I would also like to enter into dialogue
with the many elderly persons who are a storehouse of wisdom
forged by experience, and who seek in many ways, especially
through volunteer work, to share their stories and their
insights. I know that many of them are retired, but still
active; they keep working to build up this land. I also want
to dialogue with all those young people who are working to
realize their great and noble aspirations, who are not led
astray by facile proposals, and who face difficult
situations, often as a result of immaturity on the part of
many adults. I wish to dialogue with all of you, and I would
like to do so through the historical memory of your people.
My visit takes place at a time when men
and women of good will are marking the anniversaries of
several great Americans. The complexities of history and the
reality of human weakness notwithstanding, these men and
women, for all their many differences and limitations, were
able by hard work and self- sacrifice – some at the cost of
their lives – to build a better future. They shaped
fundamental values which will endure forever in the spirit
of the American people. A people with this spirit can live
through many crises, tensions and conflicts, while always
finding the resources to move forward, and to do so with
dignity. These men and women offer us a way of seeing and
interpreting reality. In honoring their memory, we are
inspired, even amid conflicts, and in the here and now of
each day, to draw upon our deepest cultural reserves.
I would like to mention four of these
Americans: Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day
and Thomas Merton.
This year marks the one hundred and
fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of President
Abraham Lincoln, the guardian of liberty, who labored
tirelessly that “this nation, under God, [might] have a new
birth of freedom”. Building a future of freedom requires
love of the common good and cooperation in a spirit of
subsidiarity and solidarity.
All of us are quite aware of, and deeply
worried by, the disturbing social and political situation of
the world today. Our world is increasingly a place of
violent conflict, hatred and brutal atrocities, committed
even in the name of God and of religion. We know that no
religion is immune from forms of individual delusion or
ideological extremism. This means that we must be especially
attentive to every type of fundamentalism, whether religious
or of any other kind. A delicate balance is required to
combat violence perpetrated in the name of a religion, an
ideology or an economic system, while also safeguarding
religious freedom, intellectual freedom and individual
freedoms. But there is another temptation which we must
especially guard against: the simplistic reductionism which
sees only good or evil; or, if you will, the righteous and
sinners. The contemporary world, with its open wounds which
affect so many of our brothers and sisters, demands that we
confront every form of polarization which would divide it
into these two camps. We know that in the attempt to be
freed of the enemy without, we can be tempted to feed the
enemy within. To imitate the hatred and violence of tyrants
and murderers is the best way to take their place. That is
something which you, as a people, reject.
Our response must instead be one of hope
and healing, of peace and justice. We are asked to summon
the courage and the intelligence to resolve today’s many
geopolitical and economic crises. Even in the developed
world, the effects of unjust structures and actions are all
too apparent. Our efforts must aim at restoring hope,
righting wrongs, maintaining commitments, and thus promoting
the well-being of individuals and of peoples. We must move
forward together, as one, in a renewed spirit of fraternity
and solidarity, cooperating generously for the common good.
The challenges facing us today call for a
renewal of that spirit of cooperation, which has
accomplished so much good throughout the history of the
United States. The complexity, the gravity and the urgency
of these challenges demand that we pool our resources and
talents, and resolve to support one another, with respect
for our differences and our convictions of conscience.
In this land, the various religious
denominations have greatly contributed to building and
strengthening society. It is important that today, as in the
past, the voice of faith continue to be heard, for it is a
voice of fraternity and love, which tries to bring out the
best in each person and in each society. Such cooperation is
a powerful resource in the battle to eliminate new global
forms of slavery, born of grave injustices which can be
overcome only through new policies and new forms of social
consensus.
[Editor’s Note:The
following section, which was in the prepared remarks, was
not included in the speech.]
Here I think of the political history of the
United States, where democracy is deeply rooted in the mind
of the American people. All political activity must serve
and promote the good of the human person and be based on
respect for his or her dignity. “We hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,
that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness” (Declaration of Independence, 4 July 1776). If
politics must truly be at the service of the human person,
it follows that it cannot be a slave to the economy and
finance.
Politics is, instead, an expression of our
compelling need to live as one, in order to build as one the
greatest common good: that of a community which sacrifices
particular interests in order to share, in justice and
peace, its goods, its interests, its social life. I do not
underestimate the difficulty that this involves, but I
encourage you in this effort.Here too I think of the march
which Martin Luther King led from Selma to Montgomery fifty
years ago as part of the campaign to fulfill his “dream” of
full civil and political rights for African Americans. That
dream continues to inspire us all. I am happy that America
continues to be, for many, a land of “dreams”. Dreams which
lead to action, to participation, to commitment. Dreams
which awaken what is deepest and truest in the life of a
people.
