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                                  VIS-Press releases   
      
   LETTERS OF CREDENCE OF NEW AMBASSADOR OF ECUADOR   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 22 OCT 2010 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican Benedict XVI   
   received the Letters of Credence of Luis Dositeo Latorre Tapia, the new   
   ambassador of Ecuador to the Holy See.   
      
   "In your country - which in 1978 I had the good fortune to visit as my   
   venerated predecessor Pope John Paul I's special envoy to the Third National   
   Marian Congress - the Word of Christ was sown generously and has flowered   
   magnificently", the Pope told the diplomat. "The ecclesial community ... also   
   joys when it sees that social harmony is being fomented, to which end it   
   supports the efforts the Ecuadorian authorities have been making over recent   
   years to rediscover the foundations of democratic coexistence, strengthen the   
   rule of law and give new impulse to solidarity and fraternity".   
      
   "I appeal to the Almighty", the Pope went on, "to ensure that this shining   
   horizon of hope becomes ever wider with new projects and judicious decisions,   
   so that the common good may prevail over partisan and class interests, the   
   ethical imperative may remain an essential point of reference for all citizens,   
   wealth may be equitably distributed, and sacrifices equally shared, not   
   weighing exclusively on the most needy".   
      
   "In the past of your beloved nation, so close to the Pope's heart, there have   
   been moments of difficulty and tension, but the human and Christian virtues of   
   its inhabitants have not been lacking, nor has their desire to prevail. ... The   
   Ecuadorian authorities will do a great service to their country by augmenting   
   this important human and spiritual heritage, whence energy and inspiration may   
   be drawn to continue building those bastions that underpin all human   
   communities, ... such as the defence of life from conception until natural end,   
   religious freedom, freedom of expression and other civil liberties, because   
   these are the authentic conditions for real social justice. This justice, in   
   its turn, cannot be affirmed save on the basis of support and protection - also   
   in juridical and economic terms - for the original cell of society which is the   
   family, founded on the matrimonial bond of a man with a woman".   
      
   "Another aspect of fundamental import are the policies that aim to eradicate   
   unemployment, violence, impunity, illiteracy and corruption. In reaching these   
   commendable goals, the pastors of the Church are aware that they must not enter   
   into the political debate, proposing concrete solutions or imposing their   
   presence. Yet they cannot remain neutral before the great human problems and   
   aspirations, nor be inactive when the time comes to fight for justice. With due   
   respect for the plurality of legitimate opinions, their role rather consists in   
   using the Gospel and Church Social Doctrine to illuminate the minds and will of   
   the faithful, so that they may make responsible decisions that lead to the   
   building of a more harmonious and well-ordered society".   
      
   Benedict XVI completed his address to the new ambassador by referring to the   
   question of education. "The Church in Ecuador", he said, "has a rich history in   
   the area of educating children and young people, having undertaken teaching   
   activities with particular abnegation in distant, remote and impoverished areas   
   of the nation. It is right and just that this arduous ecclesial task, example   
   of healthy collaboration with the State, should not be ignored. ... The public   
   authorities must guarantee the law that helps parents, both to educate their   
   children according to their own religious convictions and ethical criteria, and   
   to found and support educational institutions. In this perspective, it is also   
   important for the public authorities to respect the specific identity and   
   autonomy of educational institutions and of the Catholic university, in   
   accordance with the 'modus vivendi' signed seventy years ago by the Republic of   
   Ecuador and the Holy See".   
   CD/VIS 20101022 (630)   
      
   SUMMARY   
      
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    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS =Meridian, MS= bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)