Pope Benedict discourse 10 to Angola's Civic Leaders and Diplomatic Corps:
(20 Mar 09 - RV) Pope Benedict discourse 10 to Angola's Civic Leaders and Diplomatic
Corps: Mr President, Your Excellencies, Dear Brother Bishops, Ladies
and Gentlemen, As a kind gesture of hospitality President José Eduardo dos Santos
has welcomed us here to his residence. In so doing he has enabled me to greet you
all with great joy and to wish you every success in the formidable responsibilities
you bear in serving society and the whole human family in the civic, political and
the diplomatic sectors. Mr President, thank you for your welcome, for the kind words
of esteem you have just addressed to me as the Successor of Peter, and for your appreciation
of the work of the Catholic Church for this beloved nation. Friends, you are the
protagonists and witnesses of an Angola which is on the road to recovery. In the
wake of the twenty-seven-year civil war that ravaged this country, peace has begun
to take root, bringing with it the fruits of stability and freedom. The Government’s
tangible efforts to establish an infrastructure and to rebuild the institutions fundamental
to development and the well-being of society have begun to foster hope among the nation’s
citizens. Multilateral agencies too have made their contribution, determined to overcome
particular interests in order to work for the common good. There is also the example
of those honest teachers, medical workers, and civil servants who, on meagre wages,
serve their communities with integrity and compassion, and there are countless others
who selflessly undertake voluntary work at the service of the most needy. May God
bless them abundantly! May their charity multiply! Angola knows that the time
has come for Africa to be the Continent of Hope! All upright human conduct is hope
in action. Our actions are never indifferent before God. Nor are they indifferent
for the unfolding of history. Friends, armed with integrity, magnanimity and compassion,
you can transform this continent, freeing your people from the scourges of greed,
violence and unrest and leading them along the path marked with the principles indispensable
to every modern civic democracy: respect and promotion of human rights, transparent
governance, an independent judiciary, a free press, a civil service of integrity,
a properly functioning network of schools and hospitals, and – most pressing – a determination
born from the conversion of hearts to excise corruption once and for all. In my Message
for the World Day of Peace this year, I drew particular attention to the need for
an ethical approach to development. In fact, the peoples of this continent are rightly
calling out, not simply for more programmes and protocols, but for a deep-seated,
lasting conversion of hearts to sincere solidarity. Their plea to those serving in
politics, public service, international agencies, and multinational companies is simply
this: stand alongside us in a profoundly human way; accompany us, and our families
and our communities (cf. No. 13)! Social and economic development in Africa bring
into partnership national leadership together with regional initiatives and international
resolve. Such partnerships require that African nations be seen not simply as the
receivers of others’ plans and solutions. African men and women themselves, working
together for the good of their communities, should be the primary agents of their
own development. In this regard, there are a growing number of effective initiatives
which merit support. Among them are: the New Partnership for Africa’s Development
(NEPAD), the Pact on Security, Stability, and Development in the Great Lakes Region,
together with the “Kimberley Process”, the “Publish What You Pay Coalition” and the
“Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative”. Their common goal is to promote
transparency, honest business practice and good governance. In regard to the international
community as a whole, of pressing importance are co-ordinated efforts to address the
issue of climate change, the full and fair implementation of the development commitments
of the Doha round and likewise the implementation of the oft-repeated promise by developed
countries to commit 0.7% of their Gross National Product for official development
assistance. This undertaking is all the more necessary in view of the world’s current
financial turmoil, and must not become one of its casualties. Friends, I wish to
say that my visit to Cameroon and to Angola has stirred within me that profound human
delight at being among families. Indeed I think that those who come from other continents
can learn afresh from Africa that “the family is the foundation on which the social
edifice is built” (Ecclesia in Africa, 80). Yet the strains upon families,
as we all know, are many indeed: anxiety and ignominy caused by poverty, unemployment,
disease and displacement, to mention but a few. Particularly disturbing is the crushing
yoke of discrimination that women and girls so often endure, not to mention the unspeakable
practice of sexual violence and exploitation which causes such humiliation and trauma.
I must also mention a further area of grave concern: the policies of those who, claiming
to improve the “social edifice”, threaten its very foundations. How bitter the irony
of those who promote abortion as a form of “maternal” healthcare! How disconcerting
the claim that the termination of life is a matter of reproductive health (cf. Maputo
Protocol, art. 14)! The Church, in accordance with the will of her divine founder,
you will always find standing alongside the poorest of this continent. I wish to
assure each of you that for her part, through diocesan initiatives, through the innumerable
educational, healthcare and social works of Religious Orders, and through the development
programmes of Caritas and other agencies, the Church will continue to do all she can
to support families - including those suffering the harrowing effects of HIV/Aids
- and to uphold the equal dignity of women and men, realized in harmonious complementarity.
The Christian spiritual journey is one of daily conversion. To this the Church invites
all leaders so that the path opened for all humanity will be one of truth, integrity,
respect and compassion. Mr President, I wish to express once again my sincere thanks
for welcoming us here to your home. I thank all of you here assembled for your gracious
presence and your attention. Be assured of my prayers for you and your families and
for all the men, women and children of majestic Africa! God bless you all!