Respect for the rights of man and nature are fundamental to build peace, Pope says
He told the ambassadors of Denmark, Uganda, Sudan, Kenya, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, Finland and Latvia, “that humanity wants peace, if possible, universal peace. We must go towards it without utopias or manipulations. Everyone knows that peace needs certain political, economic, cultural and spiritual conditions. Peaceful coexistence between the various religious traditions within each nation is sometimes difficult. It is more a religious problem than a political one and is found within each tradition. Each believer is called to ask God on His will in relation to the every human situation.”
“In recognising God as man’s one creator, as the creator of every man, irrespective of religious affiliation, social status or political beliefs, everyone can respect the other, in his uniqueness and diversity.”
The Holy Father also spoke about respect for the human person when he addressed Kazakhstan’s new ambassador, Mukhtar B. Tileuberdi. “Man’” he explained, “is the source, the focus and the aim of all economic and social life. Thus, the Church works as leaven within every society to highlight the dignity of man, to give him the strength necessary to generate a clearer vision of himself and to muster new energy in the service of authentic human development.”
Noting that Kasakhstan’s Christians are a minority, but one open to cooperation, the Pope said, “There needs to be a continuing commitment on the part of States to respect basic human rights, not the least of which is freedom of religion. Religions have much to offer to development, especially when God’s place is recognized in the public realm, specifically with regard to its cultural, social, economic, and particularly its political dimensions.”
Benedict XVI spoke about education and better standards of living in his address to the Ambassador of del Bangladesh, Md. Abdul Hannan. “In the era of globalization, it is increasingly clear that greater access to education is essential for development at every level,” he said.
The Pontiff also emphasized the Church’s commitment to that effect and expressed appreciation for a recent meeting between the bishops and Bangladesh’s Education Ministry. “I pray,” the Pope said, “that Muslims, Hindus, Christians and all people of goodwill in your country will bear untiring witness to the peaceful coexistence that remains the vocation of the entire human race. To this end, all citizens—and particularly leaders—share in the responsibility of upholding the principles that underpin a just democratic system of governance. Intimidation and violence erode the very basis of social harmony and must be decried as offensive to human life and freedom.”
Addressing all the diplomats, the Pope said that we need to change our lifestyle for the sake of the environment. The Church,” he explained, “proposes that this profound change … be guided by the notion of the integral development of the human person.”
“Man’s interest does not lie with consuming ever more and the unchecked accumulation of goods, consumption and accumulation that are the prerogative of a small number of people and are proposed as a model for the masses to follow. In that sense, not only is it up to the various religious to defend the primacy of man and the spirit, but also up to the state.”
Previously, in his address to the new Danish ambassador, Benedict XVI referred to the Copenhagen summit. On that occasion, he said, “The political and diplomatic deliberations at play in addressing the demands of such a complex matter test the resolve of stakeholders to forgo nationalistic or short-term alleged advantages in favour of longer-term benefits for the entire international human family.”
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