Text 1650, 59 rader
Skriven 2006-09-19 21:24:22 av Marc Lewis (1:396/45)
Ärende: Vatican Information Service (Press Release)
===================================================
Hello All!

                The following press release is Copyrighted by the
                          Vatican Information Service.
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                               VIS-Press releases

SHARED CONVICTIONS: THE SOURCE OF EUROPEAN UNION

VATICAN CITY, SEP 18, 2006 (VIS) - Benedict XVI today received the Letters of
Credence of Martin Bolldorf, the new Austrian ambassador to the Holy See.

In remarks to the diplomat, the Pope recalled how "Austria and the Holy See
have a long history of fruitful union. This union is much more than a mere
historical truth, it is founded on the fact that the vast majority of Austrian
people belong to the Catholic Church. And this itself influences orientations,
choices and common interests that significantly concern man, his freedom and
his dignity, as well as his future in time and in society.

"The State and the Church, from different points of view, both have at heart
the good of man ... whose interests and dignity must never be made subject to
parameters of feasibility, utility and productivity.

"One of these common interests is Europe," the Holy Father added, "especially
as regards developments in the process of European unification. Nowhere else in
the world as in Europe do history and culture bear the mark of Christianity.
The regional and national field - the homeland ... whence the majority of
people draw the most important elements of their own cultural identity - is
becoming ever more incorporated into the European field, the common homeland
that is Europe."

The continent of Europe benefits from the "great contribution arising from
human mobility and the means of social communication," said the Holy Father.
"The Church looks favorably on these developments. Where men and peoples
consider themselves members of one family then the opportunities for peace,
solidarity, and mutual exchange and enrichment increase." And Austria, "with
its rich history as a State made up of many peoples ... is predestined to have
a strong commitment for Europe."

On the road towards integration, much depends "on the citizens' faith in this
project. In discussions on the expansion of Europe and on its Constitution, the
question constantly arises of the identity and spiritual roots upon which the
community of European States and peoples rests. The most profound sources for a
crisis-proof European 'whole' are to be found in shared convictions and in the
values of history and of the Christian and humanist tradition of the
continent."

The Holy Father concluded his talk by recalling how, by virtue of the agreement
with the Holy See, the Austrian State is committed to religious education,
which is an obligatory subject in schools. "The State has the duty," he said,
"of presenting children and young people - bearing in mind the growing number
of pupils who belong to no specific confession - the roots of western thought
and of the 'civilization of love' sustained by the Christian spirit."
CD/LETTERS OF CREDENCE/AUSTRIA:BOLLDORF VIS 060918 (460)

SUMMARY

--- MPost/386 v1.21
 * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS =Meridian, MS= bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)