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DISCOURS DU SAINT-PÈRE JEAN-PAUL II
À S. Exc. MONSIEUR LAMINE BOLIVOGUI,
NOUVEL AMBASSADEUR DE LA RÉPUBLIQUE DE GUINÉE*

Jeudi, 28 octobre 1993

 

 
Mr. Ambassador,
 
Welcome to the Vatican where I have the joy to receive Your Excellency on the occasion of the presentation of the Letters accrediting you as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Guinea to the Holy See.

I sincerely thank you for conveying to me the kind greetings of General Canaria Conte, President of the Republic of Guinea. In return, I ask you to please express my respectful wishes to him, with the pleasant memories I have of the warm welcome given me in Guinea last year. I am very pleased to pray that God will help him accomplish his important task in service to the Guniean people. I also ask the Lord to make fruitful the efforts of those who are striving with your President in a difficult atmosphere, to promote democratic institutions and to take charge of the `country's political destiny calmly and lucidly, in security, peace and respect for the law.

In your speech, among other things you referred to the Holy See's devotion to the well being of humanity, and its concern to bring hope especially to those who are suffering. I am sensitive to these marks of appreciation and I am grateful to you for them. The Church has great regard for the dynamism of the people of our times, since she sees them involved in an arduous effort to make the best of the riches of creation, and more particularly, to promote the human person in his overall development. As the custodian of principle that can shed light on mankind's journey in a singular way, she wishes to offer people these principles to guarantee a life of security, stability and harmony for everyone.

Mr Ambassador, I am pleased to hear you mention the atmosphere of tolerance and spiritual zeal that exists among the different religious communities in your country. I hope that Guineans will continue to be attached to this heritage of their past, for their own good and for the good of the African continent. My wish is that this sense of solidarity will be strengthened, in mutual respect for the convictions of each, so that all your compatriots may work hand in hand for the future of the nation, and that they may pursue their way together, in dialogue the only way that respects mankind - with peoples and minorities.

On this occasion, I would like to greet the Catholics of your country. I had the joy of celebrating our common faith with them and among them. I treasure in my heart the memory of our moving meetings, and once more I express to them my desire that they should live increasingly in brotherly communion. I can assure you that they are prepared to collaborate in the nation's development. Under the guidance of their Bishops, who inspire their reflections and actions with appropriate messages, like those from lookouts at the city gate, they will continue to work to make Guinea a country where one lives in dignity, justice and conviviality. They will strive to implant family values, to form consciences, to teach young people in particular to think judge and act on their own, helping them to understand the age they live in, to keep a constructive dialogue open with their elders, and above all, to live according to the truth. Guinea's future depends on the moral and spiritual quality of its inhabitants, who are able to maintain the balance and the hierarchy of values in their personal conduct and in the way they assume their responsibilities.

As you begin your mission, I offer you my best wishes for the successful accomplishment of your task. Be assured that you will find here the welcome and understanding which you need.

I wholeheartedly invoke an abundance of divine blessings on Your Excellency, on the President of the Republic, on the Government and the people of Guinea.

I also ask the Lord to make fruitful the efforts of those who are striving with your President in a difficult atmosphere, to promote democratic institutions and to take charge of the country's political destiny calmly and lucidly, in security, peace and respect for the law.


*L'Osservatore Romano. Weekly edition in English n. 45 p.7.

 

© Copyright 1993 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

 



Copyright © Dicastero per la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana