VATICAN CITY, APRIL 3, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is appealing to the Dominican Republic to remember its Catholic roots, and to make a greater effort in its struggle against institutional corruption.
The Pope affirmed this today in an audience with Víctor Manuel Grimaldi Céspedes, the new ambassador of the Dominican Republic to the Holy See.
The Pontiff noted, «Whatever is oriented to the strengthening of institutions is essential for the well-being of society.»
The well-being of society, he added, rests on «pillars such as the cultivation of honesty and transparency, juridical independence, care and respect of the environment and the development of the social, welfare, health and educational services of the whole population.»
The Holy Father acknowledged the country’s recent «notable achievements, both in the economic as well as the social planes.»
However, he said, «there is still a long way to go to ensure a worthy life for Dominicans and to eradicate the blots of poverty, drug trafficking, marginalization and violence.»
Benedict XVI stressed the need for «strong determination to finally eradicate corruption.»
Affirm values
«In establishing a climate of true concord and the pursuit of effective and stable answers and solutions to the most pressing problems,» he continued, «the Dominican authorities will always find the outstretched hand of the Church, for the building of a more free, peaceful, just and fraternal civilization.»
The Pope noted that «in the significant political and social changes in which the Dominican Republic has been immersed» in recent times it «is of utmost importance that those noble principles» be maintained «which distinguish the rich Dominican history from the foundation of its homeland.»
He encouraged the «defense and diffusion of such basic values as recognition and tutelage of the dignity of the person, respect for human life from the moment of conception to its natural death and the safeguarding of the institution of the family based on marriage between a man and a woman.»
«These are irreplaceable elements of the social fabric which can never be given up,» he added.
The Pontiff affirmed the «profound Catholic roots» of the country, which «already evokes in its very name adherence to the Christian message by the majority of its people, alluding to Saint Dominic Guzman, illustrious preacher of the Word of God.»
He noted that at present the country is living through «a renewed missionary and evangelizing dynamism,» fostered by the forthcoming commemoration of the 5th centenary of the creation of the archdiocese of Santo Domingo [erected on August 8, 1511] and by the continental mission stimulated by the 5th General Conference of the Episcopate of Latin America and the Caribbean, held in 2007 in Aparecida, Brazil.
The Holy Father called the evangelization of the Dominican Republic the «first seed» of the Church in Latin America.
He explained, «The Holy Mass was celebrated there for the first time on the American continent, now more than five centuries ago, and from the Island of Hispaniola missionaries left charged with proclaiming the Good News of salvation in the continent.»
