Pope Benedict XVI today marked the fourth anniversary of his election as pontiff with an appeal for tolerance ahead of tomorrow's opening of a United Nations anti-racism conference in Geneva. Greeted with applause and cheers at Castelgandolfo, the papal residence South of Rome, he thanked the faithful for their good wishes on anniversary of his election and on his birthday last week, when he turned 82.
He said he "never felt alone" and thanked God for the "chorus of so much affection", smiling broadly as pilgrims shouted their greetings and sang an impromptu chorus of "Happy Birthday to You".
He said the week-long Geneva conference on racism, a successor to the UN anti-racism meeting held in Durban in South Africa in 2001, was an important initiative "because even today, despite the lessons of history, such deplorable phenomena take place."
He did not however refer to the fact that a number of countries including the United States are boycotting the meeting because of the draft final document, which they see as directed at Israel.
The US State Department said the Obama administration was "profoundly committed to ending racism" and would work with all people and nations "to build greater resolve and enduring political will to halt racism and discrimination wherever it occurs." It would not attend the conference however.
Pope Benedict said he hoped that delegates at the conference would work together, "in a spirit of dialogue and reciprocal acceptance, to put an end to every form of racism, discrimination and intolerance."
This would be "a fundamental step toward the affirmation of the universal value of the dignity of man and his rights."
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(Source: GRCN)