PAPAL MESSAGE TO MEMBERS OF COUNCIL PLENARY

VATICAN CITY, NOV 8, 1999 (VIS) - Pope John Paul has sent a Message to the members of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, on the occasion of their plenary assembly in the Vatican from November 6 to 9, stating that his apostolic visit to India and Georgia had prevented him from addressing the plenary in person.

The Pope highlights the council's "important role in promoting the social teaching of the Church." Noting that the assembly's theme is the current environmental crisis," and by extension, "the use of the earth's resources," he writes: "Reflecting on the environment in the light of Sacred Scripture and the social teaching of the Church, we cannot but raise the question of the very style of life promoted by modern society, and in particular the question of the uneven way in which the benefits of progress are distributed."

The council can serve the Church and mankind, he says, "in promoting a deeper understanding of the obligation to work for greater justice and equity in the way people are enabled to share in the resources of God's creation."

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