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ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI on the 40th anniversary of the encyclical "Humanae Vitae"

Brothers in the Episcopate and the Priesthood, dear brothers and sisters

,

is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the end of the work, who has pledged to consider a problem which the old and ever new responsibility and respect for the emergence of human life. I greet in particular Bishop Rino Fisichella, Rector of the Pontifical University Lateransense, which promoted qu esto International Congress and I thank him for his words of greeting that he addressed. My greeting also goes to the distinguished speakers, Teachers and all participants, who with their contributions have enriched these days of intense work. Your contribution is part effectively in the wider production that, over the decades, came growing on this topic so controversial, and yet so crucial for humanity's future.

Already the Second Vatican Council in the Constitution Gaudium et Spes, addressed to men of science, urging them to unite their efforts to reach a unity of knowledge and certainty about the conditions established to encourage a " proper regulation of births "(GS 52). My venerated predecessor memory, the Servant of God Paul VI, July 25, 1968, published the Encyclical Letter Hum anaerobic vitae. That document soon became a sign of contradiction. Developed in the light of a difficult situation, it is a significant gesture of courage in reasserting the continuity of tradition and doctrine of the Church. That text, often misunderstood and misinterpreted, sparked much discussion because it was published at the beginning of a profound challenge that marked the lives of entire generations. Forty years after its publication this not only expresses its unchanged truth, but also reveals the farsightedness with which the problem is addressed. In fact, the conjugal love is described in a process global and not stop at the division between soul and body is not subjected to mere sentiment, often transient and precarious, but the unit takes care of the person and the total sharing of spouses who, in mutual facilities themselves in a promise of love faithful and esc lusivo that springs from a genuine choice of freedom. How can such love remain closed to the gift of life? Life is always a precious gift, and every time we witness its rise to see the power of the creative action of God who trusts in man and thus calls him to build the future with the power of hope.

The Magisterium of the Church can not shirk from reflected in an ever new and deeper on the fundamental principles relating to marriage and procreation. As was true yesterday remains true today. The truth expressed in Humanae Vitae does not change, and indeed in the light of new scientific discoveries, its teaching becomes more relevant results and to reflect on the intrinsic value it possesses. The key word to enter coherently into its content remains that of love. As I wrote in my first Encyclical Deus Caritas Est: "The man either becomes truly himself when his body and soul are intimately united ... I have neither the spirit nor the body alone that loves: it is man, The person, who loves unified creature composed of body and soul "(No. 5). Apart from this unit will lose the value of the person and there is a serious danger of seeing the body as an object that can be bought or sold (cf. ibid).. In a culture subjected to the prevalence of 'get over being, human life risks losing its value. If the exercise of sexuality becomes a drug that seeks to enslave the partner to their desires and interests, without respecting the times of the beloved, then what must be defended is no longer only the true concept of love, but first and foremost the dignity of the person. As believers, we can not allow the domination of technology to affect the quality of love and the sacredness of life.

no coincidence that Jesus, speaking of human love, refers to the beginning of creation by God (cf. Mt from 19.4 to 6). His teaching refers to a gratuitous act by which the Creator intended not only to express the richness of his love, which opens by giving himself to all, but also wanted to give a paradigm on which the act of humanity must be declined. The fertility of married men and women participating in the creative act of the Father and make it clear that the origin of their married life there is a "yes" which is pronounced genuine and truly lived in reciprocity, while remaining open to life. This word Lord's remains unchanged with its profound truth and can not be abolished by the different theories over the years have succeeded and sometimes even contradictory. T he natural law, which underlies the recognition of true equality between people and peoples, deserves to be acknowledged as the source that inspires the relationship between the spouses in their responsibility to generate new children. The transmission of life is inscribed in nature and its laws stand as an unwritten norm to which everyone must refer. Any attempt to look away from this principle is in itself barren and produces no future.

E 'urgent need to rediscover new alliance that has always been fruitful, when it was respected, it sees in the foreground reason and love. A perceptive teacher as William of St. Thierry was able to write words that we feel deeply valid for our time: "If reason tells the love and love illumines reason, if the reason turns into love and love to agree let keep within the bounds of reason, then they can do something great (and grandeur of Nature, 21.8). What is this "something big" that we can assist? E 'liability on for life, that makes fruitful gift of self to another that everyone does. And 'the fruit of a love that knows how to think and choose freely, without being influenced unduly from any sacrifice required. From this flows the miracle of life which parents experience in themselves, as something extraordinary happening that takes place in them and through them. No mechanical technique can substitute the act of love that husband and wife exchange as a sign of a greater mystery starring them and sharers in the building.

are witnessing more and more often, unfortunately, sad events that involve adolescents, whose reactions manifest an incorrect understanding of the mystery of life and level of risk and implications of their actions. The urgency of training, which often I refer, sees the theme of life in a privileged content. I sincerely hope that young people in particular is for an absolutely unique, so they can learn the true meaning of love and prepare for it with a suitable education to sexuality, without being distracted by ephemeral messages that prevent them from reaching the essence of truth in play. Providing false or misleading illusions in love on genuine responsibility that we are called to assume the exercise of their sexuality does no credit to a company that relies on the principles of freedom and democracy. Freedom must be combined with truth and responsibility with the power of devotion to the other even with the sacrifice, and without these components is a growing community of men and the risk of closing in a circle of suffocating selfishness is always lurking.

The teaching expressed by the Encyclical Humanae Vitae is not easy. However, it is consistent with the fundamental structure through which life has always been transmitted since the creation of the world, respect for nature and in accordance with its needs. The respect for human life and the preservation of human dignity require us to leave no stone unturned because everyone can be shared in the very truth of conjugal responsible in full adherence to the law written in the heart of every person. With these sentiments I impart the Apostolic Blessing to you all.

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ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE UNITED NATIONS

Mr President Ladies and Gentlemen,

As I begin my address to this Assembly, I would first express to you, Mr President, my sincere gratitude for the kind words directed at me . My thanks go also to the Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for inviting me to visit the headquarters of the Organization and for the welcome he addressed to me. I greet the Ambassadors and Diplomats from the Member States and all those present through you, I greet the peoples who are represented here. They look to this institution to carry forward the inspiration that guided the foundation, that of a "center for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends" of peace and development (cf. Charter of the United Nations , Art. 1.2-1.4). As Pope John Paul II said in 1995, the Organization should be "a moral center where all nations of the world feel at home and develop a shared awareness of being, so to speak, a 'family of nations'" ( to the General Assembly of the United Nations, the 50th anniversary of the founding , New York, October 5, 1995, 14).

Through the United Nations, Member States have established universal objectives which, although not coinciding with the total common good of the human family, undoubtedly represent a fundamental part of that good. The founding principles of the Organization - the desire for peace, the quest for justice, respect for the dignity of the person, humanitarian cooperation and assistance - express the just aspirations of the human spirit, and constitute the ideals which should underpin international relations. As my predecessors Paul VI and John Paul II have observed from this very podium, all this is something that the Catholic Church and the Holy See follow attentively and with interest, seeing in your activity as problems and conflicts concerning the world community can be subject to common regulation. The United Nations embodies the aspiration for a "greater degree of international ordering" (John Paul II, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 43), inspired and governed by the principle of subsidiarity, and therefore capable of responding to the demands of the human family through binding international rules and through structures capable of harmonizing the daily unfolding of the lives of the people. This is all the more necessary at a time when we experience the obvious paradox of a multilateral consensus that continues to be in crisis because of its subordination to the decisions of a few, while the world's problems call for interventions in the form of collective action by the international community.

Indeed, questions of security, development goals, reduction of local and global inequalities, protection of the environment, resources and climate, require all international leaders to act jointly and to show a readiness to act in good faith, within the law and promoting solidarity with the weakest regions of the planet. I am thinking especially of those countries in Africa and other parts the world which remain on the margins of authentic integral development, and are therefore at risk of experiencing only the negative effects of globalization. In the context of international relations, it is necessary to recognize the higher role played by rules and structures that are intrinsically ordered to promote the common good, and therefore to safeguard human freedom. These regulations do not limit freedom, on the contrary, they promote it when they prohibit behavior and actions which work against the common good, curb its effective exercise and hence compromise the dignity of every human person. In the name of liberty must be a correlation between rights and duties, by which every person is called to assume responsibility for their choices, made as a result of entering into relations with others. Here our thoughts turn to how breakthroughs in scientific research and technological advances have sometimes been applied. Despite the enormous benefits that humanity can gain, some instances of this represent a clear violation of the order of creation, to the point where not only is the sacred character of life contradicted, but the human person and the family are robbed of their natural identity. Likewise, international action to preserve the environment and to protect various forms of life on earth must not only guarantee a rational use of technology and science, but must also rediscover the authentic image of creation. This never requires a choice to be made between science and ethics: rather it is adopting a scientific method that is truly respectful of ethical imperatives.

