Italy: Meeting With Pope John Paul II Exchange of Remarks.

THE PRESIDENT. Your Holiness, as happy as I was to welcome you as the first Pope to visit in the White House, I'm equally happy today to be welcomed by you to your ancient and holy city.

Like millions before me, I'm moved by the beautiful works of Michelangelo, of Raphael, or Bernini, and many other great artists. They've left us proof that when our energies are expended away from destruction and toward creation, that we are able to do the work of the divine in the service of mankind. Today, as perhaps never before, heads of nations and leaders of religious faith as well stand in need of a shared commitment to serve humanity.

In the midst of a trip which I'm presently taking, whose objective is to promote peace and cooperation and common purpose with the close partners of my country, it has been a privilege today to meet with a man passionately dedicated to these same ideals.

I'm gratified that we share a belief that the struggle to enhance the dignity and decency of individual human lives gives meaning to history; that through our actions our beliefs are given life; that the role of a state is not to crush, but to free the spirit of its people; and that it is the duty of leaders to join together with all who would walk in the ways of peace.

Our common pilgrimage is more urgent than ever before. The world's resources, meant by God for the use of all, are diverted on a grand scale to finance means of destruction. Homeless people by the millions, often driven from their lands by violence and subjected to hunger and disease, wander the world in search of elemental dignity which has been denied to them.

We all share the responsibility for bringing these tragedies to an end. In the current world situation, we know it is fraught with conflicting interests that threaten bloodshed. It is also alive with possibilities for reconciliation, and we must seize these initiatives and use them.

Nations can begin by heeding a universal moral and political imperative that the protection of the human rights of each person is the premise and the purpose of governments. They can also respect as sacrosanct the sovereignty of other nations.

America's settlers were drawn to our own shores by the promise of freedom and of a better life. Over our long history, now more than 200 years, America has been guided by the traditions of that continuing quest, not only for ourselves but for all peoples. That's why the pursuit of individual freedom, the security of nations and the peace of the world are basic principles of American foreign policy. And that is why Americans feel such deep admiration and so much love for Pope John Paul II.

Americans of all faiths rejoiced in his visit to our country last year. It was one of the most remarkable events in the history of our Nation. And we have watched with respect and with gratitude as he's touched millions of lives in his further travels. His moral and spiritual leadership has focused the attention of the world upon those suffering from hunger, from poverty and disease; upon refugees in every corner of the Earth; and upon those laboring under political repression.

The United States shares these concerns of His Holiness. They are our unfinished tasks as well. America has responded generously to the men, women, and children of Kampuchea, and we are acting with justice and with charity toward those people escaping from intolerable conditions in the Caribbean. And we work with the international relief agencies, such as the Catholic Relief Services, in providing food and shelter for those who are displaced by warfare in Indochina, the Horn of Africa, and Afghanistan.

In addition, the United States is trying to provide new leadership toward a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. We are pleased to champion the cause of democracy and human development in Latin America, and we will continue to make the United States more worthy as a nation committed to social justice, to economic opportunity, and to religious freedom.

One thing more, and this is deeply important to me. On behalf of the American people, Your Holiness, I would like personally to thank you for your efforts toward the release of the 53 American hostages being held in Iran, victims of terrorism who are being held in continued defiance of international law and universally accepted standards of decency.

We do have many unfinished tasks, but we have many resources—of courage, patience, faith, strength, and love. We've renewed these sources in our meeting today. Together we are working toward a day when human beings shall not make others go homeless and hungry, when all people will have a voice in deciding their own destiny, when we will at last lift the terrible fear of nuclear destruction from our children and from their children, when the values and ideals of freedom are respected by all governments, and when humility and the service of the human spirit and the human condition is the high honor of ever human state.

Your Holiness, it's been an honor and a pleasure for me to be with you, and I go with the hope that your prayers will be with me.

THE POPE. Mr. President, it is a great pleasure for me to welcome you today. I am very happy to be able to reciprocate the warm welcome I received from you in Washington. The memories of my visit to the White House and of all my other contacts with the people of the United States are stored in my heart. They are recalled with joy and are frequently expressed in my prayers for America.

Your visit today to the Vatican as President of the United States is greatly appreciated. I am pleased to see in it an indication of your country's profound respect and esteem for ethical and religious values, a respect and esteem which are so characteristic of millions and millions of Americans of different faiths.

