DUKE AND DUCHESS OF LUXEMBOURG: TRANSMIT RICHNESS OF VALUES

VATICAN CITY, MAR 27, 2003 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father received in audience their Royal Highnesses, the Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg. The Pope asked them to convey his greetings to Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte, assuring the duchess of his prayers for her health.

John Paul II focused his speech on the transmission to future generations of "the patrimony of values that have shaped our societies and that must continue to give them a soul."

"The building of the European Union," he went on, "cannot be limited to the fields of the economy and the organization of the market. It must promote a model for society that honors the fundamental dignity of the whole person and ... that favors relations based on justice, mutual respect and peace among human beings and peoples."

Later he emphasized that the "religious dimension, ... whose importance cannot be ignored, allows people to express their profound being, to recognize their origin in God and to understand the meaning of their actions in terms of mission and responsibility."

"We have the duty," said the Pope at the end of his speech, "to make everyone who lives on our continent and enjoys economic wealth and the benefits of peace, recognize the inalienable value of our common humanity and the responsibility we have for the plight of every human being, especially those who suffer from poverty, disrespect of dignity or those who know the trial of war. I am happy that today many European youths thirst for the spirit of the Beatitudes and are ready to accept them more and more in their life."

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