A wish, that "patient and transparent negotiations may lead to the elimination of nuclear weapons and that the recent Conference of Annapolis may be the first of a series of steps towards lasting peace" in the Middle East. It was made today by Benedict XVI, as he received the credentials of the new US Ambassador, Mary Ann Glandon, formerly president of the Papal Academy of Social Science. The Pope thanked for the message of greetings sent through the ambassador by president George W. Bush "on behalf of the American people", in the run-up to his pastoral visit to the United States in April. "The progress of the human family he said is not only endangered by the plague of international terrorism, but also by other threats against peace, such as the acceleration of the rush to armaments and the continuing tensions in the Middle East". Benedict XVI recalled that "the building of a safer future for the human family means first and foremost working towards the integral development of people, especially by providing appropriate health care, eliminating such pandemics as Aids, more training opportunities for the young, the promotion of women and the containment of corruption and militarization, which subtract precious resources from many of our brothers and sisters in the poorer countries". (continued)
