Acta Apostolicae Sedis - Commentarium Officiale862

Cari Vescovi novelli, grazie per il servizio che rendete alla Chiesa con

dedizione e amore. Vi saluto con affetto e vi assicuro il mio costante sostegno

unito alla preghiera perché « andiate e portiate frutto, e il vostro frutto ri-

manga ».6 Per questo invoco l'intercessione di Maria Regina Apostolorum, ed

imparto di cuore su voi, sui vostri sacerdoti e sulle vostre comunità diocesane

una speciale Benedizione Apostolica.

IV

In Castro Pragensi, ad Publicas Auctoritates et ad Corpus Legatorum.*

Your Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am grateful for the opportunity to meet, in such a remarkable setting,

the political and civil authorities of the Czech Republic and the members of

the diplomatic community. I warmly thank President Klaus for his kind

words of greeting in your name. I also express my appreciation to the Czech

Philharmonic Orchestra for the musical performance which opened our gath-

ering, and which eloquently expressed both the roots of Czech culture and the

outstanding contribution which this nation has made to European culture.

My pastoral visit to the Czech Republic coincides with the twentieth

anniversary of the fall of the totalitarian regimes in Central and Eastern

Europe, and the "Velvet Revolution" which restored democracy to this na-

tion. The euphoria that ensued was expressed in terms of freedom. Two

decades after the profound political changes which swept this continent,

the process of healing and rebuilding continues, now within the wider context

of European unification and an increasingly globalized world. The aspirations

of citizens and the expectations placed on governments called for new models

of civic life and solidarity between nations and peoples without which the

long desired future of justice, peace and prosperity would remain elusive.

Such desires continue to evolve. Today, especially among the young, the

question again emerges as to the nature of the freedom gained. To what

end is freedom exercised? What are its true hallmarks?

6 Gv 15, 16.

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* Die 26 Septembris 2009.