In recent centuries, millions of people
came to this land to pursue their dream of building a future
in freedom. We, the people of this continent, are not
fearful of foreigners, because most of us were once
foreigners. I say this to you as the son of immigrants,
knowing that so many of you are also descended from
immigrants. Tragically, the rights of those who were here
long before us were not always respected. For those peoples
and their nations, from the heart of American democracy, I
wish to reaffirm my highest esteem and appreciation. Those
first contacts were often turbulent and violent, but it is
difficult to judge the past by the criteria of the present.
Nonetheless, when the stranger in our midst appeals to us,
we must not repeat the sins and the errors of the past. We
must resolve now to live as nobly and as justly as possible,
as we educate new generations not to turn their back on our
“neighbors” and everything around us. Building a nation
calls us to recognize that we must constantly relate to
others, rejecting a mindset of hostility in order to adopt
one of reciprocal subsidiarity, in a constant effort to do
our best. I am confident that we can do this.
Our world is facing a refugee crisis of a
magnitude not seen since the Second World War. This presents
us with great challenges and many hard decisions. On this
continent, too, thousands of persons are led to travel north
in search of a better life for themselves and for their
loved ones, in search of greater opportunities. Is this not
what we want for our own children? We must not be taken
aback by their numbers, but rather view them as persons,
seeing their faces and listening to their stories, trying to
respond as best we can to their situation. To respond in a
way which is always humane, just and fraternal. We need to
avoid a common temptation nowadays: to discard whatever
proves troublesome. Let us remember the Golden Rule: “Do
unto others as you would have them do unto you” (Mt 7:12).
This Rule points us in a clear direction.
Let us treat others with the same passion and compassion
with which we want to be treated. Let us seek for others the
same possibilities which we seek for ourselves. Let us help
others to grow, as we would like to be helped ourselves. In
a word, if we want security, let us give security; if we
want life, let us give life; if we want opportunities, let
us provide opportunities. The yardstick we use for others
will be the yardstick which time will use for us. The Golden
Rule also reminds us of our responsibility to protect and
defend human life at every stage of its development.
This conviction has led me, from the
beginning of my ministry, to advocate at different levels
for the global abolition of the death penalty. I am
convinced that this way is the best, since every life is
sacred, every human person is endowed with an inalienable
dignity, and society can only benefit from the
rehabilitation of those convicted of crimes. Recently my
brother bishops here in the United States renewed their call
for the abolition of the death penalty. Not only do I
support them, but I also offer encouragement to all those
who are convinced that a just and necessary punishment must
never exclude the dimension of hope and the goal of
rehabilitation.
In these times when social concerns are so
important, I cannot fail to mention the Servant of God
Dorothy Day, who founded the Catholic Worker Movement. Her
social activism, her passion for justice and for the cause
of the oppressed, were inspired by the Gospel, her faith,
and the example of the saints.
How much progress has been made in this
area in so many parts of the world! How much has been done
in these first years of the third millennium to raise people
out of extreme poverty! I know that you share my conviction
that much more still needs to be done, and that in times of
crisis and economic hardship a spirit of global solidarity
must not be lost. At the same time I would encourage you to
keep in mind all those people around us who are trapped in a
cycle of poverty. They too need to be given hope. The fight
against poverty and hunger must be fought constantly and on
many fronts, especially in its causes. I know that many
Americans today, as in the past, are working to deal with
this problem.
It goes without saying that part of this
great effort is the creation and distribution of wealth. The
right use of natural resources, the proper application of
technology and the harnessing of the spirit of enterprise
are essential elements of an economy which seeks to be
modern, inclusive and sustainable. “Business is a noble
vocation, directed to producing wealth and improving the
world. It can be a fruitful source of prosperity for the
area in which it operates, especially if it sees the
creation of jobs as an essential part of its service to the
common good” (Laudato Si’, 129). This common good also
includes the earth, a central theme of the encyclical which
I recently wrote in order to “enter into dialogue with all
people about our common home” (ibid., 3). “We need a
conversation which includes everyone, since the
environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human
roots, concern and affect us all” (ibid., 14).
