Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04VATICAN4882
2004-12-27 13:53:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Vatican
Cable title:  

"OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD:" POPE URGES GLOBAL

Tags:  PREL PHUM ECON EAID VT VTPREL 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS VATICAN 004882 

SIPDIS


DEPT FOR EUR/WE (Levin); AF/RSA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM ECON EAID PHUM ECON EAID VT VTPREL
SUBJECT: "OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD:" POPE URGES GLOBAL
SOLIDARITY TO PROMOTE PEACE

REF: Vatican 4778

-------
SUMMARY
-------
UNCLAS VATICAN 004882

SIPDIS


DEPT FOR EUR/WE (Levin); AF/RSA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM ECON EAID PHUM ECON EAID VT VTPREL
SUBJECT: "OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD:" POPE URGES GLOBAL
SOLIDARITY TO PROMOTE PEACE

REF: Vatican 4778

--------------
SUMMARY
--------------

1.In his 2005 World day of Peace Message, Pope John Paul
II challenged the world to focus on the "common good" of
all humanity, creating a more equitable world that would be
more conducive to peace. He asked nations and peoples to
withstand the temptation of responding to evil with more
evil and to avoid looking at conflicts and inequities
through the prism of narrow national interests. As he
condemned social and political evils and violence
afflicting the world, the Pope called for greater resource
sharing and solidarity with poor countries, especially
African states. He noted the importance of sharing science
and technology, the adoption of equitable trade practices,
and poverty reduction. A globalized world, said the
Pontiff, requires all world citizens to take responsibility
for those who are suffering. In this way, he argued,
nations can make an "effective contribution" to "building a
world based on the values...of peace." End Summary.

--------------
COMBAT EVIL WITH GOOD - NOT MORE EVIL
--------------


2.In his message for the 2005 World Day of Peace
(complete text faxed to EUR/WE),Pope John Paul II urged
attention to the "good" of moral values as a way to combat
evil. [Note: The Pope will formally deliver the message
January 1, 2005, but the Vatican released the text in a
mid-December press conference. End Note.] The Pope asked
nations and peoples to withstand the temptation of
responding to evil with more evil, and instead to focus on
n
the "common good" for all humanity. Evil, he explained,
was "not some impersonal, deterministic force," but a
result of wrong choices made by men and women who freely
choose to do evil. By focusing on "world citizenship"
rather than narrow national, ethnic or other parochial
interests, the Pope believes, a more equitable world can be
built that would be more conducive to peace.

-------------- --------------
VIOLENCE AND TERROR CONDEMNED; PROFOUND REGRET OVER IRAQ

-------------- --------------


3. In identifying the gravest instances of evil and
violence in the world, the Pontiff identified regional
hotspots with particularly troubling outbreaks of violence,
pointing to Africa (described as the Pope's "beloved
continent"),Palestine, and Iraq. Regarding the latter,
the Pope asked how one could not think "with profound
regret of the drama unfolding in Iraq, which has given rise
to tragic situations of uncertainty and insecurity for
all?" John Paul condemned the "troubling phenomenon of
terrorist violence" that he said appeared to be "driving
the whole world toward a future of fear and anguish." He
soundly condemned all violence as an unacceptable evil that
never solves problems. "Violence is a lie . . . that
destroys what it claims to defend: the dignity, the life,
the freedom of human beings," the Pope declared.

-------------- --------------
SHARING THE EARTH'S GOODS WITHOUT TRADE BARRIERS
-------------- --------------

3.Central to promoting conditions conducive to peace,
the message argues, is greater resource sharing. According
to the Pope, all people deserve a share in the goods of the
earth in order to be able feed and house their families
with hope for the future. In practice, the Pope called on
the international community to assume greater
responsibility for sharing resources equitably. In this
context he mentioned the obligation of wealthier nations to
o
aid in the development of less-developed nations.
According to the Pope, a true sharing in development would
become possible "once the barriers and monopolies that
marginalize many peoples are removed." The Pontiff said
that in today's globalized world, the public had to be all
the more vigilant in the fight against poverty, the
promotion of peace and security, and concern for climate
change and disease control.

