To the President of Pakistan (16 February 1981)

On 16 February 1981, the Holy Father extended greetings to the President and the people of the country, to Catholics and others as well.

Mister President, 

1. Upon my arrival in Pakistan, I wish to extend my greetings to you in a spirit of friendship, and through you, extend them to all the people of this country, to the members of the Catholic Church and of the other Christian Churches, to the Muslim population for whom, as followers of Jesus Christ we have a great esteem, and to all men and women of good will and of whatever faith. 

My visit to your country and the entire journey that begins today is above all of a religious nature. I have come as the universal pastor of the Catholic Church and I wish to strengthen all my brothers and sisters of the Catholic religion in the faith. It will therefore be a source of particular joy for me to join Cardinal Cordeiro and my brother bishops of Pakistan, the clergy, religious and laity in our most sacred act of worship, the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. 

2. Without forgetting that her primary mission is spiritual, the Church always strives to collaborate with individual nations and individual peoples of good will to promote the dignity and progress of the human person. She carries out this commitment through various means, such as schools and educational programs, and charitable and social institutions. In this regard, it is a source of profound satisfaction to see how the Catholic Church and the government of Pakistan have worked together here, in full harmony for the benefit of many. I pray that these efforts continue to be crowned with success. 

One of the Church's particular concerns at the present time is the plight of refugees, a problem that affects your nation no less than many others. I would like to take this opportunity to express my admiration for the efforts Pakistan has made and is still making for the benefit of these refugees. I wish to assure you that the Church, as she has already given her collaboration to these efforts, intends to continue in this line compatibly with the limited means at her disposal. 

3. One of the most characteristic traits of Abraham - to whose faith Christians, Muslims and Jews intimately link their own - was his great spirit of hospitality, manifested in a special way when he welcomed the three guests at the oak of Mamre ( Gen 18 ,1ss). The warm welcome that you and the beloved people of Pakistan have given me on this happy occasion expresses very well this same spirit of hospitality. For this I am deeply grateful to you and I would like to repay his courtesy and kindness with the assurance of my prayers. 

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