Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Pope's Address to the Diplomatic Corps

Sandro Magister in Chiesa recounts the highlights of the Pope's address to the Diplomatic Corps.

Some highlights:

“Truth can only be attained in freedom. This is the case with all truth, as is clear from the history of science; but it is eminently the case with those truths in which man himself, man as such, is at stake, the truths of the spirit, the truths about good and evil, about the great goals and horizons of life, about our relationship with God. These truths cannot be attained without profound consequences for the way we live our lives. And once freely appropriated, they demand in turn an ample sphere of freedom if they are to be lived out in a way befitting every dimension of human life.”

On Iraq:

“the cradle of great civilizations, which in these past years has suffered daily from violent acts of terrorism,” with an unequivocal identification of what, for the pope, is the true enemy in that country.

It is interesting to note that according to Catholic World News the number of diplomats who has representatives in the diplomatic corps nearly doubled under the pontificate of John Paul II. In 1978 it was 92 and is now 168. Still not represented are China, Saudi Arabia and other islamic countries.

1 comment:

Madeline said...

I believe that the forerunners for many of these diplomats have been the U.S. Marines. I'm guessing we'll have a few more countries represented in the diplomat corps before long.