RECONSIDER TOOLS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

VATICAN CITY, MAY 23, 2003 (VIS) - Archbishop Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, gave a speech during an international congress that is taking place at the Pontifical Gregorian University on May 23 and 24 in Rome. Its theme is "The Church and International Order."

According to a communique made public today by the dicastery, "after having emphasized that the social doctrine of the Church bases international order on ethical and juridical values that foster co-existence and collaboration among different political communities, the archbishop underlines that the objective principle of this teaching is to bind relations among States to a concept of international justice as an essential ingredient of the common good."

Referring specifically to the current situation, the archbishop recalls that "freedom and the restoration of law have never been achieved by force or war" and he reaffirms that "the tools of law as an alternative to armed force, which already exist in international law, must be reconsidered in such a way that makes them correspond to the real needs of the international community, reinforcing above all their observance and the accuracy of their application."

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