VATICAN CITY, APRIL 26, 2002 (Zenit.org).- John Paul II believes that globalization presents a double challenge: rejection of terrorism and violence, and affirmation of the universal rights of peoples.
According to the Pope, “the growing interdependence between peoples, while requiring the rejection of terrorism and violence as a way to reconstruct the essential conditions of justice and liberty, calls above all for strong moral, cultural and economic solidarity.”
These two requirements can lay the foundations for “a political organization of international society that can guarantee the rights of all peoples,” the Holy Father explained.
John Paul II presented this proposal in a message dated today to the Federation of Italian Catholic University Students, who will hold their national congress in Rome from April 30 to May 3 on the topic “Solidarity in the Network of Interdependencies.”
“The solution to the evil of underdevelopment and the tragic situation in which millions of people live and die is fundamentally of an ethical nature, for which there must be corresponding consistent economic and political options,” the Pope said.
The “first and decisive contribution to authentic development worthy of man is represented by the support of programs of education and culture,” because “the real progress of society stems above all from the formation of consciences, [and] the maturation of mentalities and customs,” the Holy Father stressed.
“Man is the protagonist of development, not money or technology,” the papal message explained.
“Certainly, the reform of international trade and of the world financial system must also be sought, but each one is called to assume decisive commitments according to his own possibilities, by modifying his own lifestyle, which will lead to just and shared development, whose benefits are placed at the disposition of all,” John Paul II added.
In fact, “to cooperate with the development of peoples is imperative for each and every one, for men and women, for societies and nations,” the Pope concluded.
