ANGOLA: PUT INTO PRACTICE THE AGREEMENTS FOR TRUE PEACE

VATICAN CITY, APR 29, 2002 (VIS) - John Paul II received today the Letters of Credence of the new ambassador of Angola, Armindo Fernandes do Espirito Santo Vieira, to whom he expressed his joy that the country "has renewed the way for national harmony" after four decades of civil war.

After asking God to help "to put into practice the agreements which have been reached, thus obtaining a solution to the national problems," he said: "I express my most fervent desire that, thanks to the lively sense of solidarity and community life that are profound values of African culture, the obstacles and resistance in the search for the common good may be overcome rapidly and that a collective, unified and peaceful life may be established, in which all animosities are forgotten, the convictions of each person are respected and understanding is affirmed among all the different socio-political components, utilizing differences wisely for the common enrichment."

The Pope went on to say: "For that reason, it is important that leaders in public life do everything possible to promote building a better future for all their fellow countrymen, and in a special way for the disadvantaged."

The Holy Father recalled that the ambassador had expressed in his speech the hope that the Church would commit herself "in this phase of the implementation of a definitive peace and reconciliation among all Angolans." The Pope assured him that the Church, "with her educational institutions, will help to free people from the serious form of misery, which is the lack of cultural and religious formation. Through the Church's work in the field of health care, she wants to promote respect for human life and testimony to God's concern for the suffering."

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