The Church is called to contribute to the common good, Pope tells Ambassadors

The contribution of faith to the development of society, the promotion of life and family, the importance of the Christian roots of Europe were topics addressed by Pope Benedict XVI Friday as he received 3 new ambassadors to the Holy See. They are the ambassadors of Slovenia, Portugal and Ecuador. To each of them the Pope said the Church has no political ambitions, but is called to offer her contribution to the common good.

In his speech the Ambassador of Ecuador, Luis Tapia Dositheus Latorre, Pope Benedict spoke of a visit he made to the Andean nation in 1978. The Church, he reiterated, "seeks no privileges, but only asks to give her contribution for the" development of individuals and society”. The common good, he said, must prevail "over party and class interests " and the "moral imperative" must be an obligatory reference point for every citizen. History, he noted, shows that disregard for the truth about man, created in the image and likeness of God, often leads to "injustice and totalitarianism". The Pope stressed the need to defend life at every stage, religious freedom, as well as the family based on marriage between a man and a woman. The Pastors of the Church, he added "should not enter the political debate by proposing concrete solutions”. But neither "must they remain neutral in the face of great problems, nor be idle in fighting for justice." The Pope, who praised the Church's contribution to education also called on Ecuadoreans to preserve the many natural beauties of their nation.

Speaking to the new Portuguese ambassador, Manuel Tomás Fernandes Pereira, Pope Benedict began by recalling his apostolic visit to the nation and its people last May. This visit he said reaffirmed the commitment of the Holy See "to serving the cause of promoting the integral development of peoples”. Thus, when the Church promotes the awareness of values that should guide public and private life, she is not doing it for political ambitions, but to be faithful to the mission entrusted her by her Divine Founder"." The Church - continued Pope Benedict - is not part of the “passing and incomplete models of society but aims to transform hearts and minds, so that man can discover and recognize himself in the full truth of his humanity" . And in this context - concluded the pope - "the Church encourages Christians to fully assume their responsibility as citizens to contribute effectively, alongside others, to the common good and the great causes of mankind."

Receiving the Ambassador of Slovenia, Maja Maria Lovrenčić Svetek, the Pope focused primarily on the integration of the Slovenian nation in the European Union, which, he stressed, "has as its founding principles the shared Christian roots of the Old Continent". He noted that Slovenia’s anchoring in Gospel values have contributed importantly "to the cohesion of the country." This heritage, he added, "has been, even in the most difficult and painful moments, a constant ferment of comfort and hope, and has supported Slovenia in its path to independence after the fall of communism." A time, recalled the Pope, in which the Holy See wished to be particularly close to the Slovenian nation. " The Pope also said he was pleased with the law recently passed in Slovenia to support those who have lost their homes and jobs. And he reiterated the commitment of the Holy See "to promote peace and justice, to overcome differences and to intensify their constructive relationship." Listen: