ADDRESS OF PAUL VI
TO THE AMBASSADOR OF NEW ZEALAND
TO THE HOLY SEE*

Friday, 11 July 1975

Mr Ambassador,

Your excellency’s accreditation as Ambassador of New Zealand happily demonstrates once again the mutual desire of your Government and of the Holy See to work together for the betterment of situations that demand our common interest land concern.

We are pleased to hear you reiterate the commitment of New Zealand to the recognition of human rights for all people, and to the task of meeting the urgent  needs of developing nations today.

From complementary standpoints, we both approach this responsibility with-as Your Excellency has said-common principles and objectives. We likewise appreciate the acknowledgement you have made, not only of our own efforts for peace in international life, but also of the fact that the Church contributes in a special way to peace by offering men an understanding of the moral imperatives that must guide them in seeking it. This approach alone, we believe, can secure peace, in a way that no purely pragmatic assessment of temporal and immediate political interests could ever ensure.

Indeed your remarks regarding the Church’s presence in your country are a source of satisfaction to us. Our pledge and in fact our only wish is that the Church will ever show herself as present to serve, as having at heart the true interests of all people and as being motivated by that disinterested love for all which is the love of the Creator himself for mankind. It is our sincere hope, therefore, that as New Zealand advances to new stages of prosperity and well-being, her growth as a nation may be spiritually enriched and enhanced by the presence of the Church.

To the civil authorities of New Zealand we warmly extend our respectful good wishes and we invoke upon them and all New Zealanders the abundant blessings of Almighty God. Finally, we wish Your Excellency every success and happiness in the accomplishment of your mission.

*AAS 67 (1975), p.491-492.

Insegnamenti di Paolo VI, vol. XIII, p.764-765.

L’Attività della Santa Sede 1975, p. 250.

L'Osservatore Romano, 12.7.1975, p.1.

ORa n.30 p.5.