Acta Apostolicae Sedis - Commentarium Officiale382

ricordiamo particolarmente, preghiamo per noi e per tutti; preghiamo per

ogni persona che vive in questa città, perché possa conoscere Te, o Padre,

e Colui che Tu hai mandato, Gesù Cristo. E cosı̀ avere la vita in abbondanza.

Amen.

ALLOCUTIONES

I

Ad Plenariam Sessionem Pontificiae Academiae Scientiarum Socialium.*

Dear Brothers in the Episcopate and the Priesthood,

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased to have this occasion to meet with you as you gather for the

fourteenth Plenary Session of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

Over the last two decades, the Academy has offered a valuable contribution

to the deepening and development of the Church's social doctrine and its

application in the areas of law, economics, politics and the various other

social sciences. I thank Professor Margaret Archer for her kind words of

greeting, and I express my sincere appreciation to all of you for your com-

mitment to research, dialogue and teaching, so that the Gospel of Jesus

Christ may continue to shed light on the complex situations arising in a

rapidly changing world.

In choosing the theme Pursuing the Common Good: How Solidarity and

Subsidiarity Can Work Together, you have decided to examine the interrela-

tionships between four fundamental principles of Catholic social teaching: the

dignity of the human person, the common good, subsidiarity and solidarity.1

These key realities, which emerge from the living contact between the Gospel

and concrete social circumstances, offer a framework for viewing and addres-

sing the imperatives facing mankind at the dawn of the twenty-first century,

such as reducing inequalities in the distribution of goods, expanding oppor-

tunities for education, fostering sustainable growth and development, and

protecting the environment.

* Die 3 Maii 2008. 1 Cfr Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 160-163.