Heralds of values

To have stable and united societies, we need stable families. These latter, in their turn, need stable marriages”. This point was stressed by Card. Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican Secretary of State, who met the EU ambassadors (Tuesday 10 February 2009).Stable family. “The male-female couple united in a stable and lasting marriage is bringing far greater social advantages in comparison with de facto relationships and with single mothers”. The advantages may include “a better education for children, a regular attendance at school, better results in studies, a higher and successful professional career, and a lower probability to become a criminal and to become addicted to alcohol and drug consumption”. Besides that, some advantages are linked to the psycho-physical health of both children and parents, including less depression for women”. “It is a matter of public interest that families be founded on marriage and be healthy”. Speaking about the decrease in the fecundity rate and the population aging which are causing some difficulties in social cohesion and in the preservation of health and social protection systems”, Card. Bertone said “it is unfair to finance the European social model at the expenses of future generations; inter-generational solidarity is a value we must respect and support. It is a matter of fact that immigration is not to be considered as ‘the’ solution to demographic problems, even thought it is part of the solution”.Reliable witnesses . “In a world that is looking for reliable witnesses, families with children remain the most visible expression of trust in the life, the future and the vitality of their own culture”, he declared. The family is the pillar of the European social model: its contribution in terms of education, but also of social and emotional stability, cannot be replaced by other public services”, added the Secretary of State. “The love for the family and the importance attributed to its role are among the reasons why the Holy See, even at the international level, is opposed to those initiatives that are promoting an individualistic agenda which sometimes try to reinterpret human rights on behalf of an alleged fight against discrimination,” he explained. “I do know that the European Union must try to combine the unity and the diversity of its members. I follow with interest such an effort and I hope that your work at the Holy See may be a chance for you to thoroughly discuss the reasons that are the foundation of the Holy See position and of a number of appeals that are launched by bishops to Europe”.Africa. “We have to fight against the temptation of establishing relations with African countries only with the aim of making the most profit out of it; we should support those partnerships that are respectful of the dignity and of the inalienable rights of those men and peoples”. According to Card. Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican Secretary of State, who met the EU ambassadors, this is the contribution Europe can give to the African continent. “We should contribute to finding a settlement to the ongoing conflicts, fighting against injustice that has triggered them and assisting those crowds of refugees and displaced people who are suffering and destabilizing the country,” pointed out Card. Bertone who said he was satisfied with what the EU countries had already done in this field and encouraged them to purse their efforts despite the financial and economic crisis. The cardinal encouraged the EU countries “to fulfil the commercial engagements benefiting Africa they had taken at the Ministerial Meetings in Doha (2001) and in Hong Kong (2005); to restrain themselves from taking protectionist measures that could damage developing countries; to soon find a solution to the multilateral debt of some African countries; to honour their promises on development aid; to help establishing an agricultural system that is able to guarantee food security to these peoples.” Among the other topics discussed by the Vatican Secretary of State: public health, weapons trafficking, illegal trade in raw materials, money laundering, flight of capital and officers’ corruption.Holy Land. “The situation is still very delicate but a lasting and viable solution cannot be found if we are not taking into consideration the wider Middle East context. There is still a need for a global approach to the difficulties of those countries in the region, in the respect of the legitimate aspirations and interests of all populations involved”. In his speech to the EU ambassadors, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican Secretary of State, spoke of the Holy Land reaffirming that “political leaders – today (Tuesday 10 February 2009) Israel is going to elect his own – should firmly support the peace process and the détente by accompanying their peoples on the difficult but necessary path of reconciliation”. As for the situation in the Gaza Strip, Card. Bertone declared: “it is still a priority to guarantee that humanitarian aid destined to civilians could access the Gaza Strip and that the belligerent parties do not give in to the logic of violence and war. They should rather chose the path of dialogue and negotiation”.