VATICAN CITY, 4 OCT 2008 (VIS) - Pope Benedict XVI, returning the visit to the Vatican made by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano on 20 November 2006, today travelled to the Quirinal Palace, Italy's official presidential residence.
The Pope left the Vatican by car at 10.30 a.m. Just outside Vatican City, in Pius XII Square, he was greeted by a delegation from the Italian government led by Foreign Minister Franco Frattini. The Holy Father's motor cavalcade stopped a second time in Piazza Venezia near Rome's City Hall, where he was greeted by Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno. Arriving at the Quirinal, President Napolitano came out to meet and welcome Benedict XVI.
Before his private meeting with the president, the Pope greeted former presidents of the Republic. After the meeting, he briefly visited the chapel of the Quirinal Palace. The Holy Father and President Napolitano then each pronounced their discourses.
Responding to the president's greeting, the Pope recalled how "at a certain moment in history, this palace became almost a sign of contradiction as, on the one hand, Italy longed to become a unified State and, on the other, the Holy See was concerned with maintaining its own independence as a guarantee of its universal mission. ... I am referring", he said, "to the 'Roman question' which came to an end with the signing of the Lateran Pacts on 11 February 1929".
Benedict XVI indicated that his visit "serves to confirm the fact that the Quirinal and the Vatican are not two hills that ignore one another or face one another acrimoniously; rather that they are places symbolising mutual respect for the sovereignty of the State and of the Church, ready to co-operate to promote and serve the integral good of human beings and the peaceful continuance of social coexistence. This - I would like to reiterate - is a positive state of affairs that may be observed almost daily at various levels, one to which other States may also look and draw useful lessons".
After highlighting the fact that today marks the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, "the special protector" of Italy, the Pope explained how "in this saint, who attracts believers and non-believers alike, we may see an image of the perennial mission of the Church, also in her relationship with civil society. The Church in this modern age of profound and sometimes difficult changes, continues to present everyone with the Gospel's message of salvation and undertakes to contribute to building a society founded on truth and freedom, on respect for life and human dignity, on justice and social solidarity.
"Hence", he added, "the Church does not aim to acquire power nor does she seek privileges or positions of economic and social advantage. Her only aim is to serve mankind, drawing inspiration, as the supreme norm, from the words and example of Jesus Christ Who 'went about doing good and healing all'".
He went on: "In order to carry out this her mission, the Church must, everywhere and always, be able to enjoy the right of religious freedom in its broadest sense. ... The full guarantee of religious liberty cannot be limited to the free exercise of worship, but has to give due consideration to the public dimension of religion, and hence to the possibility of believers playing their part in building the social order", he said quoting his own 18 April address before the United Nations.
This contribution to building society takes on many forms, observed the Holy Father, because the Church "is at one and the same time a spiritual and a visible reality in which members have diverse vocations, tasks and roles. She feels a particular responsibility towards the new generations. One particularly urgent problem today is education, the indispensable key that gives access to a future inspired by the perennial values of Christian humanism".
Benedict XVI expressed the hope that "Italian Christian communities ... may educate people, and especially the young, to be responsible citizens committed to civil life", and that "pastors and faithful will continue to make an important contribution to building, the common good of the country, even in these moments of economic and social uncertainty, ...with a particular concern for the poor, the marginalised, the young in search of work and those without work, families and the elderly".
"I also hope", he went on, "that the contribution of the Catholic community will be welcomed by everyone with the same ready spirit as that in which it is offered. There is no reason to fear prevarication by the Church and her members detrimental to freedom, indeed they hope that their own freedom not to betray their consciences illuminated by the Gospel will also be recognised.
"This will be easier", Benedict XVI concluded, "if is never forgotten that all elements of society must, with mutual respect, undertake to create ... the true good of mankind, something that the hearts and minds of Italians, nourished by 20 centuries of culture impregnated with Christianity, well understand".
VE/OFFICIAL VISIT ITALY/NAPOLITANO VIS 20081006 (850)
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