HOLY FATHER'S MESSAGE TO CARITAS INTERNATIONALIS

VATICAN CITY, JUL 7, 2003 (VIS) - Made public today was Pope John Paul's Message to Msgr. Fouad El-Hage, president of Caritas Internationalis, on the occasion of its 17th General Assembly which opened today at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome on the theme "Globalizing Solidarity." The assembly ends July 12. Caritas International meets every four years to discuss global issues and set future goals.

In the Message, written in French and dated July 4, the Pope expresses his "appreciation" to Caritas "for having carried out, in an active and competent way, the precept of charity and for your generous work throughout the world, most notably in serving the least protected." He says this is a great challenge in today's world, marked by interdependence among people and nations "but also threatened by break-ups, separations and violent opposition, such as we have seen with a resurgence of terrorism."

The Holy Father notes that "globalization has become the obligatory horizon of all politics. ... For solidarity to become global, one must effectively take into account all peoples of all regions of the world. This calls for great efforts, and above all of firm international guarantees vis-a-vis humanitarian organizations, often put to one side, despite themselves, wherever there are conflicts because they cannot be guaranteed security nor be assured of the right to assist persons."

He states that an end must be put "to one-way assistance as this contributes too often to further deepening imbalances through a mechanism of permanent indebtedness."

"Desiring the globalization of solidarity," he writes, "is above all a response to the pressing appeals of the Gospel of Christ. For us Christians, and for all men and women, this demands a true spiritual path, the conversion of minds and of persons." Aid cannot be mere almsgiving to the poor, making the giver feel proud and the recipient feel humiliated: aid must be "fraternal sharing."

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