VATICAN CITY (CNS): The wars, social injustices and ecological imbalances that continue to plague many countries were rooted in human selfishness, Pope John Paul II said in his annual ‘state of the world’ address to diplomats.
The Pope said the solution lay in an approach that may seem ‘too simple’ to the world’s powerful – treating all people as brothers and sisters. He noted some hopeful signs in recent peace agreements and international steps to reduce poverty and illiteracy.
The Pope made the remarks on January 13 in an audience with ambassadors representing the 172 countries that maintain full diplomatic relations with the Holy See.
While praising the ambassadors’ work, the pontiff said the world scene at the beginning of 2001 ‘could cause one to doubt the capacity of diplomacy to bring about the rule of order, equity and peace among peoples’.
