The Evangelical Pope | Instilling a High Moral Vision

Each week we let Saint Pope John Paul II share meaningful signposts to spark socio-economic resolves through justice and righteousness combined with mercy and compassion; in short, love.

                So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

                __ Colossians 2:6-7 (New International Version)

Denver International Airport, CO – 12 August 1993 | The well-being of the world’s children and young people must be of immense concern to all who have public responsibilities.

                In my pastoral visits to the Church worldwide, I have been deeply moved by the almost universal difficulties young people face.

               Too many sufferings are visited upon them by natural calamities, famines, epidemics, economic and political crises, and the atrocities of wars.

               And where material conditions are at least adequate, other obstacles arise, not the least of which is the breakdown of family values and stability.

In developed countries, a severe moral crisis is already affecting the lives of many young people, leaving them adrift, often without hope, and conditioned to look only for instant gratification. Yet everywhere, young men and women are deeply concerned about the world around them, ready to give their best in service to others, and particularly sensitive to life’s transcendent meaning.

But how do we help them?

Only by instilling a high moral vision can a society ensure that its young people are given the possibility to mature as free and intelligent human beings, endowed with a robust sense of responsibility to the typical sound, capable of working with others to create a community and a nation with a strong moral fiber.

America was built on such a vision, and the American people possess the intelligence. They will meet the challenge of rededicating themselves with renewed vigor to foster the truths on which this country was founded and grew. Those truths are enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, and they still receive a broad consensus among Americans today. Those truths sustain values that have led people worldwide to look to America with hope and respect.

To all Americans, without exception, I present this invitation: Let us pause and reason together.

To educate without a value system based on truth means abandoning young people to moral confusion, personal insecurity, and easy manipulation. No country, not even the most powerful, can endure if it deprives its children of this essential good.

Respect for the dignity and worth of every person, integrity and responsibility, understanding, compassion, and solidarity toward others will survive only if they are passed on in families, schools, and the communications media.

America has a strong tradition of respect for the individual, human dignity, and human rights. I gladly acknowledged this during my previous visit to the United States in 1987, and I would like to repeat today the hope I expressed on that occasion:

               "America, you are beautiful and blessed in so many ways... But your best beauty and your richest blessing are found in the human person: in each man, woman, and child, in every immigrant, in every native-born son and daughter... The ultimate test of your greatness is how you treat every human being, especially the weakest and most defenseless ones.

                The best traditions of your land presume respect for those who cannot defend themselves. If you want equal justice for all, true freedom, and lasting peace, then America, defend life! All the great causes that are yours today will have meaning only to the extent that you guarantee the right to life and protest the human person".

Mr. President, my reference to the moral truths that sustain the nation's life is relevant to the United States' privileged position in the international community.

                In the face of tensions and conflicts that too many people have endured for so long—I am thinking in particular of the Middle East region and some African countries—and in the new situation emerging from the events of 1989, especially given the tragic conflicts now going on in the Balkans and the Caucasus, the international community ought to establish more effective structures for maintaining and promoting justice and peace.

               This implies that a concept of strategic interest should evolve based on the full development of people—out of poverty and towards a more dignified existence, out of injustice and exploitation, towards fuller respect for the human person, and the defense of universal human rights. If the United Nations and other international agencies, through the wise and honest cooperation of their member Nations, succeed in effectively defending stricken populations, whether victims of underdevelopment, conflicts, or the massive violation of human rights, then there is hope for the future.

For peace is the work of justice.

                The bounty and providence of God have placed enormous responsibility on the people and government of the United States. But that burden is also the opportunity for true greatness.

               Together with millions of people around the globe, I share the profound hope that in the present international situation, the United States will spare no effort in advancing authentic freedom and fostering human rights and solidarity.

               May God guide this nation and keep alive in it – for endless generations to come – the flame of liberty and justice for all.

May God bless you all! God bless America!

America, I express my gratitude for receiving me with rain.

Excerpted from:

APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II TO JAMAICA, MEXICO, AND DENVER (COLORADO) ON THE OCCASION OF THE EIGHTH WORLD YOUTH DAY (AUGUST 8-16, 1993)

WELCOME CEREMONY IN DENVER, ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER JOHN PAUL II, International Airport of Denver Thursday, 12 August 1993

https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/1993/august/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19930812_welcome-denver-gmg.html