Pope Benedict XVI meets the Ambassador of Nepal and Four others

(December 16, 2010) Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday stressed that all persons need mutual respect and justice in order to live with dignity, in respect of their human rights. However, this is not sufficient to lead a fully human life: indeed, every person also needs total fraternal living. He was addressing the ambassadors of Nepal, Zambia, the Principality of Andorra, Republic of Seychelles, and Mali at Rome as they presented their letters of credence to the Holy See. The Pope said that the Church believes and is convinced that all those who believe in divine love, have the capacity to establish a universal brotherhood which is essential for all. During their mission to the Apostolic See, the Pope said that they have the opportunity to discover more direct actions and concerns of the Church on all continents. Addressing the Ambassador of Nepal Mr. Suresh Prasad Pradhan, the Pope expressed his happiness over Nepal’s commitment to democratic ideals and norms found in the interim political arrangements currently in force in his country such as promoting competitive multi-party democracy, civil liberties and fundamental human rights, adult enfranchisement, periodic elections, press freedom, an independent judiciary and the rule of law. Further, the Pontiff said that the Catholic Church can trace her first contacts with Nepal back to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but over the past seventy years she has been particularly active in the service of the people through her hospitals, welfare organizations and schools. The Pope told him that he is pleased at the freedom in which these important institutions operate and the respect in which they are held. From among one million Christians in Nepal, the Catholic Church numbers very few souls and yet, through her institutions, she has sought to make a significant contribution to the nation. Referring to the few incidents of violence against the lives of Catholics in recent years, and the damage to church property, the Pope hoped for a spirit of tolerance and cooperation for the general good and reconciliation through mutual dialogue.