and the powerful sustain the weak".
These memorable words summarize so much of what is important and essential in your activity, so much of what is noble in your calling as diplomats.
2. You have the good fortune of being accredited to a country that highly esteems values on which the International order is based, and that has done much for the peaceful progress of peoples. In an effort to bear witness to human dignity and to recognize the interdependent character of society, Australia has generously opened its door to millions of immigrants and refugees, proclaiming freedom, equality and respect for human rights among its highest priorities. It is in this context that you are called to offer collaboration and make your contribution to the cause of the international order and the peaceful progress of peoples.
3. Earlier this year I stated my conviction that the "establishment of an order based on justice and peace is vitally needed today... The need to consider the common good of the entire family of nations is quite clearly an ethical and juridical duty". As diplomats you have assumed as your own this ethical and juridical duty. You are called to be servants of humanity, specialists in working for the common good of the entire family of nations. You are of course concerned for your own countries and their interests. And yet you know that excessive self-interest can never be truly advantageous, because in the long run it will harm itself. At the same time the real interests of the International common good are truly beneficial to each nation of the world.
4. As a united Diplomatic Corps you must exemplify in your dealings with each other the reality that you are called to promote in the world: solidarity, dialogue and brotherhood. These aims must also be your method, and they invite you to share and collaborate in a spirit of mutual trust. This means that you must be people in the vanguard of change where change is necessary. And in fact the greatest changes needed are a continuous newness of heart and openness to others.
As diplomats you are challenged " to make the basic and primary needs of humanity the first imperative of international policy". This is so because humanity truly has a unity of interests; humanity is truly a single family.
5. Peace is the fruit of just and honest relations at every level of human life, including the social, economic, cultural and ethical levels. And world peace is the fruit of a just international order. Twenty-five years ago Pope John XXIII began to speak at length about the demands of justice in the relationship between nations differing in economic development. Appealing to the solidarity that binds all people and makes them members of the same human family, he urged all nations enjoying an abundance of material goods not to neglect the plight of those nations that are afflicted by poverty and hunger and that do not enjoy fundamental human rights. You yourselves cannot do everything that is needed to renew the international order, but you can do a great deal. Your conduct, your contacts and your counsels must all reflect the vision of an international order that is new and uplifting and filled with hope precisely because it recognizes a universal human solidarity:
This vision must at the same time recognize the threats to peace wherever they appear:
– in excessive and sterile self-interest;
– in exclusive blocs closed to the well-being of the rest of the world;
– in whatever impedes the development of peoples;
– in the arms race, whether nuclear or not;
– in the social and economic abysses that separate nations;
– in the injustice that tramples on human rights;
– in the violence of hatred and terrorism;
– in the whole systems that prevent people from deciding their own future.
6. It is on the basis of a new vision of the international order which perceives both the obstacles to peace and the possibility of overcoming them that the dialogue of peace takes place.
This dialogue aims at removing suspicion, division and confrontation; it strives to defend the fragile treasure of trust – the trust needed in the human family – between brothers and sisters sharing the same humanity. The dialogue of peace aims at promoting universal solidarity in the cause of worldwide development: aiding the hungry, the sick and the needy; and at the same time assisting vast sections of humanity to use their talents to build, with God’s help, their own future.
All this is not only the object of your dialogue but also the aim Of your exalted mission: the building of a more just and peaceful International order. Dear friends: may Almighty God give you light and strength in your service to your countries and to the entire family of interdependent nations.
Lord Mayor
Dear Friends,
1. Before leaving this thriving City of Brisbane, I am happy to have this last chance to greet all of you who have gathered here in King George Square.
The purpose of my journey to Australia, like my pastoral visits to many other countries of the world, is to express my love for Jesus Christ and to make him better known and loved. In a special way, I have come in order to offer support and encouragement to my brothers and sisters of the Catholic Church. It is important to me to visit the local Churches and to experience first-hand their vitality, their difficulties and their hopes.
At the same time, I am pleased that my pastoral journeys give me an opportunity to meet members of other Christian Communions and other religions, and many people of good will. To everyone I meet, I seek to be a friend and servant of peace.
2. Of special concern to the Church are the rights and dignity Os the human person. I am confident that you share this same concern. There are many sides to it. and these vary greatly between countries, particularly between developing countries and those that are more highly developed, like Australia. Everywhere however there is a temptation at times to measure human progress by economic and technological progress, while ignoring its spiritual and ethical dimensions. My own deep conviction, as I stated in my first Encyclical Letter, is this: "What is in question is the advancement of persons, not just the multiplying of things people can use. It is a matter... not so much of ‘having more’ as of ‘being more’ ". The ultimate criteria for true human progress are the law of God our Creator and the good of each person.
3. It is important to remember, too, that the destiny of the world does not rest entirely in our hands. God is the Creator of all. and God’s providence rules human history. It is our duty however to work together for the good of the entire human family by making proper use of our natural talents. We must make sure that we understand the needs of the whole world and that we do not exclude anyone from our love. We are very much responsible for our actions, and also for the good we fail to do. At the same time we must ask God’s help for our own lives and for the whole world, and realize that: "his power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine". Our dependence on God, our need for him and his loving concern for us are all part of the truth of life.
I wish to express to you all my deep gratitude for the wonderful hospitality I have received in this State of Queensland. Thank you for your warm welcome.
May the Lord fill your hearts with his peace and joy. God bless you all!
