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disease and illiteracy will disappear from the economic
map of the earth, and on whether peaceful cooperation
will avoid imposing conditions of exploitation and
economic or political dependence, which would only be a
form of neocolonialism.
19. I would now like to draw attention to a second
systematic threat to man in his inalienable rights in the
modern world, a threat which constitutes no less a danger
than the first to the cause of peace. I refer to the various
forms of injustice in the field of the spirit.
Man can indeed be wounded in his inner relationship
with truth, in his conscience, in his most personal belief,
in his view of the world, in his religious faith, and in the
sphere of what are known as civil liberties. Decisive for
these last is equality of rights without discrimination on
grounds of origin, race, sex, nationality, religion, political
convictions and the like. Equality of rights means the
exclusion of the various forms of privilege for some and
discrimination against others, whether they are people
bom in the same country or people from different
backgrounds of history, nationality, race and ideology.
For centuries the thrust of civilization has been in one
direction: that of giving the life of individual political
societies a form in which there can be fully safeguarded
the objective rights of the spirit, of human conscience and
of human creativity, including man’s relationship with
God. Yet in spite of this we still see in this field recurring
threats and violations, often with no possibility of
appealing to a higher authority or of obtaining an
effective remedy.
Besides the acceptance of legal formulas safeguarding
the principle of the freedom of the human spirit, such as
freedom of thought and expression, religious freedom,
and freedom of conscience, structures of social life often
exist in which the practical exercise of these freedoms
condemns man, in fact if not formally, to become a
second-class or third-class citizen, to see compromised his
chances of social advancement, his professional career or
his access to certain posts of responsibility, and to lose
even the possibility of educating his children freely. It is a
question of the highest importance that in internal social
life, as well as in international life, all human beings in
every nation and country should be able to enjoy
effectively their full rights under any political regime or
system.
Only the safeguarding of this real completeness of
rights for every human being without discrimination can
ensure peace at its very roots.
20. With regard to religious freedom, which I, as pope,
am bound to have particularly at heart, precisely with a
dimensions without violating the essential rights of
conscience of any man or woman living on earth.
Respect for the dignity of the human person would
seem to demand that, when the exact tenor of the
exercise of religious freedom is being discussed or
determined with a view to national laws or international
conventions, the institutions that are by their nature at
the service of religion should also be brought in. If this
participation is omitted, there is a danger of imposing, in
so intimate a field of man’s life, rules or restrictions that
are opposed to his true religious needs.
21. The United Nations organization has proclaimed
1979 the Year of the Child. In the presence of the
representatives of so many nations of the world gathered
here, I wish to express the joy that we all find in children,
the springtime of life, the anticipation of the future
history of each of our present earthly homelands. No
country on earth, no political system can think of its own
future otherwise than through the image of these new
generations that will receive from their parents the
manifold heritage of values, duties and aspirations of the
nations to which they belong and of the whole human
family. Concern for the child, even before birth, from the
first moment of conception and then throughout the
years of infancy and youth, is the primary and
fundamental test of the relationship of one human being
to another.
And so, what better wish can I express for every nation
and the whole of mankind, and for all the children of the
world than a better future in which respect for human
rights will become a complete reality throughout the third
millennium, which is drawing near.
22. But in this perspective we must ask ourselves
whether there will continue to accumulate over the heads
of this new generation of children the threat of common
extermination for which the means are in the hands of the
modern states, especially the major world powers. Are the
children to receive the arms race from us as a necessary
inheritance? How are we to explain this unbridled race?
The ancients said: Si vis pacem, para bellum. But can
our age still really believe that the breathtaking spiral of
armaments is at the service of world peace? In alleging the
threat of a potential enemey, is it really not rather the
intention to keep for oneself a means of threat, in order
to get the upper hand with the aid of one’s own arsenal of
destruction? Here too it is the human dimension of peace
that tends to vanish in favor of ever new possible forms of
imperialism.
KEEPING TIME -- Pope John Paui II waves a
gift in the air as he keeps time with a chanting
crowd of youth at New York’s Madison Square
view to safeguarding peace, I would like to repeat here, as
a contribution to respect for man’s spiritual dimension,
some principles contained in the Second Vatican Council’s
declaration, “Dignitatis Humanae”: “In accordance with
their dignity, all human beings, because they are persons,
that is, beings endowed with reason and free will and
therefore bearing personal responsibility, are both
impelled by their nature and bound by a moral obligation
to seek the truth, especially religious truth. They are also
bound to adhere to the truth once they come to know it
and to direct their whole lives in accordance with its
demands” (Dignitatis Humanae,” 2).
“The practice of religion of its very nature consists
primarily of those voluntary and free internal acts by
which a human being directly sets his course towards God.
No merely human power can either command or prohibit
acts of this kind. But man’s social nature itself requires
that he give external expression to his internal acts of
religion, that he communicate with others in religious
matters and that he profess his religion in community”
(Dignitatis Humanae,” 3).
These words touch the very substance of the question.
They also show how even the confrontation between the
religious view of the world and the agnostic or even
atheistic view, which is one of the signs of the times of the
present age, could preserve honest and respectful human
Garden Oct. 3. Students from more than 200
Catholic and public high schools in New York and
New Jersey were present.
It must be our solemn wish here for our children, for
the children of all the nations on earth, that this point will
never be reached. And for that reason I do not cease to
pray to God each day so that in his mercy he may save us
from so terrible a day.
23. At the close of this address, 1 wish to express once
more before all the high representatives of the states who
are present a word of esteem and deep love for all the
peoples, all the nations of the earth, for all human
communities. Each one has its own history and culture. I
hope that they will live and grow in the freedom and truth
of their own history. For that is the measure of the
common good of each one of them. I hope that each
person will live and grow strong with the moral force of
the community that forms its members as citizens. I hope
that the state authorities, while respecting the just rights
of each citizen, will enjoy the confidence of all for the
common good. I hope that all the nations, even the
smallest, even those that do not yet enjoy full
sovereignity, and those that have been forcibly robbed of
it, will meet in full equality with the others in the United
Nations organization. I hope that the United Nations will
ever remain the supreme forum of peace and justice, the
authentic seat of freedom of peoples and individuals in
their longing for a better future.
One-Liners Of
To the students at Catholic
University:
“Dear me, you have stayed up
and prayed all night while the
Pope slept. ”
The waiting crowd outside the
Shrine of t he I mm acul ate
Conception:
“I must go into Our Lady’s
Shrine. But I will introduce you to
her. ”
On 141st Street in Harlem:
“The Pope comes to you as a
servant. He is the humble servant
of Jesus Christ. ”
Pope John Paul
In St. Patrick’s Cathedral,
brushing the brow of the young
priest-cantor with his
handkerchief:
“There now my young
hardworking priest. You have the
voice of an angel. ”
As the Pope arrived in
Washington:
“God bless America, this young
and flourishing country. ”
As the Mayor of Washington
gave him the key of the city:
“Now I can even open the city
of Washington. ”
PAGE 9—The Georgia Bulletin, October 11,1979
MASS IN THE RAIN - As rain pours down on the outdoor Mass The pope was protected from
the Boston Common, Pope John Paul II waves the downpour by by a canopied altar,
farewell to the hearty people who stayed through
Whirlwind Papal Visit
z
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(Continued from page 1)
responsible stewardship, and
generosity toward the needy.
He fulfilled those expectations
completely.
If there was any surprise it was in
the strength and bluntness of his
comments on such issues and the
persuasiveness of his rhetoric.
While chiding Americans for their
wastefulness, for example, he
consistently did so in the context of
appealing to their tradition of
generosity, calling for a renewal of
that spirit in which Americans have
always taken pride.
The long-range impact of the
pope’s visit by its very nature defies
analysis. He was, as he said, on a
religious pilgrimage as a messenger of
peace and love - spiritual qualities
that cannot be measured by ordinary
means.
In Ireland some observers
predicted that the traditional
Protestant suspicion and distrust of
Catholics would diminish and the
Irish Republican Army terrorists
would become more isolated, losing
many of their passive supporters.
Many believed that the papal visit has
provided political leadership with a
new opportunity and impetus to
reach a solution, but only if they
seize the initiative.
In the United States some spoke
enthusiastically of a “new Pentecost”
-- a new openness of American
Catholics and others to the word of
God and the working of the Spirit -
as a result of the pope’s presence and
the power of his message.
Certainly the eyes, ears and hearts
of millions of Americans were turned
toward Pope John Paul II in the first
week of October, and they heard his
message of God’s love and peace.
But he suggested the problem in
his homily, on the rich young man,
to youth on Boston Common the
night he arrived in the United States.
IN RURAL AMERICA - With silos behind him, Pope John Paul
II walks on the platform altar erected especially for his Mass at the
Living History Farms museum near Des Moines, Iowa.
How many would heed his call to “turn away sad, because they had
follow Christ, and how many would many possessions?”
BEDTIME -- After a long day that included
activities in three cities, a weary Pope John Paul
II lays his head on his hands on the balcony of
i. .ir,L..
Cardinal John Cody’s residence in Chicago to
indicate it is time for bed. A cheering crowd
across the street got the qtessage. r ,, >,