PEACE IS NOT A QUESTION OF POWER, BUT OF RECONCILIATION

VATICAN CITY, MAR 27, 1999 (VIS) - Ambassador Bae Yang-il from the Republic of Korea presented his Letters of Credence today to Pope John Paul, who recalled that, during his first visit to Korea in 1984, "I shared the sufferings and hopes of all the people of the peninsula, and I continue to pray that they will one day be re-united as one family."

"I encourage your government's efforts," the Pope said in his speech in English, "to resolve present difficulties through mutual trust, practical assistance and open dialogue. To work for peace requires patient and persevering effort, for true peace is not a matter of power and strength, but calls for genuine reconciliation between peoples."

He underlined that "the resolution of the many conflicts between countries and ethnic groups represents one of the major challenges facing the international community as we prepare to enter a new millennium. ... To ensure a peace built on solid and lasting foundations, a concerned international effort is needed to promote and guarantee a culture of human rights, and I am pleased that your government shares this opinion."

The Holy Father then referred to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which, he said, "draws attention to a number of essential features of human rights, which are sometimes overlooked or underplayed: It emphasizes that the recognition of the innate dignity of all members of the human family, as well as the equality and inalienability of their rights, is the foundation of liberty, justice and peace. Human rights, therefore, are not conferred by external authority but stem from the inherent dignity and worth of the human person: they are simply a consequence of being human and are common to all."

For peace and development among nations and peoples to occur, "it is essential to defend the universality and indivisibility of human rights."

"The Holy See," affirmed John Paul II, "seeks to be a positive and helpful partner in this immense and crucial task. The Church defends human rights and contributes to the political, social, economic and cultural order because she teaches the transcendent dignity of every person."

He turned to the religious traditions of Buddhism and Confucianism which have shaped Korea, as well as, more recently Christianity. "Korea's respect for religion is undoubtedly influenced by the conviction that at the very heart of every culture lies man's attitude to the greatest mystery, that of God."

In concluding remarks, the Pope noted that "authentic democratic society and just relations between nations depend on the attitude taken to the religious dimension of human existence and to the question of transcendent and objective truth. ... Far from being a limitation upon freedom or a threat to it, reference to the truth about the human person ... is, in fact, the guarantor of freedom's future."

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