Pope tell US ambassador to keep ethics in politics Pope Benedict told the United States' new ambassador on Saturday that world leaders had to consider the ethical and moral dimension of every political decision.
In his address to the envoy, the Pope made no specific mention of the US-led invasion of Iraq but referred several times to the positions on war and peace of his predecessor John Paul, who strongly opposed the war and tried to thwart it. Pope Benedict told the new envoy, Francis Rooney, that John Paul "called attention to the intrinsic ethical dimension of every political decision." He noted that his predecessor had taught "that the disturbing spread of social disorder, war, injustice and violence in our world can ultimately be countered only by renewed appreciation and respect for the universal moral law whose principles derive from the Creator himself." The Vatican under John Paul believed that the US-led war in Iraq was not morally justified. Some Vatican officials said publicly that it was a violation of international law because it did not have the backing of the United Nations. Pope Benedict told the US envoy that respect for universal moral law was "essential to the building of a world which acknowledges and promotes the dignity, life and freedom of each human person, while creating the conditions of justice and peace in which individuals and communities can truly flourish." Addressing the first US ambassador of his pontificate, Pope Benedict added: "It is precisely the promotion and defence of these values, which must govern relations between nations and peoples in the pursuit of the common good of the human family." The Pope, who was elected in April, also said many parts of the world were still affected by "crushing debt that feeds the spiral of poverty" and asked the United States to be generous. Mr Rooney, 51, told the Pope that the United States was looking to the Holy See as a partner in efforts to spread peace, encourage democracy, and to defeat terrorism. "This task will require long-term efforts among like-minded partners to overcome the intolerance and hatred that lie at the heart of those determined to spread terror," Mr Rooney said. Rooney thanked the Vatican for consistently "condemning religiously inspired terrorism." The envoy also asked the Vatican to support US initiatives in favour of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which are very controversial in Europe and parts of the developing world. "We believe that the advance of agricultural science and technology can help human beings even in the most difficult environments to produce crops to feed more of their own people," said Mr Rooney, who is from Tulsa, Oklahoma. "Nothing on its own can solve the complex problem of world hunger. But we cannot let irrational fears stop us from investigating what could be one part of the answer," Rooney said. The Pope told Mr Rooney he was still praying for all the people whose lives were devastated by Hurricane Katrina and other storms in the south of the United States. -Reuters http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200511/s1505340.htm ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/uTGrlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
