At 12:15 today, the Holy Father received in audience a delegation of French parliamentarians, members of the group of Friends of France and the Holy See. Here is an English language translation of the Holy Father's greeetings:
This meeting gives me an opporunity to focus on the relationship of confidence that exists generally in France between those who are responsible for public life and those who are part of the Catholic Church, at national as well as at regional levels. The principal of secularism which governs the relations between the French State and the different religious traditions should not signify in and of itself a hostility toward the religious reality, or an exculsion of religion from the social scope of the debates which arise. We should be proud of the fact that the French society is currently rediscovering the propositions put forward by the Church, among others, those which offer a certain vision of the human person and of his or her dignity in view of the common good. In this way, the Church wishes to offer its particular contribution in response to the profound quesitons which lead to a more complete vision of the human person and of his or her destiny, as well as that of society in general and its future. This contribution is not based solely in an anthropological or societal point of view, but also in the domains of politics, economics and culture.
As elected representatives of a Nation toward which the eyes of the world are often focused, I believe that it is your duty to contribute in an efficacious and ongoing manner to the improvement of the lives of your fellow citizens, who you know especially through the inumerable local contacts that you cultivate and which you inform about their true needs. Your task is certainly technical and juridical, consisting in the proposition of laws, or in the changing of laws in order to improve them, or at times in abolishing them altogether. It is also necessary that you instill in them a spirit, I would say a soul, which doesn't only reflect the trends and the ideas of a given moment, but which confers on them the qualities necessary to elevate and enoble the human person.
Therefore, I express my warmest encouragement that you continue your mission, always searching for the good of the person and promoting fraternity in your beautiful country. May God bless you.
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the meeting with French parliamentarians
Mister President, dear Parliamentarians,
I am happy that we were able to respond to your request for this meeting and gladly greet you this morning, members of the Senate and the National Assembly of the French Republic. Above and beyond the differing political sensibilities that you represent, your presence here demonstrates the quality of the present relations between your country and the Holy See.
This meeting gives me an opporunity to focus on the relationship of confidence that exists generally in France between those who are responsible for public life and those who are part of the Catholic Church, at national as well as at regional levels. The principal of secularism which governs the relations between the French State and the different religious traditions should not signify in and of itself a hostility toward the religious reality, or an exculsion of religion from the social scope of the debates which arise. We should be proud of the fact that the French society is currently rediscovering the propositions put forward by the Church, among others, those which offer a certain vision of the human person and of his or her dignity in view of the common good. In this way, the Church wishes to offer its particular contribution in response to the profound quesitons which lead to a more complete vision of the human person and of his or her destiny, as well as that of society in general and its future. This contribution is not based solely in an anthropological or societal point of view, but also in the domains of politics, economics and culture.
As elected representatives of a Nation toward which the eyes of the world are often focused, I believe that it is your duty to contribute in an efficacious and ongoing manner to the improvement of the lives of your fellow citizens, who you know especially through the inumerable local contacts that you cultivate and which you inform about their true needs. Your task is certainly technical and juridical, consisting in the proposition of laws, or in the changing of laws in order to improve them, or at times in abolishing them altogether. It is also necessary that you instill in them a spirit, I would say a soul, which doesn't only reflect the trends and the ideas of a given moment, but which confers on them the qualities necessary to elevate and enoble the human person.
Therefore, I express my warmest encouragement that you continue your mission, always searching for the good of the person and promoting fraternity in your beautiful country. May God bless you.
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