Vatican
City, 15 June 2013
(VIS) – The principle of secularism that governs relations between
the French State and the various religious confessions “in itself
shouldn't mean hostility to religious reality or the exclusion of
religion from the social sphere and the debates that animate it.”
Pope Francis made this statement in his address to members of the
French Senate and National Assembly who had sought an audience with
the Bishop of Rome.
The
encounter afforded the pontiff the opportunity to emphasize the
relations of trust that generally exist in that nation between those
responsible for public life and the Catholic Church. “We can
rejoice,” he affirmed, “in the fact that French society
rediscovers proposals offered by the Church, among others, that offer
a certain vision of persons and their dignity in view of the common
good. The Church thus wishes to offer its own specific contribution
on the profound questions that engage a more complete vision of
persons and their destiny, of society and its destiny. This
contribution is not only located within the anthropological or social
sphere but also in the political, economic, and cultural spheres.”
The
Pope reminded the French politicians that, as elected by a nation
towards which the eyes of the world are often turned, they have the
duty of contributing in an effective and constant manner to improving
the lives of their citizens and of responding to their needs. Even if
their task mainly unfolds in the legislative arena, it is necessary
to inspire in the laws “a supplement, a spirit, I would say a soul,
that doesn't only reflect the methods and ideas of the moment but
that confers upon them the indispensable quality that elevates and
ennobles the human person.”
Bidding
the French parliamentarians farewell, Francis warmly encouraged them
“to continue your mission, always looking for the good of the
person and promoting fraternity in you beautiful country. May God
bless you.”
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