Democracy, freedom, human rights and solidarity itself, which must unite all human beings, are all linked to the principle that there is a “moral order based on the dominion of God” which must be respected.Benedict XVI’s first public speech during his US visit focused on issues, so dear to the history of the United States, that are also important to the whole of humanity, for his intervention before the United Nations as well as for the leading role the host country plays.
The official welcome ceremony and a private meeting with President George W. Bush, both at the White House, were the Pope’s first activities after his arrival late last night in Washington. Treated to a 21-gun salute before 10,000 guests in the Rose Garden, Benedict XVI touched upon two of the central themes of his visit, putting aside issues internal to the US Catholic Church, which are naturally inappropriate for an address to the US president.
Not included in the day’s schedule were greetings for the Pope on his 81st birthday.
Democracy, liberty and human rights must be viewed in relation to faith, something which is also explicitly mentioned in the US constitution. “From the dawn of the Republic,” the Pope said, “America’s quest for freedom has been guided by the conviction that the principles governing political and social life are intimately linked to a moral order based on the dominion of God the Creator. The framers of this nation’s founding documents drew upon this conviction when they proclaimed the ‘self-evident truth’ that all men are created equal and endowed with inalienable rights grounded in the laws of nature and of nature’s God”. This is the basis of democracy itself.
And freedom, so dear to the American tradition, “is not only a gift, but also a summons to personal responsibility. [. . .] Preservation of freedom calls for the cultivation of virtue, self-discipline, sacrifice for the common good and a sense of responsibility towards the less fortunate. It also demands the courage to engage in civic life and to bring one’s deepest beliefs and values to reasoned public debate. In a word, freedom is ever new. It is a challenge held out to each generation, and it must constantly be won over for the cause of good”. The reference to a higher moral order was even more explicit when the Pope spoke about democracy.
The reference to issues like the moral order, liberty and democracy, although related to US history and culture, transcend them. The Pope spoke about them when he made a reference to his upcoming visit to the United Nations this Friday.
On that occasion, he said, “I hope to encourage the efforts under way to make that institution an ever more effective voice for the legitimate aspirations of all the world’s peoples. On this, the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the need for global solidarity is as urgent as ever, if all people are to live in a way worthy of their dignity—as brothers and sisters dwelling in the same house and around that table which God’s bounty has set for all his children”.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce