Acta Benedicti Pp. XVI 93

ALLOCUTIONES

I

Dum Beatissimus Pater legatis civitatum apud Sanctam Sedem omina ob Novum

Annum profert.*

Your Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is always a particular pleasure for me to receive you, the distinguished

members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, in the splendid

setting of this Sala Regia, and personally to offer you my cordial good wishes

for the New Year. Before all else, I thank your Dean, Ambassador Alejandro

Valladares Lanza, and the Vice-Dean, Ambassador Jean-Claude Michel, for

the respectful sentiments which they expressed on your behalf, and I offer a

special greeting to all those taking part in our meeting for the first time.

Through you my good wishes extend to all the nations which you represent

and with which the Holy See maintains diplomatic relations. It is a joy for us

that Malaysia joined this community in the past year. The dialogue which

you maintain with the Holy See favours the exchange of views and

information, as well as cooperation in areas of common interest which are

bilateral or multilateral in nature. Your presence today evokes the important

contribution which the Church makes to your societies in areas such as

education, health care and social services. A sign of the cooperation

existing between the Catholic Church and States is seen in the Accords

reached in 2011 with Azerbaijan, Montenegro and Mozambique. The first

has already been ratified; I trust that this will also be the case with the

two others, and that those currently under negotiation will soon be

concluded. The Holy See also desires to establish a fruitful dialogue with

international and regional organizations, and in this context I note with

satisfaction that the member states of the Association of South-East Asian

Nations (ASEAN) have accepted the appointment of an Apostolic Nuncio

accredited to that organization. Nor can I fail to mention that last December

the Holy See strengthened its longstanding cooperation with the

International Organization for Migration by becoming a full member. This

* Die 9 Ianuarii 2012.