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Transcript: Pope John Paul II
July 23, 2001 Posted:  8:45 AM EDT (1245 GMT)
Pope John Paul II: 'A crisis of values'

The text of the statement by Pope John Paul II
to U.S. President George W. Bush:

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you on your first visit
since you assumed the office of President of the United States.

I warmly greet the distinguished first lady and the members
of your entourage.

I express heartfelt good wishes that your presidency
will strengthen your country in its commitment
to the principles which inspired American democracy
from the beginning, and sustained the nation
in its remarkable growth.

These principles remain as valid as ever, as you face
the challenges of the new century opening up before us.

Your nation's founders, conscious of the immense natural
and human resources with which your land had been blessed
by the Creator, were guided by a profound sense
of responsibility towards the common good, to be pursued
in respect for the God-given dignity and inalienable
rights of all.

America continues to measure herself by the nobility
of her founding vision in building a society of liberty,
equality and justice under the law.

In the century which has just ended, these same ideals
inspired the American people to resist two totalitarian
systems based on an atheistic vision of man and society.

At the beginning of this new century, which also marks
the beginning of the third millennium of Christianity,
the world continues to look to America with hope.

Yet it does so with an acute awareness of the crisis
of values being experienced in Western society,
ever more insecure in the face of the ethical decisions
indispensable for humanity's future course.

In recent days, the world's attention has been focused
on the process of globalisation which has so greatly
accelerated in the past decade, and which you
and other leaders of the industrialised nations
have discussed in Genoa.

While appreciating the opportunities for economic
growth and material prosperity which this process
offers, the Church cannot but express profound
concern that our world continues to be divided,
no longer by the former political and military blocs,
but by a tragic fault line between those who can benefit
from these opportunities and those who seem cut off
from them.

The revolution of freedom of which I spoke at the
United Nations in 1995 must now be completed
by a revolution of opportunity, in which all the
world's peoples actively contribute to economic
prosperity and share in its fruits.

This requires leadership by those nations whose
religious and cultural traditions should make them
most attentive to the moral dimension of the issues
involved.

Respect for human dignity and belief in the equal
dignity of all the members of the human family
demand policies aimed at enabling all peoples
to have access to the means required to improve
their lives, including the technological means
and skills needed for development.

Respect for nature by everyone, a policy of openness
to immigrants, the cancellation or significant reduction
of the debt of poorer nations, the promotion of peace
through dialogue and negotiation, the primacy
of the rule of law: these are the priorities which the leaders
of the developed nations cannot disregard.

A global world is essentially a world of solidarity!
From this point of view, America, because of her many
resources, cultural traditions and religious values,
has a special responsibility.

Respect for human dignity finds one of its highest
expressions in religious freedom. This right is the first
listed in your nation's Bill of Rights, and it is significant
that the promotion of religious freedom continues
to be an important goal of American policy in the
international community.

I gladly express the appreciation of the whole
Catholic Church for America's commitment
in this regard.

Another area in which political and moral choices
have the gravest consequences for the future
of civilization concerns the most fundamental
of human rights, the right to life itself.

Experience is already showing how a tragic coarsening
of consciences accompanies the assault on innocent
human life in the womb, leading to accommodation
and acquiescence in the face of other related evils
such as euthanasia, infanticide and, most recently,
proposals for the creation for research purposes
of human embryos, destined to destruction
in the process.

A free and virtuous society, which America aspires to be,
must reject practices that devalue and violate human life
at any stage from conception until natural death.

In defending the right to life, in law and through a vibrant
culture of life, America can show the world the path
to a truly humane future, in which man remains the master,
not the product, of his technology.

Mr. President, as you carry out the tasks of the high office
which the American people have entrusted to you,
I assure you of a remembrance in my prayers.

I am confident that under your leadership your nation
will continue to draw on its heritage and resources
to help build a world in which each member of the human
family can flourish and live in a manner worthy of his
or her innate dignity.

With these sentiments I cordially invoke upon you
and the beloved American people Gods blessings
of wisdom, strength and peace.

SOURCE: CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/07/23/bush.pope/index.html

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