POPE TO G-8 LEADERS: PROMOTE A CULTURE OF SOLIDARITY

VATICAN CITY, JUL 21, 2001 (VIS) - Made public this morning in Italian, French and English was the text of a brief personal message from Pope John Paul to the leaders of the eight nations attending the G-8 meeting in Genoa, Italy from July 20 to 22. The message was sent by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, secretary of state, to Silvio Berlusconi, president of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic with the request to make its contents known to the meeting's participants.

Following is the entire text of the Message, dated July 19:

"At this time when you, as leaders of the eight most developed nations in the world, are preparing to reflect upon the most important problems of the international community, I wish to assure you of my personal and spiritual closeness to you. I also express the hope that, in these days of intense work, no person and no nation will be excluded from your concerns. Without allowing yourselves to be overwhelmed by the weight of the various issues involved, I am confident that you will do all you can to promote a culture of solidarity, which will make possible concrete solutions to the problems which weigh most heavily in the lives of our brothers and sisters and in their relations with others - peace, poverty, health and the environment.

"Praying fervently that your meeting will bring excellent results, I invoke upon you the blessings of Almighty God."

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