--------------
DEBT FORGIVENESS WITH ACCOUNTABILITY
--------------


4.The Pope gave special mention to debt forgiveness for
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs),noting that he had
placed the issue on the international agenda some fifteen
years ago. While acknowledging the effectiveness of recent
debt-forgiveness initiatives, John Paul II said a lack of
foreign investment, the price of raw materials, and poorly-
functioning international organizations had smothered
economic growth in poor countries. He concluded that poor
countries remained trapped in a vicious circle.

--------------
KEEPING THE FOCUS ON AFRICA
--------------

5.Africa was the only region to garner an in-depth
discussion, with the Pope urging a radical new direction
for the continent to overcome the armed conflicts, pandemic
diseases, extreme poverty, and political instability that
have led to widespread insecurity there. Citing the
responsibilities of "world citizenship," the Pope called
for a new bilateral and multilateral solidarity for Africa,
and stressed that the wellbeing of Africans was part of the
common good of all. "Development either becomes shared in
common by every part of the world, or it undergoes a
process of regression even in areas marked by constant
progress," he concluded. The Pope urged Africans to take
control of their own cultural, civil, social and economic
development. Africa, he said, had to stop being a mere
recipient of aid, and had to ensure greater transparency
and accountability in its development partnerships with
wealthier countries. In Africa, the Pope clearly sees a
decisive test for world peace in how all concerned
countries tackle the continent's tremendous challenges.

--------------
COMMENT: A BROAD FRAMEWORK FOR PEACE
--------------

6.As reported reftel, the Vatican has not altered its
doctrine on the legitimate use of force as a last-resort
response to war and violence. The 2005 World Day of Peace
Message, however, is clearly seeking to move the
international focus beyond the immediate need to prevent
aggression or terrorist violence to the broader sources of
conflict. In the Pope's vision, a comprehensive framework
of solidarity between peoples that addresses global
deprivation and inequality could diminish the likelihood of
human conflict before it begins, thus promoting lasting
peace. The Holy See's focus on moral values is not in this
case on the sexual moral values so often accented in the
media, but on the broader moral values of social justice
drawn from the Church's extensive teaching on the subject.
As the message concludes, "By the mere fact of being
conceived, "a child is entitled to rights" that can only be
guaranteed by "the condemnation racism, . . . aid to
displaced persons and refugees, and the mobilization of
international solidarity towards all the needy" in a
consistent application of the principle of world
citizenship. The focus on Africa reflects the Pope's
belief that no other region presents a greater moral
challenge to the international community today.

Nicholson


NNNN

2004VATICA04882 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED


UNCLAS VATICAN 004882

SIPDIS


DEPT FOR EUR/WE (Levin); AF/RSA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM ECON EAID PHUM ECON EAID VT VTPREL
SUBJECT: "OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD:" POPE URGES GLOBAL
SOLIDARITY TO PROMOTE PEACE

REF: Vatican 4778

--------------
SUMMARY
--------------

1.In his 2005 World day of Peace Message, Pope John Paul
II challenged the world to focus on the "common good" of
all humanity, creating a more equitable world that would be
more conducive to peace. He asked nations and peoples to
withstand the temptation of responding to evil with more
evil and to avoid looking at conflicts and inequities
through the prism of narrow national interests. As he
condemned social and political evils and violence
afflicting the world, the Pope called for greater resource
sharing and solidarity with poor countries, especially
African states. He noted the importance of sharing science
and technology, the adoption of equitable trade practices,
and poverty reduction. A globalized world, said the
Pontiff, requires all world citizens to take responsibility
for those who are suffering. In this way, he argued,
nations can make an "effective contribution" to "building a
world based on the values...of peace." End Summary.

--------------
COMBAT EVIL WITH GOOD - NOT MORE EVIL
--------------


2.In his message for the 2005 World Day of Peace
(complete text faxed to EUR/WE),Pope John Paul II urged
attention to the "good" of moral values as a way to combat
evil. [Note: The Pope will formally deliver the message
January 1, 2005, but the Vatican released the text in a
mid-December press conference. End Note.] The Pope asked
nations and peoples to withstand the temptation of
responding to evil with more evil, and instead to focus on
n
the "common good" for all humanity. Evil, he explained,
was "not some impersonal, deterministic force," but a
result of wrong choices made by men and women who freely
choose to do evil. By focusing on "world citizenship"
rather than narrow national, ethnic or other parochial
interests, the Pope believes, a more equitable world can be
built that would be more conducive to peace.

