2010-10-21 15:53:08

Pope welcomes South Korea's new ambassador


(October 21, 2010) Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday welcomed South Korea’s new ambassador to the Holy See, Han Hong-soon, and encouraged the Asian nation to ensure that alongside its material prosperity, social justice and care for the common good also grow. At a formal ceremony during which the Korean diplomat presented his credentials, the Pope warned of the dangers involved in the nation’s rapid economic growth which, he said, can all too easily bypass ethical considerations, with the result that the poorer elements in society tend to be excluded from their rightful share of the nation’s prosperity. The financial crisis, he noted, has focused attention on the need to renew the ethical foundations of all economic and political activity. He encouraged the government to ensure that social justice and care for the common good grow side by side with material prosperity, a task, he said, in which the Catholic Church of Korea is ready to cooperate. Pope Benedict thanked the Korean government for appreciating the Church’s efforts in education, interreligious dialogue and charitable programme, and stressed that the Church has a prophetic role of proclaiming the truths of the Gospel, which go beyond pragmatism and partisan interests and aim at safeguarding the dignity of the human person, created in the image and likeness of God. Pope Benedict said “this requires of us an unambiguous commitment to defend human life at every stage from conception to natural death, to promote stable family life in accordance with the norms of the natural law and to build peace and justice wherever there is conflict.







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