Statement by the President Upon Arriving in Rome.

IT IS a miracle of the age that within the space of 4 1/2 days I will have circumnavigated the globe. But it is a tragedy of the time that sadness is swifter than flight.

In Australia I listened in grief to the cathedral hymn that sang the memory of a brave friend and ally.

In Vietnam, I saw the strong, clear faces of young Americans who must spend a part of their youth in battle to find a peace for us.

But now I am in Italy at Christmastime. Here the Italian people, whose blood runs in the veins of so many Americans, feel the theme of Christmas because so much of what it means and exalts resides in the ageless courage of the Church.

Saint Paul taught us that we walk by faith and not by sight.

And Pope Paul inspires us to believe that man's faith will prevail in the darkest hours.

The Pope and I will talk of peace, of how it might be achieved and preserved. Peace is his mission and constant concern, as it is of the hundreds of millions of people throughout the world who call him Holy Father.

He has reemphasized to all of us quite recently his deep and passionate desire to do whatever he can, whenever he can, "towards the re-establishment of peace." Not only the Church he heads, but the moral force he exerts are assets which should be employed in constructing a future without war.

This is a task that must also be undertaken in the councils of government, in the churches, in the neighborhood, and in the privacy of our faith, so that one day the morning will come when "no war or battle's sound will be heard the world around."

If we can put away violence, and greed, and ungoverned ambitions, then we can be about the work that urgently needs to be done--to feed the hungry, to teach the ignorant, and heal the sick.