1028 Acta Apostolicae Sedis - Commentarium Officiale

Yours is a work which makes me reflect in two ways on the figure of

Moses. On the one hand, the patriarch and lawgiver of the people of Israel

symbolizes the need of peoples to keep alive their sense of unity by means

of just legislation. On the other, the figure of Moses leads us directly to God

and thus to the transcendent dignity of the human being. Moses provides

us with a good synthesis of your work: you are asked to protect, by means

of the law, the image and likeness fashioned by God on every human face.

Today I would like not only to address you, but through you the entire

people of the United States. Here, together with their representatives, I

would like to take this opportunity to dialogue with the many thousands

of men and women who strive each day to do an honest day's work, to

bring home their daily bread, to save money and - one step at a time - to

build a better life for their families. These are men and women who are

not concerned simply with paying their taxes, but in their own quiet way

sustain the life of society. They generate solidarity by their actions, and

they create organizations which offer a helping hand to those most in need.

I would also like to enter into dialogue with the many elderly persons

who are a storehouse of wisdom forged by experience, and who seek in

many ways, especially through volunteer work, to share their stories and

their insights. I know that many of them are retired, but still active; they

keep working to build up this land. I also want to dialogue with all those

young people who are working to realize their great and noble aspirations,

who are not led astray by facile proposals, and who face difficult situa-

tions, often as a result of immaturity on the part of many adults. I wish

to dialogue with all of you, and I would like to do so through the historical

memory of your people.

My visit takes place at a time when men and women of good will are

marking the anniversaries of several great Americans. The complexities of

history and the reality of human weakness notwithstanding, these men and

women, for all their many differences and limitations, were able by hard

work and self-sacrifice - some at the cost of their lives - to build a better

future. They shaped fundamental values which will endure forever in the

spirit of the American people. A people with this spirit can live through

many crises, tensions and conflicts, while always finding the resources to

move forward, and to do so with dignity. These men and women offer us