DISCORSO DI GIOVANI PAOLO II
AI QUATTRO NUOVI AMBASCIATORI DEL GIAPPONE,
DELL'EGITTO, DELLA CINA E DEI PAESI BASSI IN OCCASIONE
DELLA PRESENTAZIONE DELLE LETTERE CREDENZIALI

Sala del Concistoro - Venerdì, 4 ottobre 1996

Your Excellencies,

1. I am pleased to welcome you today to receive the Letters of Credence which accredit you as Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of your respective countries: Japan, Egypt, China and the Netherlands. I would again like to express my esteem and friendship towards the authorities of your nations and your fellow citizens. I deeply thank you for the cordial messages you have conveyed to me on behalf of your respective Heads of State. I would be grateful if you would return to them my respectful greetings and warm best wishes for their persons and for their lofty mission of service to their compatriots.

2. In today's world, more than ever, your peoples cherish deep hopes and aspirations, particularly for peace and respect for human rights. Justifiably, each one wishes to be recognized as a person, along with his culture and his particular spiritual approach, and at the same time, as part of a social body in which he can take the place that is his due. You know the Holy See's conviction and commitment to an ever broader understanding between peoples. Peace is the desire to live together, for the good of all, especially for the good of the young generations, for whom we must prepare a better future. Those who today work to instill in young people the conviction that every individual is our brother and, for this reason, is deserving of our attention and respect, are peacemakers. In this spirit, to be trained in brotherhood and in human civic, moral and spiritual values is a contribution to building a civilization of love, which we all need on the threshold of the third millennium. I am sure that as diplomats you are particularly aware of this aspect of social life.

As you begin your mission, I offer you my best wishes and invoke an abundance of God's blessings upon you, as well as upon your families, your staffs and the countries you represent.

*L'Osservatore Romano. Weekly edition in English n.41 p.5.

© Copyright 1996 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana