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POPE JOHN PAUL II
Mr. President, it gives me great pleasure to
welcome you on your first visit since you assumed
the office of the President of the United States.
I warmly greet the distinguished First Lady and
the members of your entourage. I express heartfelt
good wishes that your presidency will strengthen
your country in its commitment to the principles
which inspired American democracy from the
beginning, and sustained the nation and its
remarkable growth. These principles remain as
valid as ever as you face the challenges of the
new century opening up before us.
Your nation's founders, conscious of the immense
natural and human resources with which your land
has been blessed by the Creator, were guided by a
profound sense of responsibility towards the
common good to be pursued in respect for the
God-given dignity and inalienable rights of all.
America continues to measure herself by the
nobility of her founding vision in building this
society of liberty, equality and justice under the
law. In the century which has just ended, these
same ideals inspired the American people to resist
two totalitarian systems, based on an atheistic
vision of man and society.
At the beginning of this new century, which also
marks the beginning of the third millennium of
Christianity, the world continues to look to
America with hope. And it does so with an acute
awareness of the crisis of values being
experienced in Western society, ever more insecure
in the face of the ethical decisions,
indispensable for humanity's future course.
In recent days, the world's attention has been
focused on the process of globalization which has
so greatly accelerated in the past decade, and
which you and other leaders of the industrialized
nations have discussed in Genoa. While
appreciating the opportunities for economic growth
and material prosperity, which this process
offers, the Church cannot but express profound
concern that our world continues to be divided no
longer by the former political and military blocs,
but by a tragic fault line between those who can
benefit from these opportunities and those who
seem cut off from them.
The revolution of freedom of which I spoke at the
United Nations in 1995 must now be completed by a
revolution of opportunity, in which all the
world's people actively contribute to the economic
prosperity and share in its fruits. This requires
leadership by those nations whose religious and
cultural traditions should make them most
attentive to the moral dimension of the issues
involved.
Respect for human dignity and belief in the equal
dignity of all the members of the human family
demand policies aimed at enabling all people to
access to the means required to improve their
lives, including the technological means and
skills needed for development. Respect for nature
by everyone, a policy of openness to immigrants,
the cancellation or significant reduction of the
debt of poorer nations, the promotion of peace
through dialogue and negotiation, the primacy of
the rule of law: these are the priorities which
the leaders of the developed countries cannot
disregard. A global world is essentially a world
of solidarity. From this point of view, America,
because of her many resources, cultural traditions
and religious values, has a special
responsibility.
Respect for human dignity finds one of its highest
expressions in religious freedom. This right is
the first listed in your nation's Bill of Rights,
and it is significant that the promotion of
religious freedom continues to be an important
goal of American policy in the international
community. I want to express the appreciation of
the whole Catholic Church for America's commitment
in this regard.
Another area in which political and moral choices
have the gravest consequences for the future of
civilization concerns the most fundamental of
human rights, the right to life itself. Experience
is already showing how a tragic coarsening of
consciences accompanies the assault on innocent
human life in the womb, leading to accommodation
and acquiescence in the face of other related
evils, such as euthanasia, infanticide, and most
recently, proposals for the creation for research
purposes of human embryos, destined to destruction
in the process.
A free and virtuous society, which America aspires
to be, must reject practices that devalue and
violate human life at any stage from conception
until natural death. In defending the right to
life, in law and through a vibrant culture of
life, America can show a world the path to a truly
humane future in which man remains the master, not
the product, of his technology.
Mr. President, as you carry out the tasks of the
high office which the American people have
entrusted to you, I assure you of a remembrance in
my prayers. I am confident that under your
leadership, your nation will continue to draw on
its heritage and resources to help build a world
in which each member of the human family can
flourish and live in a manner worthy of his or her
innate dignity. With these sentiments, I cordially
invoke upon you and the beloved American people,
God's blessings of wisdom, strength and peace.
Thank you very much.
Your Holiness, thank you very much. Mrs. Bush and
I are honored to stand with you today. We're
grateful for your welcome. You've been to America
many times, and have spoken to vast crowds. You
have met with four American Presidents before me,
including my father. In every visit, and in every
meeting, including our meeting today, you have
reminded America that we have a special calling to
promote justice and to defend the weak and
suffering of the world. We remember your words,
and we will always do our best to remember our
calling.
Since October of 1978, you have shown the world
not only the splendor of truth, but also the power
of truth to overcome evil and to redirect the
course of history. You have urged men and women of
good will to take to their knees before God, and
to stand unafraid before tyrants. And this has
added greatly to the momentum of freedom in our
time.
Where there's oppression, you speak of human
rights. Where there's poverty, you speak of
justice and hope. Where there's ancient hatred,
you defend and display a tolerance that reaches
beyond every boundary of race and nation and
belief. Where there's great abundance, you remind
us that wealth must be matched with compassion and
moral purpose. And always, to all, you have
carried the gospel of life, which welcomes the
stranger and protects the weak and the innocent.
Every nation, including my own, benefits from
hearing and heeding this message of conscience.
Above all, you have carried the message of the
Gospel into 126 nations, and into the third
millennium, always with courage, and with
confidence. You have brought the love of God into
the lives of men, and that good news is needed in
every nation, and every age.
Thank you again, your Holiness, for your kindness,
and the honor of this meeting.
24-Jul-2001 -- EWTN Feature Story
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