Recognition of the unity of the human family and the attention to the innate dignity of every man and woman, today find renewed emphasis in the principle of responsibility to protect. Only recently this principle has been defined, but it was already present implicitly at the origins of the United Nations and is now increasingly characteristic of its activity. Every State has the primary duty to protect its own population from grave and sustained violations of human rights, as well as from the consequences of humanitarian crises, whether natural or man-made. If States are unable to guarantee such protection, the international community must intervene with the juridical means provided in the Charter of the United Nations and other international instruments. The action of the international community and its institutions, provided that it respects the principles undergirding the international order, should never be interpreted as an unwarranted imposition or a limitation of sovereignty. On the contrary, it is indifference or failure to intervene that the real damage. What is needed is a deeper search for ways of preventing and managing conflicts by exploring every possible diplomatic avenue, and giving attention and encouragement to even the faintest sign of dialogue or desire for reconciliation.

The principle of "responsibility to protect" was considered by the ancient ius gentium as the foundation of every action taken by government with regard to the governed: at the time when the concept of national sovereign States was first developing, the friar Dominican Francisco de Vitoria, rightly considered as precursor of the United Nations, described this responsibility as an aspect of natural reason shared by all nations, and as the result of an international order whose task was to regulate relations between peoples. Now, as then, this principle has to invoke the idea of \u200b\u200bthe person as image of the Creator, the desire for the absolute and the essence of freedom. The founding of the United Nations, as we know, coincided with the profound upheavals that humanity experienced when he left the reference to the meaning of transcendence and natural reason, and consequently were grossly violated human freedom and dignity. When this happens, it threatens the objective foundations of the values \u200b\u200binspiring and governing the international order and it undermines the cogent and inviolable basis of those principles formulated and consolidated by the United Nations. When you are faced with new and insistent challenges, it is a mistake to fall back on a pragmatic approach, limited to determining "common ground", minimal in content and weak in its effects.

reference to human dignity, which is the foundation and goal of the responsibility to protect, leads us to the theme we are specifically focusing upon this year, which marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 'Men . The document was the result of a convergence of religious and cultural traditions, all motivated by the common desire to place the human person at the heart of institutions, laws and workings of society, and to consider the human person essential for the world of culture, religion and science. Human rights are increasingly being presented as a common language and the ethical substratum of international relations. At the same time, the universality, indivisibility and interdependence of human rights all serve as guarantees safeguarding human dignity. It is clear, however, that the rights recognized and expounded in the Declaration apply to everyone by virtue of the common origin of the person, who remains the highest point of the God's creative design for the world and for history. They are based on the natural law inscribed on human hearts and present in different cultures and civilizations. Removing human rights from this context would mean restricting their range and yielding to a relativistic conception, according to which the meaning and interpretation of rights could vary and their universality would be denied in the name of different cultural, political, social and even religious . We must not allow such a wide variety of viewpoints to obscure the fact that not only rights are universal, but so is the human person, the subject of those rights.

The life of the community, both domestically and internationally, clearly demonstrates that respect for human rights and the guarantees that follow are measures of the common good that serve to evaluate the relationship between justice and injustice, development and poverty, security and conflict. The promotion of human rights remains the most effective strategy for eliminating inequalities between countries and social groups, as well as increasing security. Of course, the victims of hardship and despair, whose human dignity is violated with impunity, become easy prey to the call to violence and they can then become violators of peace. The common good that human rights help to accomplish can not be achieved merely by applying correct procedures, nor even less by achieving a balance between competing rights. The merit of the Universal Declaration is that it has enabled different cultures, juridical expressions and institutional models to converge around a fundamental nucleus of values, and hence of rights. Today, however, must redouble their efforts in the face of pressure to reinterpret the foundations of Declaration and to compromise its inner unity so as to facilitate a move away from the protection of human dignity towards the satisfaction of simple interests, often particular interests. The Declaration was adopted as a "common standard of achievement" (Preamble ) and can not be applied piecemeal, according to trends or selective choices that merely run the risk of contradicting the unity of the human person and thus the indivisibility of human rights.