During my visit last October, I was a personal witness to the way these spiritual values find .expression in the lives of your people, how they form the moral fabric of your nation, how they constitute the strength of the civil state which does not forget that it was founded on sound moral principles and which wishes to preserve its heritage as one nation under God.

All fields of human endeavor are enriched by true ethical values. During my pastoral journey I had occasion to speak of these values and to profess my own profound esteem for all who embrace them in national life. There is no sphere of activity that does not benefit when religious values are actively pursued. The political, social, and economic domains are authenticated and reinforced by the application of those moral standards that must be irrevocably incorporated into the tradition of every state.

The same principles that guide the internal destinies of a people should direct their relationships with other nations. I desire to express my esteem for all those who, at the national and international level, have exemplified the values of compassion and justice, of personal concern for others, and fraternal sharing in an effort to promote ever greater freedom, ever more authentic equality, and an ever more stable peace for a world craving for truth, unity, and love.

At the center of all sublime spiritual values is the worth of every human person worthy of respect, from the first moment of existence, endowed with dignity and rights, and called to share responsibility for every brother and sister in need. In the cause of dignity and human rights the Church is intent on offering to the world the contribution of the Gospel of Christ, proclaiming that man is created in the image and likeness of God and destined for life everlasting.

Although, as the Second Vatican Council emphasizes, the Church is not a political entity, she still serves together with the political community, but by a separate title, the personal and social evocation of the same human beings. And, while distinct from the socio-economic realm, the Church is called to serve it by proclaiming that man is the source and center and purpose of all socio-economic life.

In this area, as in so many others, the Church is happy to speak out in favor of the human person and for everything that is advantageous to humanity. Moreover, she gives the assurance of her support for all that is done for the good of mankind according to the distinctive contribution of each one. In this sense, church and state are called to collaborate in the cause of man and in the promotion of sacred human dignity.

This collaboration is eminently useful, and it corresponds to the truth about man. Through the ethical formation of true citizens who work side by side with their fellow citizens, the Church fulfills another aspect of her collaboration with the political community.

And today, in this context, Mr. President, I wish to assure you of my deep interest in every effort aimed at the betterment of humanity and devoted to world peace, and particularly the Middle East and neighboring regions occupy our common attention because of the immense importance they hold for international well-being. I offer my prayers that all worthy endeavors at reconciliation and cooperation may be crowned with success.

The question of Jerusalem, which during these very days attracts the attention of the world in a special way, is pivotal to a just peace in those parts of the world, since 'this holy city embodies interests and aspirations that are shared by different peoples in different ways. It is my hope that a common monotheistic tradition of faith will help to promote harmony among all those who call upon God. I would renew my earnest plea that just attention be given to the issues affecting Lebanon and the whole Palestinian problem.

The Holy See is aware of the worldwide aspect of the responsibility that falls to the United States. It is likewise conscious of the risks involved in facing this responsibility. But despite all inconveniences and problems, despite human limitations, governments of good will must continue to work for peace and for international understanding in the control and reduction of armaments, in the promotion of the North-South dialog, and in furthering advancement of developing nations.

Just recently, on my visit to Africa, I was able to perceive personally the importance of that continent and the contribution it is called to make to the good of the world. But all this, in turn, requires the interests, support, and fraternal assistance of other peoples so that African stability, independence, and rightful autonomy will be safeguarded and reinforced.

The question of human dignity is particularly linked with efforts on behalf of justice. Any violation of justice anywhere is an affront to human dignity, and all effective contributions to justice are truly worthy of the greatest praise.

The purification of structures in the political, social, and economic fields cannot help but yield salutary results. I know of the interest of the United States in the situation in Central America, especially at this time. Persevering efforts are required and must be sustained until every brother and sister in that part of the world and elsewhere is secure in his or her dignity and free from manipulation by any power, overt or subtle, anywhere on Earth.

I hope that the United States will lend its powerful support to efforts which effectively uplift the human level of peoples in need.

As I mentioned, my contacts with the people of the United States are vivid in my memory. Enthusiasm and generosity, the will not to fall into enslaving materialism, in the pursuit of the common good at home and in the international field, and for Christians, the need to communicate justice and the peace of Christ—these are the forces that the Holy See encourages for the benefit of humanity.

Mr. President, my words today are meant to be an expression of appreciation for what has been done, and echo of the persistent needs of the world, a challenge of hope and confidence to the American people, whom I have known and loved so much. May God sustain you and bless the nation which you represent.