ADDRESS OF POPE JOHN PAUL II
TO THE AMBASSADOR OF THE KINGDOM
OF LESOTHO TO THE HOLY SEE*

Friday, 23 March 1984

Mr Ambassador,

I am pleased to welcome Your Excellency to the Vatican today and to receive from you the letters accrediting you as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Lesotho. I am grateful for the warm greetings which you have brought from His Majesty King Moshoeshoe II, and in turn I would ask you to convey to His Majesty the assurance of my own good wishes.

I have noted with satisfaction the appreciation which you have expressed on behalf of your countrymen for the spiritual and material assistance that the Catholic Church has provided. It is my hope that the relationship of friendship and cooperation that already exists will be strengthened by the fulfilment of the mission which you are now undertaking.

As you have pointed out, the primary task of the Church is always to proclaim the message of salvation revealed in Jesus Christ and to encourage all believers to act upon the moral values that are found in that message. Thus the Church is conscious that religious belief can never be relegated to one dimension of a person’s life but must permeate the whole of existence, providing a constant motivation for serving God and neighbour in contemporary society. For this reason Christians believe that it is their duty to foster the equal rights of every person, to provide assistance to the suffering and the needy, and to spend their energies in the work of reconciliation, so that universal brotherhood under God can be advanced.

These objectives match the fundamental desires of your own nation as you have described them. Indeed, the Church joins all men and women of good will in seeking to contribute to the establishment of a world order rooted in the principles of justice, equality and mutual respect.

It is therefore with great hopefulness that I offer you my cordial good wishes for the success of your mission. I pray that it will bear much fruit. May God bless you and the people of Lesotho with his abundant favour and with every good gift.

*AAS 76 (1984), p. 714-715.

Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II, vol. VII, 1 pp. 747-748.

L'Attività della Santa Sede 1984 pp. 221-222.

L'Osservatore Romano. Weekly Edition in English n.13 p.5.

© Copyright 1984 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana