The Vatican secretary for relations with states has told the UN General Assembly that there must be genuine dialogue within the body - not just a holding out of opposing and irreconcilable positions - to achieve the "undeniable good" that the United Nations represents.
"(To) be sincere and fully effective, this dialogue must really be dia-logos - exchange of wisdom and shared wisdom," said Archbishop Dominique Mamberti in his address last week, according to Zenit.
"[...] To dialogue does not mean only to listen to the aspirations and interests of other parties and to try to find compromises," but it "must pass rapidly from exchange of words and the search for balance between opposite interests to a real sharing of wisdom for the common good."
"In spite of the imperfection of its structures and of its functioning, the U.N. has attempted to contribute solutions to international problems of an economic, social, cultural and humanitarian character," said the prelate.
Archbishop Mamberti's address touched on notable U.N. achievements in disarmament and the promotion of peaceful uses for nuclear energy; and achievements in the field of humanitarian aid.
He stressed also on the "fundamental national interest of all governments," that is, "the creation and maintenance of the conditions necessary to develop fully the integral good - material and spiritual - of each of the inhabitants of their nations."
"That is why," he said, "respect and the promotion of human rights are the final objective of dialogue and of international affairs and they are at the same time, the indispensable condition for a sincere and fruitful dialogue between nations."
"The history itself of the development of human rights shows that respect for religious liberty, which includes the right to express one's faith publicly and to spread it, is the essential stone of the whole building of human rights," he said.
SIC: CTHN/INT'L