VATICAN CITY, NOV. 13, 2005 (ZENIT.org).- Benedict XVI exhorted the United States, in an address to its new ambassador to the Holy See, to address situations of injustice and violence respecting the «universal moral law.»
The Pope made that comment Saturday when he received in audience Francis Rooney, the seventh U.S. ambassador to the Vatican.
In his address delivered in English, the Holy Father first expressed his solidarity with the victims of the recent storms in the United States.
He then shifted the focus of his address and emphasized «the intrinsic ethical dimension of every political decision.»
Benedict XVI said, «The disturbing spread of social disorder, war, injustice and violence in our world can ultimately be countered only by renewed appreciation and respect for the universal moral law whose principles derive from the Creator himself.»
«A recognition of the rich patrimony of values and principles embodied in that law is essential to the building of a world which acknowledges and promotes the dignity, life and freedom of each human person, while creating the conditions of justice and peace in which individuals and communities can truly flourish,» he said in his address to Rooney, a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The Bishop of Rome urged that «effective solutions be found to some of the more significant problems facing the international community in recent years, such as the scandal of continued widespread hunger, grave illness and poverty in large areas of our world.»
Ethical solutions
According to the Pontiff, the international community’s approach to these issues «cannot be limited to purely economic or technical considerations, but demands broad vision, practical solidarity and courageous long-term decisions with regard to complex ethical questions.»
Benedict XVI mentioned the «crushing debt that feeds the spiral of poverty in many less developed nations.»
«The American people have long been distinguished for their generous charitable outreach to the disadvantaged and the needy on every continent,» he said.
«In a world of increasing globalization, I am confident that your nation will continue to demonstrate a leadership based on unwavering commitment to the values of freedom, integrity and self-determination, while cooperating with the various international instances which work to build genuine consensus and to develop a unified course of action in confronting issues critical to the future of the whole human family,» said the Holy Father.
After recalling that it is now more than two decades since diplomatic relations were established between the United States and the Vatican in 1984, the Pope expressed the hope that «in years to come they will be deepened and consolidated.»
