VATICAN CITY (CNS): Though a religious organisation, the Vatican extends its international diplomatic concern to all people, not just believers, Pope John Paul II said.
Speaking on April 14 to the new Argentine ambassador to the Holy See, 57 year-old Vicente Espeche Gil, the Pope said the mission of diplomats to the Vatican “is, in a certain sense, completely unique, considering the role the Holy See plays” in the international arena.
The Vatican’s diplomacy focused on obtaining “improvement in the relations between peoples, a more peaceful co-existence and a closer collaboration among all,” the Pope said.
“Its activity, of a preeminently spiritual character, is inspired by the conviction that ‘faith throws a new light on all things and makes known the full ideal which God has set for man, thus guiding the mind toward solutions that are fully human’,” said the Pope, quoting from the Second Vatican Council.
He said that is why the Holy See defends all citizens’ rights, which flow from the “dignity and exalted vocation which God has given each human being”.
No society can build a solid future if it abandons basic values and institutions “like the family, the protection of the weakest and most neglected”, the Pope said.
Offences committed against human life – from the moment of conception – undermine the very foundations of rights, freedom and the dignity of people, the Pope said.
