To faithful from Baltimore (USA), Address of John Paul II

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II
TO A GROUP OF FAITHFUL
FROM THE ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE (USA)

Clementine Hall
Monday, 1 May 1995

Dear Cardinal Keeler,
Dear Friends in Christ,

I greet you in the peace and joy of the Risen Lord! You have come to Rome to accompany Cardinal Keeler, who yesterday took possession of his Titular Church, the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels. You are well aware that this ancient tradition indicates the special bond which unites your Cardinal to this See of Rome. I personally am grateful to Your Eminence for the wise and generous way in which you seek to foster all that strengthens unity and charity in the Church. Indeed, this is the invitation which I make to you all. In the words of Saint Paul: "If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ" (Eph. 4:15). This is the message that you must make known by word and deed, in the home, in the workplace, in the community, everywhere.

The Baltimore area is a leading center of academic and scientific research in the United States, particularly in the vast field of medicine. I urge you always to keep in mind as the supreme criteria of all your endeavors the unique value of every human life as God’s own possession, and the dignity of every human being. In this way you will build a civilization committed to life, against all that threatens the very significance of human life, endowed with a transcendent destiny.

I look forward to October when, with God’s help, I shall have an opportunity to visit your city and return the visit which you are making to me today. In this Easter season I ask our Lord Jesus Christ to send his peace upon you and your families, and I gladly impart my Apostolic Blessing.