VATICAN CITY, 18 APR 2008 (VIS) - At the end of his meeting with the president of the U.N. Security Council, the Pope met with members of the United Nations staff, to whom he addressed some brief remarks.
Benedict XVI contrasted the relatively small size of the U.N. headquarters and the greatness of its mission with the reduced dimensions of Vatican City State and the universality of the Church's calling. "The sixteenth-century artists who painted the maps on the walls of the Apostolic Palace", he said, offered Popes "a tangible sign of the immense outreach of the Church's mission at a time when the discovery of the New World was opening up unforeseen horizons.
"Here in this glass palace, the art on display has its own way of reminding us of the responsibilities of the United Nations Organisation. We see images of the effects of war and poverty, we are reminded of our duty to strive for a better world, and we rejoice in the sheer diversity and exuberance of human culture, manifested in the wide range of peoples and nations gathered together under the umbrella of the international community".
The Pope expressed his own and the Church's appreciation to U.N. staff, particularly recalling "the many civilians and peace-keepers who have sacrificed their lives in the field for the good of the peoples they serve" and "the vast multitude who dedicate their lives to work that is never sufficiently acknowledged, often in difficult circumstances".
U.N. personnel, he said, "constitute a microcosm of the whole world, in which each individual makes an indispensable contribution from the perspective of his or her particular cultural and religious heritage. The ideals that inspired the founders of this institution need to take shape here and in every one of the Organisation's missions around the world in the mutual respect and acceptance that are the hallmarks of a thriving family".
PV-U.S.A./GREETINGS U.N. PERSONNEL/NEW YORK VIS 20080419 (330)
Benedict XVI contrasted the relatively small size of the U.N. headquarters and the greatness of its mission with the reduced dimensions of Vatican City State and the universality of the Church's calling. "The sixteenth-century artists who painted the maps on the walls of the Apostolic Palace", he said, offered Popes "a tangible sign of the immense outreach of the Church's mission at a time when the discovery of the New World was opening up unforeseen horizons.
"Here in this glass palace, the art on display has its own way of reminding us of the responsibilities of the United Nations Organisation. We see images of the effects of war and poverty, we are reminded of our duty to strive for a better world, and we rejoice in the sheer diversity and exuberance of human culture, manifested in the wide range of peoples and nations gathered together under the umbrella of the international community".
The Pope expressed his own and the Church's appreciation to U.N. staff, particularly recalling "the many civilians and peace-keepers who have sacrificed their lives in the field for the good of the peoples they serve" and "the vast multitude who dedicate their lives to work that is never sufficiently acknowledged, often in difficult circumstances".
U.N. personnel, he said, "constitute a microcosm of the whole world, in which each individual makes an indispensable contribution from the perspective of his or her particular cultural and religious heritage. The ideals that inspired the founders of this institution need to take shape here and in every one of the Organisation's missions around the world in the mutual respect and acceptance that are the hallmarks of a thriving family".
PV-U.S.A./GREETINGS U.N. PERSONNEL/NEW YORK VIS 20080419 (330)
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