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Skriven 2005-07-20 10:58:56 av Marc Lewis (1:396/45)
Ärende: Vatican Information Service - Press Release
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                The following press release is Copyrighted by the
                          Vatican Information Service.
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                               VIS-Press releases

LIKE JULES VERNE, OVERCOME LIMITS OF THE DOMINANT CULTURE

VATICAN CITY, JUL 20, 2005 (VIS) - Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Sodano
sent a letter, in the Holy Father's name, to Cardinal Stephen Fumio Hamao,
president of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and
Immigrant Peoples, for the occasion of the World Day of Tourism, which is due
to be held on September 27, 2005 and which is dedicated this year to the theme:
"Travel and Transport, from the imaginary world of Jules Verne to the reality
of the 21st Century."

The cardinal recalls how the "real or imaginary" journeys of the French author
"in fact represented an invitation to consult the new geographical atlas and a
challenge to human responsibility in facing limits that could no longer be
concealed. At the end of the 19th century, in his own incredible voyage, Verne
overcame these limits which were imposed by the dominant culture and by a
vision exclusively centered on Western Europe."

The Cardinal continues: "Today too there are obstacles to overcome if we wish
tourism, the fruit of travel and transport, to be open to everyone. New and
unexplored opportunities for travel with ever more modern and faster means can
make tourism a providential occasion to share the goods of the earth and of
culture."

"However, it is necessary to bear in mind the ethical needs associated with
tourism," writes the secretary of State. And he calls upon leaders in this
field "to favor the peaceful encounter of peoples, guaranteeing security and
ease of communication," always bearing in mind the fact that "in all
activities, and hence also in tourism, the primary goal must always remain
respect for the human being."

In closing, Cardinal Sodano stresses that tourists, for their part, must
respect the "individual, cultural and religious" diversity of the peoples they
visit. He also invites Christian communities to welcome tourists and offer them
"the chance to discover the richness of Christ incarnate, not only in monuments
and religious works of art, but also in the daily life of a living Church."
SS/WORLD TOURISM DAY/SODANO:HAMAO VIS 050720 (350)

SUMMARY

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