Acta Benedicti Pp. XVI 337

vision of faith not in terms of intolerance, discrimination and conflict, but in

terms of complete respect for truth, coexistence, rights, and reconciliation.

Human rights, of course, must include the right to religious freedom,

understood as the expression of a dimension that is at once individual and

communitarian - a vision that brings out the unity of the person while

clearly distinguishing between the dimension of the citizen and that of the

believer. The activity of the United Nations in recent years has ensured that

public debate gives space to viewpoints inspired by a religious vision in all its

dimensions, including ritual, worship, education, dissemination of informa-

tion and the freedom to profess and choose religion. It is inconceivable, then,

that believers should have to suppress a part of themselves - their faith - in

order to be active citizens. It should never be necessary to deny God in order

to enjoy one's rights. The rights associated with religion are all the more in

need of protection if they are considered to clash with a prevailing secular

ideology or with majority religious positions of an exclusive nature. The full

guarantee of religious liberty cannot be limited to the free exercise of wor-

ship, but has to give due consideration to the public dimension of religion,

and hence to the possibility of believers playing their part in building the

social order. Indeed, they actually do so, for example through their influen-

tial and generous involvement in a vast network of initiatives which extend

from Universities, scientific institutions and schools to health care agencies

and charitable organizations in the service of the poorest and most margin-

alized. Refusal to recognize the contribution to society that is rooted in the

religious dimension and in the quest for the Absolute - by its nature, ex-

pressing communion between persons - would effectively privilege an indi-

vidualistic approach, and would fragment the unity of the person.

My presence at this Assembly is a sign of esteem for the United Nations,

and it is intended to express the hope that the Organization will increasingly

serve as a sign of unity between States and an instrument of service to the

entire human family. It also demonstrates the willingness of the Catholic

Church to offer her proper contribution to building international relations

in a way that allows every person and every people to feel they can make a

difference. In a manner that is consistent with her contribution in the ethical

and moral sphere and the free activity of her faithful, the Church also works

for the realization of these goals through the international activity of the

Holy See. Indeed, the Holy See has always had a place at the assemblies of