Pope Chooses Theme Amid Present "Crisis"
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 19, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI will write about the family for the World Day of Peace, developing his previous messages on truth and the person, says Cardinal Renato Martino.
The Pope will write on "The Human Family: Community of Peace" for the 41st world day celebrated each Jan. 1, his third as Pontiff.
The president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace presented the theme to journalists today.
"Recognition of the unity of the human family is particularly providential given the present moment in history, marked by the crisis of international organizations and the presence of grave disturbances in the international community," Cardinal Martino said.
For this reason, "every man, every people is called to live and to feel they are a part of the human family conceived by God as a community of peace," he noted. "This theme chosen by the Pope is truly beautiful."
The theme "will be a nice part of Benedict XVI's pastoral ministry, and therefore, I have no doubt, we will have another beautiful message toward mid-November," the cardinal continued.
Cardinal Martino explained how the theme was chosen: "Our council, in April, gathered the representatives of various dicasteries of the Roman Curia to make suggestions for themes to present to the Holy Father as the theme for the World Day of Peace."
"At the end of our meeting we had hundreds of themes," the cardinal said. "Then the Council for Justice and Peace chooses three to present to the Holy Father," who chooses one according "to his liking."
A Vatican communiqué noted that the "conviction that the perception of a common destiny and the experience of communion are essential factors for the realization of the common good and for peace," is the foundation for the theme.
ZE07061908 - 2007-06-19