Experience shows that legality often prevails over justice when the insistence upon rights makes them appear as the exclusive result of legislative enactments or normative decisions taken by the various agencies of those in power. When presented purely in terms of legality, rights risk becoming weak propositions divorced from the ethical and rational dimension which is their basis and purpose. In contrast, the Universal Declaration has reinforced the conviction that respect for human rights is principally rooted in unchanging justice, which is also based on the binding force of international proclamations. This aspect is often overlooked when the attempt to deprive rights of their true function in the name of a narrowly utilitarian perspective. Since rights and the resulting duties follow naturally from human interaction, it is easy to forget that they are the result of a shared sense of justice built primarily upon solidarity among the members of society and hence valid at all times and for all peoples . This intuition was expressed as early as the fifth century by Augustine of Hippo, one of the masters of our intellectual heritage, which had this to say about the Do unto others what you would not want done to yourself that this "can not in any way vary according to different understandings of these in the world "(De doctrina christiana , III, 14). Therefore, human rights must be respected as an expression of justice and not merely because they are enforceable through the will of the legislators.

Ladies and Gentlemen, As history proceeds, new situations arise and you try to link them to new rights. Discernment, the ability to distinguish good from evil, becomes even more crucial in the context of demands that concern the very lives and conduct of persons, communities and peoples. Addressing the issue of rights, since there are important situations and profound realities involved, discernment is both an indispensable and a fruitful virtue.

Discernment, then, shows that entrusting exclusively to individual States, with their laws and institutions, the ultimate responsibility to meet the aspirations of people, communities and entire peoples, can sometimes have consequences that exclude the possibility of a social order respectful of the dignity and rights the person. On the other hand, a vision of life firmly anchored in the religious dimension can help achieve this, since recognition of the transcendent value of every man and woman favors conversion of heart, which then leads to a commitment to resist violence , terrorism and war, and to promote justice and peace. This also provides the proper context for the interfaith dialogue that the United Nations are called to support, just as it supports dialogue in other fields of human activity. Dialogue should be recognized as the means by which the various components of society can articulate their point of view and build consensus around the truth concerning particular values \u200b\u200bor goals. It is the nature of religions, freely practiced, that they can autonomously conduct a dialogue of thought and life. If at this level, the religious sphere is kept separate from politics, then great benefits ensue for individuals and communities. On the other hand, the United Nations can count on the results of dialogue between religions and can draw fruit from the willingness of believers to place their experiences in serving the common good. Their task is to propose a vision of faith not in terms of intolerance, discrimination and conflict, but in terms of complete respect for truth, coexistence, rights and reconciliation.

human rights, of course, must include the right to religious freedom, understood as an expression of a dimension that is both individual and community, a vision that brings out the unity of the person while clearly distinguishing between the dimension of the citizen and that of the believer. The United Nations' activities in recent years has ensured that public debate gives space to viewpoints inspired by a religious vision in all its dimensions, including ritual, worship, education, dissemination of information, as well as the freedom to profess and choose religion. It is therefore inconceivable that believers should have to suppress a part of themselves - their faith - to be active citizens should never be necessary to deny God in order to enjoy their rights. The rights associated with religion are more in need of protection if they are considered to clash with a prevailing secular ideology or with majority religious positions of an exclusive nature. You can not restrict the full guarantee of religious freedom to the free exercise of worship, in contrast, has to give due consideration to the public dimension of religion, and hence the possibility of believers playing their part in building the social order. Indeed, already they are doing, for example through their influential and generous involvement in a vast network of initiatives which extend from Universities, scientific institutions and schools to health care agencies and charitable organizations in the service of the poorest and most marginalized. The refusal to recognize the contribution to society that is rooted in the religious dimension and in the quest - by its very nature, expressing communion between persons - would effectively privilege an individualistic approach, and would fragment the unity of the person.

