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DISCURSO DEL SANTO PADRE JUAN PABLO II
AL SEÑOR LUIS SOLARI TUDELA,
EMBAJADOR DE PERÚ ANTE LA SANTA SEDE*


Sábado 14 de noviembre de 1992

 


1. Mr. Ambassador,

It gives me great pleasure to receive you at this presentation of the Letters accrediting you as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Peru to the Holy See. First of all, I extend to you a most cordial welcome and assure you at the same time of my best wishes for the success of the important mission which your Government has entrusted to you.

Your Excellency's words bring back the vivid and happy memory of the enthusiastic and sincere affection with which the noble Peruvian people welcomed me on the two occasions when Providence enabled me to visit your country. I am very grateful, Mr. Ambassador, for the positive proof of support that you have just offered me, as well as for the respectful greeting you bring from Mr. Alberto Fujimori, President of the Republic.

2. I am well aware of the various, complicated events your country has been going through in these years; I know the determined efforts that the people are making in their different sectors to deal with the serious obstacles resulting from the economic crisis, as well as from the threats – which have still not entirely disappeared – from violence and terrorist subversion that continue mercilessly, cruelly and unjustly to claim so many innocent lives and seriously to jeopardize the efforts for progress and prosperity to which the majority of the Peruvian people are committed.

To face the challenges of the present day, Peru is in constant need of the generous, joint effort of all its children. We well know, and history confirms this, that peoples manage to overcome crises when their members, especially the upper classes and the political leaders, regardless of all differences and inconsistencies, prefer to work for the common good, and above all for the good of those who are suffering the most.

3. I am pleased to see that together with all the brave efforts currently being made in Peru, the Church is a source of confidence and hope, to which the nation appeals with the well-founded certainty that, despite the great numbers of people and options, she will continue to guide her children on the path of comprehension, mutual understanding, and fraternal solidarity. Only with everyone's loyal disinterested cooperation can steps be taken to achieve a nation's overall progress. However, in order for true freedom and justice to prevail in a society, it is indispensable that the administration of public affairs take into account the ethical principles which have been mentioned so many times in Catholic social teaching, and which were stressed by the Second Vatican Council (cf. Gaudium et spes, nn. 73, 75).

4. Mr. Ambassador, this should be the horizon of values and realities to which the civil life of each country must aim: to attain a collective existence that is peaceful and serene, hard-working and just, free of the evils of discord, insecurity and violence that do so much harm to a nation's present and endanger the future of the generations to come. It is to be hoped that the wealth of possibilities that nature has given Peru, as well as those that spring from its long history and noble tradition, will be put to productive use for the good of individuals, families and the whole community.

Only a few weeks ago, divine Providence gave me the opportunity to participate, in Santo Domingo, in the great commemoration of the fifth centenary of evangelization in the New World. For Peru as well as for other nations, this is a reason to renew our thanks to the Lord for the sublime gift of the faith, which you have been able to preserve fruitfully throughout these five centuries. However, at the same time, the entire Christian people are called to increase and purify it, in harmony with the demands of the new evangelization.

Mr. Ambassador, I again express my best wishes for the success of your mission which starts today, and also offer you my prayers for you and your distinguished family, and for your coworkers. I extend these wishes to a very particular way to the Government leaders and to the beloved Peruvian people, whom I most affectionately keep in my thoughts and prayers.


*L'Osservatore Romano. Weekly edition in English n.49 p.14.

 

© Copyright 1992 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

 



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