VATICAN CITY, OCT. 4, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The Church and state are independent of each other but collaborate to serve the person and society, Benedict XVI told the new Italian ambassador to the Holy See.
The Pope took advantage of today's meeting, coinciding with the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, patron of Italy, to send a greeting to the country's president and to elaborate on the magisterium’s vision of Church-state relations.
"The Church is not and does not intend to be a political agent," the Holy Father said in his discourse to Antonio Zanardi Landi. "At the same time, it has a deep interest for the good of the political community."
He recalled the teaching found in the Second Vatican Council document "Gaudium et Spes": "The Church and the political community in their own fields are autonomous and independent from each other. Yet both, under different titles, are devoted to the personal and social vocation of the same men" (No. 76).
The Pontiff continued: "The Church is not searching for power, nor does it expect privileges or aspire to positions of economic and social advantage.
"Its only scope is to serve man, aspiring to, as the supreme norm of conduct, Jesus Christ’s words and example, he ‘who went about doing good, and healing all.'"
Benedict XVI asked that the Church be "considered for its specific nature and to be able to freely carry out its special mission, not only for the good of its faithful, but for all Italians."
ZE07100409 - 2007-10-04