My presence at this Assembly is a sign of esteem for the United Nations and is intended to express the hope that the Organization will increasingly serve as a sign of unity between States and an instrument of service to the entire human family. It also demonstrates the willingness of the Catholic Church to offer her proper contribution to building international relations in a way that allows every person and every people to feel they can make a difference. The Church also works for the realization of these goals through the international activity of the Holy See, in a manner consistent with her contribution in the ethical and moral sphere and the free activity of her faithful. Indeed, the Holy See has always had a place in the assemblies of the Nations, thereby manifesting its specific character as a subject in the international. As the United Nations recently confirmed, the Holy See thereby makes its contribution according to the provisions of international law, helps to define and refer to it.

The United Nations remains a privileged setting in which the Church is committed to contributing her experience "of humanity", developed over the centuries among peoples of every race and culture, and making it available to all members of the international community . This experience and activity, directed towards attaining freedom for every believer, seeks also to increase the protection given ai diritti della persona. Tali diritti sono basati e modellati sulla natura trascendente della persona, che permette a uomini e donne di percorrere il loro cammino di fede e la loro ricerca di Dio in questo mondo. Il riconoscimento di questa dimensione va rafforzato se vogliamo sostenere la speranza dell’umanità in un mondo migliore, e se vogliamo creare le condizioni per la pace, lo sviluppo, la cooperazione e la garanzia dei diritti delle generazioni future.

Nella mia recente Enciclica Spe salvi , ho sottolineato “che la sempre nuova faticosa ricerca di retti ordinamenti per le cose umane è compito di ogni generazione” (n. 25). Per i cristiani tale compito è motivated by the hope drawn from the saving work of Jesus Christ. That is why the Church is happy to be associated with the activity of this distinguished Organization, charged with the responsibility to promote peace and goodwill throughout the world. Dear friends, thank you for the opportunity to address you today and promise the support of my prayers as you pursue your noble task.

Before you leave from this distinguished Assembly, I extend my best wishes in the official languages, all nations are represented:

Peace and Prosperity with God's help!

Paix et prospérité, avec l'aide de Dieu!

Paz y prosperidad con la ayuda de Dios!

سلام وإزدهار بعون الله!

by God's help we would like to enjoy peace and prosperity!

Мира и благоденствия с помощью Боҗией!

Thank you very much!

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PORT OF A LONG JOURNEY. DECISIVE MEETING WITH THE POPE

Magdi Allam

Dear Editor, what I am going to report regards my choice of religious faith and personal life is not meant in any way involve the Courier della Sera, of which I am proud to be part of 2003 with the rank of vice-director ad personam. I am writing therefore to be the protagonist of the story as a private citizen. Yesterday evening I converted to the Christian Catholic religion, renouncing my previous Islamic faith. Thus finally seen the light, by divine grace, the healthy and mature fruit of a long gestation lived in suffering and joy, between the deep and intimate reflection and conscious and manifest externalization. I am particularly grateful to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has given me the sacraments of Christian initiation, Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist in St. Peter's Basilica during the solemn celebration of the Easter Vigil. And I took the simplest and most explicit Christian name: "Cristiano."

since yesterday so I call 'Magdi Cristiano Allam' . For me it's the most beautiful day of life. To acquire the gift of Christian faith on the anniversary of the Resurrection of Christ by the Holy Father is, a believer, an incomparable privilege and an invaluable asset. At almost 56 years, in my small, is a historical fact, exceptional and unforgettable experience, which marks a radical and definitive than in the past. The miracle of the resurrection of Christ reverberated in my soul, freeing it from the shadows of a preaching where hate and intolerance towards the "different," uncritically condemned as "enemy," stand out on the love and respect of "neighbor" which is always a "person", as well as my mind has been freed from the obscurantism of an ideology which legitimates lying and dissimulation, violent death that leads to murder and suicide, blind submission and tyranny, allowing me to join the authentic religion of Truth, Life and Freedom. In my first Easter as a Christian I have not only discovered Jesus, I discovered for the first time the true and only God, who is the God of Faith and Reason.

