Pope waves to crowds from his window and marks the anniversary of "Gaudium et spes"
Vatican City (AsiaNews) -- John Paul II "appeared" twice today: first silently, and to great applause, with a wave from the window of his study this morning, and then, later in the day, through a message to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Gaudium et spes. Thus, for the first time since his return from hospital last Sunday, John Paul II appeared at the window of his study overlooking Saint Peter's Square and waved to the faithful gathered there. Wednesdays are traditionally the day for the Pope's weekly general audience, which was not held today due to the Pope's convalescence. Nevertheless, with considerable crowds gathering on Saint Peter's Square, the Pope could not resist greeting them.
Later in the day, the Cardinal Secretary of State, Angelo Sodano, read the Pope's address to a conference currently being held in the Vatican to mark the 40th anniversary of the pastoral constitution Gaudium et spes. The conference's topic, "Appealing to justice", as the Pope wrote in his message addressed to Cardinal Renato Martino, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, "draws attention to the challenge constantly faced by the Church in its effort to remind the faithful of the need to interpret social realities in the light of the Gospel (cfr Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 62).
At times, enormous advances in science and technology can in fact lead people to forget fundamental questions of justice, despite the shared aspiration to greater solidarity among peoples and a more humane structuring of social relations (cfr Gaudium et spes; Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 213-214)." "The sad persistence of armed conflicts and recurrent manifestations of violence in so many parts of the world," the Pope writes, "are proof, in the negative, of the inseparable relation between justice and peace, as set out in the fundamental teaching proposed with courageous clarity in Gaudium et spes (cfr no. 78). In this connection, I would like to reaffirm once again that peace is the work of justice: it derives in fact from the order on which the Divine Founder himself wished human society to be built."
"True peace on earth," the Pope stated, "entails, in fact, the firm resolve to respect others, whether individuals or entire peoples, in their dignity, and the steadfast will for increased brotherhood among the components of the human family (cfr Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 194). But the teaching of Gaudium et spes cannot be reduced to this: in it, the Council asserts that peace is "also the fruit of love, which goes beyond what justice can provide... For this reason, all Christians are urgently summoned 'to do in love what the truth requires' (Ef 4, 15), and to join with all true peacemakers in pleading for peace and bringing it about" (Gaudium et spes, 78). In other words, the message concludes, the question of justice is not exhaustive of the Church's Social Doctrine. The virtue of love must never be forgotten, as it leads to forgiveness, reconciliation and inspires Christian effort itself toward justice. Nevertheless, the question of justice remains the foundation for the right ordering of society" (FP).
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