To four European countries

On 17 December Pope Benedict XVI received in audience the bishops of Belarus on their ad limina visit, as well as some ambassadors to the Holy See for the presentation of their Letters of Credence. We present some excerpts from the speeches addressed by the Pope to the bishops of Belarus and to the ambassadors of Denmark, Finland and Latvia. Belarus. It is particularly important to proclaim “with renewed enthusiasm and vigour the perennial Message of the Gospel in a society that is not immune from the temptations of secularization, hedonism and relativism: the problems of a declining birthrate, of family breakdown and the illusion of finding fortune beyond one’s own homeland are all a sign of this”, said the Pope in his address to the bishops of Belarus. “Faced by these challenges, it is the urgent task of pastors to show the strength of the faith” and to “help preserve the profound Christian identity of the nation, in respectful dialogue with other cultures and religions”. According to Benedict XVI “we are now living in a kind of educational emergency”; it is therefore essential “to multiply efforts to offer a valid formation, especially to the new generations”. In pointing out the importance of “recalling those Christian values that have made a decisive contribution to the construction of European civilization”, the Pope exhorted the bishops to intensify “brotherly collaboration with the Orthodox Church of Belarus”, also with the “significant contribution” of the “small, but fervent Greek-Catholic Community in the country”.Denmark. “The political and diplomatic deliberations at play in addressing the demands of such a complex matter test the resolve of stakeholders [i.e. participants at the UN summit on climate change now being hosted by Denmark] to forgo nationalistic or short-term alleged advantages in favour of longer-term benefits for the entire international human family”, said the Pope in his speech to the new Ambassador of Denmark to the Holy See. Benedict XVI gave his assurance that “the members of the Catholic Church in your country will continue to pray and work for the spiritual, social and cultural development of all the Danish people. In ecumenical fellowship with other Christians they are also attentive to the needs of the migrant communities present in your land as well as other groups that are vulnerable in various ways. Additionally – the Pope added – pupils from the Church’s schools in Denmark “serve the nation as they seek to bear witness to the love and truth of Christ”.Finland. “For over sixty years the Holy See has enjoyed cordial diplomatic relations with Finland, and indeed there are many common objectives in international affairs on which we can continue to work together”, said the Pope to the new Ambassador of the Republic of Finland to the Holy See. Recalling Finland’s “commitment to building up harmonious relations within Europe, particularly among member states of the European Union”, Benedict XVI observed that Finland’s “border with Russia enables her to act as a bridge to that country, and her proximity to the Baltic States means that she is well placed to foster cooperation and mutual exchange between them and the Nordic lands”. Analyzing the internal situation in the country, the Pope drew attention to “certain values that are in danger of being eroded through the process of secularization”. “I understand – he explained – the pressures that governments face when presented with insistent demands from some quarters, in the name of tolerance, for acceptance of an ever wider range of viewpoints and lifestyles”, but, he warned, “the virtue of tolerance is not served by the sacrifice of truth, particularly the truth concerning the dignity of the human person”.Latvia. “Due to its unique position on the Baltic shores, Latvia has played an important role in the commercial and cultural evolution of Europe”, and now, as a member of the EU since 2004, she too “is called to share in the continent’s task of finding the means towards greater international collaboration to consolidate the freedom, peace and prosperity of its peoples”, said Benedict XVI in welcoming the new Ambassador of the Republic of Latvia to the Holy See. Recalling John Paul II’s visit to the country in 1993, and his hope for “greater Christian unity as a buttress to national unity and as a priority for renewal”, Benedict XVI expressed the hope that “such a renewal takes place soon for the good of the nation as a whole”. The Latvian people, he observed, “are known to cherish their land, and are careful to protect it from environmental degradation”. “By cultivating the resources God has given them, by extolling human dignity and respecting human life, and by promoting man’s vocation to build up a humanism open to spiritual and transcendent values”, Latvia, added the Pope, will surely become a model of development that protects the dignity of the human person while being sensitive to the requirements of a sustainable economy”. Lastly, the Holy Father expressed the hope that “the Latvian people may take heart as they and their leaders seek effective ways to weather” the economic crisis, which “has had serious effects on the nation’s economy, generating poverty and unemployment” and “uncertainty about the future”.