1030 Acta Apostolicae Sedis - Commentarium Officiale

The challenges facing us today call for a renewal of that spirit of co-

operation, which has accomplished so much good throughout the history

of the United States. The complexity, the gravity and the urgency of these

challenges demand that we pool our resources and talents, and resolve to

support one another, with respect for our differences and our convictions

of conscience.

In this land, the various religious denominations have greatly contri-

buted to building and strengthening society. It is important that today, as

in the past, the voice of faith continue to be heard, for it is a voice of

fraternity and love, which tries to bring out the best in each person and

in each society. Such cooperation is a powerful resource in the battle to

eliminate new global forms of slavery, born of grave injustices which can

be overcome only through new policies and new forms of social consensus.

Here I think of the political history of the United States, where de-

mocracy is deeply rooted in the mind of the American people. All political

activity must serve and promote the good of the human person and be based

on respect for his or her dignity. "We hold these truths to be self-evident,

that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator

with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the

pursuit of happiness".1 If politics must truly be at the service of the human

person, it follows that it cannot be a slave to the economy and finance.

Politics is, instead, an expression of our compelling need to live as one,

in order to build as one the greatest common good: that of a community

which sacrifices particular interests in order to share, in justice and peace,

its goods, its interests, its social life. I do not underestimate the difficulty

that this involves, but I encourage you in this effort.

Here too I think of the march which Martin Luther King led from

Selma to Montgomery fifty years ago as part of the campaign to fulfill his

"dream" of full civil and political rights for African Americans. That dream

continues to inspire us all. I am happy that America continues to be, for

many, a land of "dreams". Dreams which lead to action, to participation,

to commitment. Dreams which awaken what is deepest and truest in the

life of a people.

1 Declaration of Independence, 4 July 1776.