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                             Vatican Information Service.   
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                                  VIS-Press releases   
      
   REAPPRAISING THE SPIRITUAL AND HUMAN HERITAGE OF CHILE   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 7 OCT 2010 (VIS) - Benedict XVI today received the Letters of   
   Credence of Fernando Zegers Santa Cruz, the new ambassador of Chile to the Holy   
   See. He began his address to the diplomat by expressing his closeness to the   
   Chilean people following February's earthquake, and he recalled "the immense   
   efforts being made by the Chilean Catholic Church, many of whose communities   
   were also badly affected by the quake, to help people most in need. ... Nor can   
   I forget", he continued, "the miners of the Atacama region and their loved   
   ones, for whom I continue to pray fervently".   
      
   Going on then to observe that the new ambassador is beginning his mission in   
   the year in which Chile celebrates the bicentenary of its independence, the   
   Pope said: "Many are the fruits the Gospel has produced in that blessed land:   
   abundant fruits of sanctity, charity, human promotion, and of constant striving   
   for peace and coexistence". In this context he also recalled last year's   
   celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of   
   Peace and Friendship with Argentina which, "with pontifical mediation, put an   
   end to that dispute in the southern hemisphere", he said.   
      
   "That historical agreement", the Holy Father proceeded, "will remain for future   
   generations as a shining example of the immense benefits that peace brings, and   
   of the importance of preserving and encouraging the moral and religious values   
   that constitute the most intimate fabric of a people's soul. We cannot hope to   
   explain the triumph of this longing for peace, harmony and understanding   
   without bearing in mind how deep the seed of the Gospel has taken root in the   
   hearts of Chileans".   
      
   "It is very important, and even more so in present circumstances in which so   
   many challenges threaten cultural identity, to encourage, especially among the   
   young, a healthy pride and a renewed appreciation and reappraisal for their   
   faith, history, culture, traditions and artistic heritage, and for everything   
   that constitutes the best and richest spiritual and human patrimony of Chile".   
      
   At this point Benedict XVI also noted how, "although Church and State are   
   independent and autonomous, each in its own field, they are both called to   
   loyal and respectful collaboration in order to serve the personal and social   
   vocation of the same people. In carrying out her specific mission to announce   
   the good news of Jesus Christ, the Church seeks to respond to man's   
   expectations and doubts, while at the same time drawing on those ethical and   
   anthropological values and principles which are inscribed in the nature of   
   human beings".   
      
   "When the Church raises her voice on the great challenges and problems of the   
   present time - such as wars, hunger, widespread extreme poverty, the defence of   
   human life from conception until natural end, or the promotion of the family   
   founded on marriage between a man and woman, primary educator of children - she   
   is not acting out of special interest or of principles perceptible only to   
   people who profess a particular religious faith. Respecting the rules of   
   democratic coexistence, the Church does this for the good of all society, and   
   in the name of values that everyone can share", the Holy Father concluded.   
   CD/VIS 20101007 (540)   
      
   SUMMARY   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS =Meridian, MS= bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)