VATICAN CITY, JULY 8, 2001 (Zenit.org).- John Paul II appealed today to rich countries, which will meet at the G-8 summit in Genoa, Italy, this month, to hear the cry of the poor countries that ask for their sacrosanct rights.
«In fact, the universal allocation of the goods of the earth is a cornerstone of the social doctrine of the Church,» the Pontiff emphasized.
Here is a translation of John Paul II´s address today, before praying the Angelus with faithful and pilgrims gathered in St. Peter´s Square.
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1. My thoughts turn today to the participants in the national meeting of several Catholic associations, which is taking place in Genoa, in view of the forthcoming meeting of heads of state and government. In this way, they have also wished to respond to the task I entrusted to youth last year at Tor Vergata: «I said, you must not be resigned to a world in which others die of hunger, are illiterate, or lack work. You must defend life in every moment of its earthly development, and make energetic efforts to render this earth increasingly habitable for all.»
I join the Ligurian bishops who, in their recent Letter addressed to the faithful of their Churches, express the urgent need to «reawaken in everyone, beginning with those responsible for public administration, and to elicit a new ´morality´ given the serious and sometimes tragic problems in the economic/financial, sanitary, social, cultural, environmental and political order.
In fact, faith does not allow a Christian to be indifferent to questions of such world relevance. It pushes him to challenge, in a purposeful spirit, those responsible for politics and economics, requesting that the present process of globalization be firmly governed by motives for the common good of citizens of the whole world, based on the absolute demands of justice and solidarity.
2. Because of this, the richest and technologically most advanced peoples, aware that God the Creator and Father wants to make one family of humanity, must hear the cry of so many poor peoples of the world — they simply ask for what is their sacrosanct right.
I wish to assure those responsible for government throughout the world and, in particular, those who will meet in Genoa, that the Church will do her utmost with people of good will to guarantee that the whole of humanity will win in this process. In fact, the universal allocation of the goods of the earth is a cornerstone of the Church´s social doctrine.
Above all, I ask Christians to pray especially for the heads of state and government, and I exhort them to work together to construct a more united world in justice and solidarity. To this end, Christians must prepare themselves with a strong moral and spiritual education, with in-depth knowledge of the Church´s social doctrine, and with great love for Jesus Christ, redeemer of every man and of the whole man.
3. I am confident that, again in this circumstance, Italy will show its typical and exquisite hospitality to all those who will go to Genoa for this occasion, in a climate of concord and serenity. Let us ask the Most Holy Virgin to infuse sentiments of peace and solidarity in the heart of each one, so that the forthcoming meeting will end in favorable decisions for the real good of the whole of humanity.
[Translation by ZENIT]