Brisbane (Australia), 25 November 1986
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
1. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who loved us and gave himself for us, I greet you with deep affection. My pilgrimage would not be complete without an opportunity to visit those who are handicapped, disabled or ill. A visit such as this always has a special place in my heart, because it focuses on a mysterious truth which is at the heart of the mystery of the Church. This mysterious truth is found in Saint Paul’s description of what God revealed to him when he said: "My grace is enough for you, for in weakness power reaches perfection".
To speak of disability, handicaps and illness is to speak of the weakness of our human condition. No one born into this world is free from human frailty – whether it be physical, emotional or spiritual. Each of us must personally come to terms with this frailty. Sometimes we may wish for a kind of life that is easier than the one we have. Perhaps some of you who are physically handicapped, disabled or ill may ask God why you have been singled out for a life that is different from the lives of other people. But in the providence of God a different life does not mean a less important life. It does not mean a life with less potential for holiness or for contributing to the well-being of the world.
Questions and worries are also shared by your families and loved ones. They too face the challenges and crosses that are part of your lives, as well as the opportunities and blessings. To them too I offer my encouragement and support. The Church knows that she must express her belief in the value of all human life by offering support and practical help to the families that have special needs. As a single family of faith, the Church cannot and must not neglect the joys or sorrows of any of her members.
2. All of us as Saint Paul says, "continually carry about in our bodies the dying of Jesus". That is to say, none of us is exempt from suffering and death, any more than Christ himself was. But Saint Paul goes on to say that we suffer "so that in our bodies the life of Jesus may also be revealed". Here we discover the mystery of redemption. By accepting the Cross with perfect love, Christ has overcome once and for all the power that sin, suffering, weakness and death had over us, and he has given us an abundance of life.
Dear brothers and sisters: the Cross of Christ has the power to transform the life of each and every one of you into a great victory over human weakness. The physical limitations you experience can be transformed by Christ’s love into something good and beautiful, and they can make you worthy of the destiny for which you were created. The command that we find elsewhere in Saint Paul, to "glorify God in our bodies", does not apply only to the moral behaviour of those of us who are physically well. Just as Christ glorified the Father by embracing the Cross with perfect love, you too through the power of that same love can glorify God in your bodies by not letting yourselves be overcome by difficulties and pain, and by not giving in to discouragement or any other limitations.
In the depths of your own interior life you can die and rise each day with Christ. And in this way you can yield a harvest of grace and goodness, not only for yourselves and those around you, but also for the Church and for the world. Every time you overcome temptations to discouragement, every time you show a cheerful, generous and patient spirit, you bear witness to that Kingdom – which is yet to come in its fullness – in which we shall be healed of every infirmity and freed from every sorrow.
3. In a great Archdiocese such as Brisbane, there are many Catholic hospitals, homes and services for those in need. Many of them have a long and distinguished history which should be a source of legitimate pride and joy for the Church in this area. They testify to the generosity of the Catholic laity over the years and to the consecrated commitment of so many nursing sisters and brothers. These religious, working together with equally dedicated lay men and women, continue to provide services which extend beyond the Catholic community for the good of all.
It is with special esteem that I greet those who work with the disabled, the handicapped and the sick, not only here in Queensland but throughout all Australia. Prompted by God’s grace, you have chosen – either professionally or as volunteers – the life of the Good Samaritan, the life of one who is a neighbour to those in need. In doing so you fulfil an essential Christian mission. And the measure of your success in this mission is the love that you have for those in your care, and your concern not only for their physical needs but also for their thoughts, feelings, and spiritual needs.
4. The touchstone of the spiritual and material service offered in Australia is our belief in the sacredness of every human life. It is a sacredness rooted in the mystery of our creation by God, as well as in the mystery of Redemption of which I have already spoken. In a world where the gift of human life is often despised, manipulated, abused, and even deliberately aborted or terminated, the Church proclaims without hesitation the sacredness of every human life. No matter what our weaknesses or limitations – whether physical, emotional or spiritual – the life of each one of us is unique; it has its beginning and its end in God’s own good time. It is the responsibility of the whole community – from the level of national, state, and local government down to the level of the individual citizen – to protect this sacred gift.
5. The sacredness of life also demands that we try to improve the quality of life. Every reasonable effort must be made to ensure that the disabled and the sick, the aged and the dying, the troubled and the abandoned, have somewhere to turn for help, that they are enabled to live with true dignity. Health care is becoming more sophisticated and costly, and yet we realize ever more clearly that the mere providing of services is not enough. Those being served must also truly participate in the community, and this calls for mutual respect and a willingness to listen. Handicapped and disabled people, in particular, rightly seek to be more fully integrated into the community since they too have an important contribution to make to others. Only by working together can the community hope to find solutions worthy of the respect owed to every single person, and worthy of the long history of love and service shown by people of all faiths in Australia.
In closing, dear brothers and sisters who are handicapped, disabled or ill, I ask for your prayers, which are especially dear to God. Pray for all who suffer in the world. Pray for peace. Pray for the Church even as she prays for you. Remember all who have gone before us in faith: Mary our Mother, who watches over us and the Saints whose lives reveal the power of God shining through human weakness. Remember them and do not be afraid. In the love of our Lord Jesus Christ I impart to all of you my Apostolic Blessing.
Speeches 1986 - Canberra (Australia), 24 November 1986