The landing point
My conversion to Catholicism is the haunt of a gradual and profound interior meditation that I could not escape, given that five years have forced an armored life with guarding the home and the escort of policemen in my every move, because of threats and death sentences inflittemi by extremists and Islamic terrorists, both those resident in Italy and those working abroad. I had to wonder about the attitude of those who have publicly issued fatwas, Islamic juridical of responses, complaints and that I was Muslim, as an "enemy of Islam," "hypocrite because he is a Coptic Christian who pretends to be a Muslim for damage 'Islam', 'liar and defamer of Islam, "thus legitimating my death sentence. I wondered how it was possible that someone like me, he fought strenuously and with conviction for a "moderate Islam", taking responsibility to take a public person in the complaint of extremism and Islamic terrorism, is finite then be sentenced to death in the name of Islam and on the basis of a Koranic legitimization. So I had to acknowledge that, beyond the contingency that registers over the phenomenon of extremists and Islamist terrorism worldwide, the root of evil is innate in an Islam that is physiologically violent and historically conflictual.

parallel Providence me meet people practicing Catholics of good will who, by virtue of their witness and their friendship, as they have become a benchmark in terms of the certainty of truth and the solidity of values. Starting with many friends from Communion and Liberation, led by Don Julian Carròn; a simple religious such as Father Gabriele Mangiarotti, Sister Maria Gloria Riva, Father Carlo Maurizi and Father Yohannis Lahzi Gaid, the rediscovery of the Salesians thanks to Father Angelo Tengattini and Don Maurizio Verlezza culminated in a renewed friendship with the Rector Major Fr Pascual Chavez Villanueva; up to the embrace of high prelates of great humanity like Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Monsignor Luigi Negri, Giancarlo Vecerrica, Gino Romanazzi and, above all, Monsignor Rino Fisichella me personally follow the spiritual path of acceptance of the Christian faith. But undoubtedly encounter more extraordinary and significant in the decision to convert was that with Pope Benedict XVI, whom I admired and defended as a Muslim for his mastery in setting the indissoluble link between faith and reason as a basis for authentic religion and human civilization, and to which I adhere fully as a Christian to inspire me with new light in fulfilling the mission that God has given me.

choice and threats
Dear Director, you asked me if I do not fear for my life , in the awareness that conversion to Christianity will certainly procure me yet another, and far more severe sentence death for apostasy. You're absolutely right. I know what I meeting but will face my fate with head high, back straight and with the interior solidity of one who has the certainty of their faith. And I will be even more so after the courageous and historical gesture of the Pope, from the first moment where you became aware of my desire, immediately agreed to personally impart the Christian sacraments of initiation. His Holiness has launched an explicit and revolutionary message to a Church that until now has been too prudent in converting Muslims, abstaining from proselytizing in majority Muslim countries and keeping silent about the reality of converts in Christian countries. For fear. The fear of not being able to protect converts in the face of their death sentence apostasy and fear of reprisals against Christians living in Islamic countries. Well, today Benedict XVI, with his witness, tells us that we must overcome fear and not be afraid to affirm the truth of Jesus even with Muslims.

Enough with the violence
For my part I say it is time to end arbitrariness and violence of Muslims who do not respect the freedom of religious choice. In Italy there are thousands of converts to Islam who peacefully live their new faith. But there are also thousands of Muslim converts to Christianity who are forced to hide their new faith for fear of being assassinated by Islamic extremists who lurk among us. By one of those "cases" that evoke the discreet hand of the Lord, my first article written on September 3, 2003 Courier was titled "The new Catacombs of Islamic Converts." Was an investigation of some neo-Christians in Italy denounced their profound spiritual and human solitude, in the face of absconding state institutions that fail to protect their safety and the silence of the Church. Well I hope that the Pope's historical gesture and my testimony to derive the belief that it is time to get out of the darkness of the catacombs and to publicly state their will be fully themselves. If we can not here in Italy, the cradle of Catholicism, our home, to guarantee full religious freedom to all, how could we ever be credible when we denounce the violation of this freedom elsewhere in the world? I pray God that this special Easter gifts, the resurrection of the spirit to all the faithful in Christ who have until now been subjugated by fear.