VATICAN CITY, MAY 18, 2001 (VIS) - Pope John Paul II this morning welcomed nine new ambassadors to the Holy See during a ceremony in which they collectively presented their Letters of Credence. He addressed the ambassadors as a group, and then met individually with them, consigning to each one a letter which accented the particular situation in their respective country.
The new ambassadors are: Balram Singh Malla of Nepal; Saida Chtioui from Tunisia; Indrek Tarand of Estonia; Silumelume Kufunduka Mubukwanu from Zambia; Abraham Doukoure of Guinea; Prasad Kariyawasam from Sri Lanka; Chuluuny Batjargal of Mongolia; Patricia Nozipho January-Bardill from South Africa and Gibril Seman Joof of Gambia.
The Holy Father began his French-language discourse to the diplomats by greeting the heads of state, political leaders and peoples of each of the nine nations represented this morning.
He went on to say that, "during my Jubilee pilgrimage in the footsteps of St. Paul in Greece, Syria and Malta, I closely followed the dramatic events which were taking place in the Near East. I would like once again to profit from the presence of an important number of diplomats to renew with ever greater force my appeal for peace on all continents, asking the leaders of social life to make courageous decisions which will commit peoples in a resolute manner to the path of peace and reconciliation."
John Paul II continued: "Peace and security of persons and communities are an essential good. It is impossible to imagine that a country would build its future by making an abstraction of the peoples who surround it or the cultural and ethnic diversities which comprise it. It would be fitting if all powers - local, national and international - would commit themselves to resolving the conflicts which have already caused too many innocent victims.
"In this domain," the Pope concluded, "the role of diplomacy is especially important. I therefore, with all my heart, call for a commitment by all diplomatic services in favor of a negotiated resolution of the different conflicts and focal points of tension existing on the different continents. Such a commitment will contribute to restoring confidence and hope to those populations which for too long have been in situations of instability."
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