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DISCORSO DI SUA SANTITÀ PIO PP. XII
AL NUOVO MINISTRO DI GRAN BRETAGNA*

Lunedì, 18 gennaio 1954

 

We are deeply touched, Mr. Minister, by the warmth of feeling with which you have wished to convey to Us the kindly sentiments of your August Sovereign, the Queen, who has accredited Your Excellency to the Holy See as her Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary. Scarcely three years have passed since We had the happiness of receiving Her Majesty in these very halls; but in that brief time what heavy cares have entered into her life. The Lord of all, in His wise providence, has placed the weight of empire on her youthful shoulders, and she has accepted the burden with a courageous simplicity and unselfish spirit of devotion that have at once won the admiration and affection of her peoples throughout the British Commonwealth of Nations. We ask you to convey to Her Majesty the expression of Our esteem and the assurance of Our prayers that God, Who has blessed her with the sweet joys of a happy family life, may grant to her reign the precious blessings of prosperity and peace.

Peace — how easily the word comes to the lips of men today, while the substance of true peace continues to elude their grasp. The reason is not far to seek. The Prince of Peace, foretold by the prophets, came into the world; the memory of His birth is acclaimed each year by the Christian world; yet His teachings still so often fall on deaf ears. Not only must sheer force give over its futile attempt to stifle in the human spirit its innate yearning for God; not only must the shackles of enslavement be struck from those God-given freedoms that are postulates of the dignity of man and human society, and are today denied to entire peoples; but if peace is to be secure, then justice and charity must inspire reciprocal confidence between nations and between the different classes within a nation, thus laying the foundations for a united effort towards the common, noble ideal.

It is gratifying to hear from you, Mr. Minister, the renewed expression of your country's devotion to those same lofty principles which We have had more than one occasion to proclaim to the world. That fact, together with the valuable experience, which Your Excellency brings to the honourable task entrusted to you, gives every certitude for the success of your mission, and in carrying it out you may always rest assured of Our kind and unwavering support.


*Discorsi e Radiomessaggi di Sua Santità Pio XII, XV,
 Quindicesimo anno di Pontificato, 2 marzo 1953 - 1° marzo 1954, pp. 573 - 574
 Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana.

 AAS 46 (1954), p.55-56.

 



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