Index   Back Top Print

[ EN  - ES  - IT  - PT ]

ADDRESS OF JOHN PAUL II
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE
"POPE JOHN PAUL II CULTURAL CENTER"
OF DETROIT (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA)

Thursday, 27 May 1999

Your Eminence,
Dear Friends,

I am pleased to welcome you to the Vatican again this year. I thank Cardinal Maida for keeping me informed of the continued progress of the Center, and I express my gratitude to all who have supported its mission of advancing dialogue and mutual enrichment between the worlds of faith and culture.

The planning of the Center was inspired by the Church’s firm conviction that only the mystery of Jesus Christ sheds full light on the mystery of man and can therefore provide a sure foundation for the authentic progress of the human family in justice, peace and solidarity. Twenty years ago, at the beginning of my Pontificate, I traced the lines which the Church in our time is called to follow, in fidelity to the Second Vatican Council, in carrying out her mission in the world. “The Church wishes to serve this single end: that Christ may walk with each person the path of life, with the power of the truth about man and the world that is contained in the mystery of the Incarnation and the Redemption, and with the power of the love that is radiated by that truth” (Redemptor Hominis, 13). Today, as the Church approaches the Third Millennium of the Incarnation, I pray that the Center, with its intellectual, artistic and cultural activity, will help to bring the Church’s rich tradition and experience to bear on the great human and ethical issues which are shaping the future of your society.

Dear friends, may your pilgrimage to this City, where the Apostles Peter and Paul bore their ultimate witness to the Risen Christ, lead you to deeper union with the Lord and his Church. May the loving Mother of the Redeemer guide us all on our pilgrim way to the Great Jubilee and to the fullness of life in God’s Kingdom. To you and your families I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing.

 



Copyright © Dicastero per la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana