THE U.N. CAN CONTRIBUTE TO GLOBALIZATION OF SOLIDARITY

VATICAN CITY, APR 7, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father this morning welcomed Kofi Annan, secretary general of the United Nations, and 60 members of the Administrative Committee on Coordination of the United Nations System, who are meeting in Rome. Also present at this encounter were officials of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

The Pope highlighted several aspects of the secretary general's recent Millennium Report, in particular the challenges facing a world marked by the globalization of the economy, society and culture. He said that "the world's increasing interdependence has given these challenges (wars, persecutions, poverty, disasters and epidemics) a global dimension, which requires new ways of thinking and new types of international cooperation if they are to be effectively met." He stressed the U.N.'s "unique opportunity to contribute to the globalization of solidarity" by being a meeting place and point of convergence for States and civil society.

John Paul II pointed out that the administrative committee, in coordinating various policies and programs, "has concentrated its reflections on the implication of globalization for development (and) on the socio-economic causes of humanitarian crises and of the persistent conflicts in Africa and other parts of the world."

The Pope then spoke of the positive aspects of "the unbounded expansion of world commerce and the amazing progress in the field of technology, communications and information," but he lamented that "the ability to exercise influence in this new global setting is not the same for all nations. ... In many cases, decisions with worldwide consequences are made only by a small, restricted group of nations."

"Non-Governmental Organizations," he observed, "representing a very broad spectrum of special interests, are becoming more and more important in international life." He lauded the awareness they create "of the need to move from an attitude of defense and promotion of particular and competing special interest to a holistic vision of development."

The Holy Father underscored the need to build a world where there is "the recognition of the dignity and centrality of every human being as an equal member of the human family and, for believers, as God's equal children."

"I must express my deep concern," Pope John Paul concluded, "when I see that certain groups try to impose on the international community ideological views or patterns of life advocated by small and particular segments of society. This is perhaps most obvious in such fields as the defense of life and the safeguarding of the family. The leaders of Nations must be careful not to overturn what the international community and law have laboriously developed to preserve the dignity of the human person and the cohesion of society."

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