Rome, 25 Sept. (LaPresse) – “Your Holiness, I wish to thank you most sincerely for the message you sent me on the eve of my apostolic mission to France and to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).” So wrote the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, in his message to Pope Leo XIV. “The nation you are about to visit has, throughout its millennia-long history, made an essential contribution to Europe and the world in the affirmation of individual rights and freedoms, alongside those universal ideals that underpin our democracies,” continued the Head of State. The very motto of your journey, ‘That the world may have life’, encourages unity and cohesion, and inspires a positive commitment to the pursuit of the common good and the service of the human person. A shining example of this, inspired by Christian values, is Robert Schuman, whom Your Holiness will commemorate in Metz. His generation was able to overcome the tragedies of war and partisan interests, launching the great project of a united, reconciled and just Europe. Even today, the process of integration nourishes and sustains the rules-based multilateral order – an indispensable bulwark against the indiscriminate dominance of force – whilst the need for a fair sharing of the planet’s resources and their ethical use, safeguarding the balance between peoples and generations, grows ever more pressing. I am certain that Your message in favour of the dignity of every human being and of cooperation amongst peoples will be welcomed as a sign of hope for a future of greater harmony. I renew to you, Your Holiness, the expressions of my deepest respect.”
Mattarella to the Pope: “Integration is an indispensable bulwark against the dominance of force”
Rome, 25 Sept. (LaPresse) – “Your Holiness, I wish to thank you most sincerely for the message you sent me on the eve of my apostolic mission to France and to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).” So wrote the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, in his message to Pope Leo XIV. “The nation you are about to visit has, throughout its millennia-long history, made an essential contribution to Europe and the world in the affirmation of individual rights and freedoms, alongside those universal ideals that underpin our democracies,” continued the Head of State. The very motto of your journey, ‘That the world may have life’, encourages unity and cohesion, and inspires a positive commitment to the pursuit of the common good and the service of the human person. A shining example of this, inspired by Christian values, is Robert Schuman, whom Your Holiness will commemorate in Metz. His generation was able to overcome the tragedies of war and partisan interests, launching the great project of a united, reconciled and just Europe. Even today, the process of integration nourishes and sustains the rules-based multilateral order – an indispensable bulwark against the indiscriminate dominance of force – whilst the need for a fair sharing of the planet’s resources and their ethical use, safeguarding the balance between peoples and generations, grows ever more pressing. I am certain that Your message in favour of the dignity of every human being and of cooperation amongst peoples will be welcomed as a sign of hope for a future of greater harmony. I renew to you, Your Holiness, the expressions of my deepest respect.”