-------------- --------------
VIOLENCE AND TERROR CONDEMNED; PROFOUND REGRET OVER IRAQ
-------------- --------------


3. In identifying the gravest instances of evil and
violence in the world, the Pontiff identified regional
hotspots with particularly troubling outbreaks of violence,
pointing to Africa (described as the Pope's "beloved
continent"),Palestine, and Iraq. Regarding the latter,
the Pope asked how one could not think "with profound
regret of the drama unfolding in Iraq, which has given rise
to tragic situations of uncertainty and insecurity for
all?" John Paul condemned the "troubling phenomenon of
terrorist violence" that he said appeared to be "driving
the whole world toward a future of fear and anguish." He
soundly condemned all violence as an unacceptable evil that
never solves problems. "Violence is a lie . . . that
destroys what it claims to defend: the dignity, the life,
the freedom of human beings," the Pope declared.

-------------- --------------
SHARING THE EARTH'S GOODS WITHOUT TRADE BARRIERS
-------------- --------------

3.Central to promoting conditions conducive to peace,
the message argues, is greater resource sharing. According
to the Pope, all people deserve a share in the goods of the
earth in order to be able feed and house their families
with hope for the future. In practice, the Pope called on
the international community to assume greater
responsibility for sharing resources equitably. In this
context he mentioned the obligation of wealthier nations to
o
aid in the development of less-developed nations.
According to the Pope, a true sharing in development would
become possible "once the barriers and monopolies that
marginalize many peoples are removed." The Pontiff said
that in today's globalized world, the public had to be all
the more vigilant in the fight against poverty, the
promotion of peace and security, and concern for climate
change and disease control.

--------------
DEBT FORGIVENESS WITH ACCOUNTABILITY
--------------


4.The Pope gave special mention to debt forgiveness for
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs),noting that he had
placed the issue on the international agenda some fifteen
years ago. While acknowledging the effectiveness of recent
debt-forgiveness initiatives, John Paul II said a lack of
foreign investment, the price of raw materials, and poorly-
functioning international organizations had smothered
economic growth in poor countries. He concluded that poor
countries remained trapped in a vicious circle.

--------------
KEEPING THE FOCUS ON AFRICA
--------------

5.Africa was the only region to garner an in-depth
discussion, with the Pope urging a radical new direction
for the continent to overcome the armed conflicts, pandemic
diseases, extreme poverty, and political instability that
have led to widespread insecurity there. Citing the
responsibilities of "world citizenship," the Pope called
for a new bilateral and multilateral solidarity for Africa,
and stressed that the wellbeing of Africans was part of the
common good of all. "Development either becomes shared in
common by every part of the world, or it undergoes a
process of regression even in areas marked by constant
progress," he concluded. The Pope urged Africans to take
control of their own cultural, civil, social and economic
development. Africa, he said, had to stop being a mere
recipient of aid, and had to ensure greater transparency
and accountability in its development partnerships with
wealthier countries. In Africa, the Pope clearly sees a
decisive test for world peace in how all concerned
countries tackle the continent's tremendous challenges.

--------------
COMMENT: A BROAD FRAMEWORK FOR PEACE
--------------

6.As reported reftel, the Vatican has not altered its
doctrine on the legitimate use of force as a last-resort
response to war and violence. The 2005 World Day of Peace
Message, however, is clearly seeking to move the
international focus beyond the immediate need to prevent
aggression or terrorist violence to the broader sources of
conflict. In the Pope's vision, a comprehensive framework
of solidarity between peoples that addresses global
deprivation and inequality could diminish the likelihood of
human conflict before it begins, thus promoting lasting
peace. The Holy See's focus on moral values is not in this
case on the sexual moral values so often accented in the
media, but on the broader moral values of social justice
drawn from the Church's extensive teaching on the subject.
As the message concludes, "By the mere fact of being
conceived, "a child is entitled to rights" that can only be
guaranteed by "the condemnation racism, . . . aid to
displaced persons and refugees, and the mobilization of
international solidarity towards all the needy" in a
consistent application of the principle of world
citizenship. The focus on Africa reflects the Pope's
belief that no other region presents a greater moral
challenge to the international community today.

Nicholson


NNNN

2004VATICA04882 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED