"Working together, we can help to forge a Europe in which priority is given to the defence of marriage and family life, to the protection of human life from conception to natural death, and to the promotion of sound ethical practices in medical and scientific research: practices which are truly respectful of the dignity of the human person." With these words Pope Benedict XVI accepted today the Credential Letters of Vytautas Aliauskas, Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania. Recalling the Baltic State’s Christian tradition and recent independence, the Pontiff invited "Lithuania, and indeed the whole of Europe, [to] cultivate the memory of the history that shaped it, in order to preserve its true identity and thus to survive and flourish in the world of the twenty-first century." Together "we can promote effective solidarity with the poor, the sick, the vulnerable, and all those on the margins of society. These values," added the Pope "will strike a chord with all those, especially the young, who are seeking answers to their profound questioning about the meaning and purpose of life. They will resonate with all who are anxious to discover the truth that is so often obscured by the superficial messages propagated by post-modern society. They will appeal to all who are discriminating enough to reject the world-view built upon relativism and secularism, and who aspire instead to live in a manner befitting the true nobility of the human spirit." ” ” ” “
