From remarks made on the White House South Lawn
"In a word, freedom is ever new. It is a challenge held out to each generation, and it must constantly be won over for the cause of good (cf. Spe Salvi, 24). Few have understood this as clearly as the late Pope John Paul II. In reflecting on the spiritual victory of freedom over totalitarianism in his native Poland and in eastern Europe, he reminded us that history shows, time and again, that “in a world without truth, freedom loses its foundation”, and a democracy without values can lose its very soul (cf. Centesimus Annus, 46). Those prophetic words in some sense echo the conviction of President Washington, expressed in his Farewell Address, that religion and morality represent “indispensable supports” of political prosperity."
Let us pray with the Holy Father that our democracy, which we hope to be a model for the world, will not lose its soul. The Holy Father has such high regard for the religiosity of our country, a religiosity that is open to universal, objective and eternal truths about the nature of man and his destiny. May this religiosity of our country continue to help our leaders to set their hearts on the greatest gifts, and to not accept a freedom divorced from the pursuit of truth and virtue.
No comments:
Post a Comment