|
WORDS:
Address of
the Holy Father Before Departing the United States
Mr. Vice-President,
Distinguished Civil Authorities,
My Brother Bishops,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The time has come for me to bid farewell to your
country. These days that I have spent in the United
States have been blessed with many memorable
experiences of American hospitality, and I wish to
express my deep appreciation to all of you for your
kind welcome. It has been a joy for me to witness
the faith and devotion of the Catholic community
here. It was heart-warming to spend time with
leaders and representatives of other Christian
communities and other religions, and I renew my
assurances of respect and esteem to all of you. I am
grateful to President Bush for kindly coming to
greet me at the start of my visit, and I thank
Vice-President Cheney for his presence here as I
depart. The civic authorities, workers and
volunteers in Washington and New York have given
generously of their time and resources in order to
ensure the smooth progress of my visit at every
stage, and for this I express my profound thanks and
appreciation to Mayor Adrian Fenty of Washington and
Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York.
Once again I offer prayerful good wishes to the
representatives of the see of Baltimore, the first
Archdiocese, and those of New York, Boston,
Philadelphia and Louisville, in this jubilee year.
May the Lord continue to bless you in the years
ahead. To all my Brother Bishops, to Bishop DiMarzio
of this Diocese of Brooklyn, and to the officers and
staff of the Episcopal Conference who have
contributed in so many ways to the preparation of
this visit, I extend my renewed gratitude for their
hard work and dedication. With great affection I
greet once more the priests and religious, the
deacons, the seminarians and young people, and all
the faithful in the United States, and I encourage
you to continue bearing joyful witness to Christ our
Hope, our Risen Lord and Savior, who makes all
things new and gives us life in abundance.
One of the high-points of my visit was the
opportunity to address the General Assembly of the
United Nations, and I thank Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
for his kind invitation and welcome. Looking back
over the sixty years that have passed since the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, I give thanks
for all that the Organization has been able to
achieve in defending and promoting the fundamental
rights of every man, woman and child throughout the
world, and I encourage people of good will
everywhere to continue working tirelessly to promote
justice and peaceful co-existence between peoples
and nations.
My visit this morning to Ground Zero will remain
firmly etched in my memory, as I continue to pray
for those who died and for all who suffer in
consequence of the tragedy that occurred there in
2001. For all the people of America, and indeed
throughout the world, I pray that the future will
bring increased fraternity and solidarity, a growth
in mutual respect, and a renewed trust and
confidence in God, our heavenly Father. With these
words, I take my leave, I ask you to remember me in
your prayers, and at the same time I assure you of
my friendship and affection in the Lord. God bless
America. |
