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a way of seeing and interpreting reality. In honoring their memory, we

are inspired, even amid conflicts, and in the here and now of each day, to

draw upon our deepest cultural reserves.

I would like to mention four of these Americans: Abraham Lincoln,

Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton.

This year marks the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the as-

sassination of President Abraham Lincoln, the guardian of liberty, who

labored tirelessly that "this nation, under God, [might] have a new birth of

freedom". Building a future of freedom requires love of the common good

and cooperation in a spirit of subsidiarity and solidarity.

All of us are quite aware of, and deeply worried by, the disturbing

social and political situation of the world today. Our world is increasingly

a place of violent conflict, hatred and brutal atrocities, committed even

in the name of God and of religion. We know that no religion is immune

from forms of individual delusion or ideological extremism. This means that

we must be especially attentive to every type of fundamentalism, whether

religious or of any other kind. A delicate balance is required to combat

violence perpetrated in the name of a religion, an ideology or an econom-

ic system, while also safeguarding religious freedom, intellectual freedom

and individual freedoms. But there is another temptation which we must

especially guard against: the simplistic reductionism which sees only good

or evil; or, if you will, the righteous and sinners. The contemporary world,

with its open wounds which affect so many of our brothers and sisters,

demands that we confront every form of polarization which would divide

it into these two camps. We know that in the attempt to be freed of the

enemy without, we can be tempted to feed the enemy within. To imitate

the hatred and violence of tyrants and murderers is the best way to take

their place. That is something which you, as a people, reject.

Our response must instead be one of hope and healing, of peace and

justice. We are asked to summon the courage and the intelligence to resolve

today's many geopolitical and economic crises. Even in the developed world,

the effects of unjust structures and actions are all too apparent. Our efforts

must aim at restoring hope, righting wrongs, maintaining commitments, and

thus promoting the well-being of individuals and of peoples. We must move

forward together, as one, in a renewed spirit of fraternity and solidarity,

cooperating generously for the common good.