In Laudato Si’, I call for a courageous
and responsible effort to “redirect our steps” (ibid., 61),
and to avert the most serious effects of the environmental
deterioration caused by human activity. I am convinced that
we can make a difference and I have no doubt that the United
States – and this Congress – have an important role to play.
Now is the time for courageous actions and strategies, aimed
at implementing a “culture of care” (ibid., 231) and “an
integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity
to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature”
(ibid., 139). “We have the freedom needed to limit and
direct technology” (ibid., 112); “to devise intelligent ways
of… developing and limiting our power” (ibid., 78); and to
put technology “at the service of another type of progress,
one which is healthier, more human, more social, more
integral” (ibid., 112). In this regard, I am confident that
America’s outstanding academic and research institutions can
make a vital contribution in the years ahead.
A century ago, at the beginning of the
Great War, which Pope Benedict XV termed a “pointless
slaughter”, another notable American was born: the
Cistercian monk Thomas Merton. He remains a source of
spiritual inspiration and a guide for many people. In his
autobiography he wrote: “I came into the world. Free by
nature, in the image of God, I was nevertheless the prisoner
of my own violence and my own selfishness, in the image of
the world into which I was born. That world was the picture
of Hell, full of men like myself, loving God, and yet hating
him; born to love him, living instead in fear of hopeless
self-contradictory hungers”. Merton was above all a man of
prayer, a thinker who challenged the certitudes of his time
and opened new horizons for souls and for the Church. He was
also a man of dialogue, a promoter of peace between peoples
and religions.
From this perspective of dialogue, I would
like to recognize the efforts made in recent months to help
overcome historic differences linked to painful episodes of
the past. It is my duty to build bridges and to help all men
and women, in any way possible, to do the same. When
countries which have been at odds resume the path of
dialogue – a dialogue which may have been interrupted for
the most legitimate of reasons – new opportunities open up
for all. This has required, and requires, courage and
daring, which is not the same as irresponsibility. A good
political leader is one who, with the interests of all in
mind, seizes the moment in a spirit of openness and
pragmatism. A good political leader always opts to initiate
processes rather than possessing spaces (cf. Evangelii
Gaudium, 222-223).
Being at the service of dialogue and peace
also means being truly determined to minimize and, in the
long term, to end the many armed conflicts throughout our
world. Here we have to ask ourselves: Why are deadly weapons
being sold to those who plan to inflict untold suffering on
individuals and society? Sadly, the answer, as we all know,
is simply for money: money that is drenched in blood, often
innocent blood. In the face of this shameful and culpable
silence, it is our duty to confront the problem and to stop
the arms trade.
Three sons and a daughter of this land,
four individuals and four dreams: Lincoln, liberty; Martin
Luther King, liberty in plurality and non-exclusion; Dorothy
Day, social justice and the rights of persons; and Thomas
Merton, the capacity for dialogue and openness to God.
Four representatives of the American
people.
I will end my visit to your country in
Philadelphia, where I will take part in the World Meeting of
Families. It is my wish that throughout my visit the family
should be a recurrent theme. How essential the family has
been to the building of this country! And how worthy it
remains of our support and encouragement! Yet I cannot hide
my concern for the family, which is threatened, perhaps as
never before, from within and without. Fundamental
relationships are being called into question, as is the very
basis of marriage and the family. I can only reiterate the
importance and, above all, the richness and the beauty of
family life.
In particular, I would like to call
attention to those family members who are the most
vulnerable, the young. For many of them, a future filled
with countless possibilities beckons, yet so many others
seem disoriented and aimless, trapped in a hopeless maze of
violence, abuse and despair. Their problems are our
problems. We cannot avoid them. We need to face them
together, to talk about them and to seek effective solutions
rather than getting bogged down in discussions. At the risk
of oversimplifying, we might say that we live in a culture
which pressures young people not to start a family, because
they lack possibilities for the future. Yet this same
culture presents others with so many options that they too
are dissuaded from starting a family.
A nation can be considered great when it
defends liberty as Lincoln did, when it fosters a culture
which enables people to “dream” of full rights for all their
brothers and sisters, as Martin Luther King sought to do;
when it strives for justice and the cause of the oppressed,
as Dorothy Day did by her tireless work, the fruit of a
faith which becomes dialogue and sows peace in the
contemplative style of Thomas Merton.
In these remarks I have sought to present
some of the richness of your cultural heritage, of the
spirit of the American people. It is my desire that this
spirit continue to develop and grow, so that as many young
people as possible can inherit and dwell in a land which has
inspired so many people to dream.
God bless America!
