Editorial

That the present Pontiff, John Paul II, despite his advancing years and his serious ailments, is an indefatigable missionary of Christian values in an increasingly materialistic world, there can be absolutely no doubt.

The Pope, who last month celebrated the 24th year of his pontificate, has spread Christ's message of peace and solidarity, of human dignity and the values that go with it, to the four corners of the world. He is the most travelled Pontiff of all times, venturing out of Italy some 100 times (including twice to Malta), to impart his personal charisma to all nations, Catholic and non-Catholic, but particularly to encourage the growth of the Church in developing countries and to reaffirm Christian values in countries where materialism appears to predominate.

But the journey he made last week, from the Vatican to Italy's Parliament in Rome, lasting two hours in all, though among the shortest he ever undertook, was probably one of his most significant.

His 47-minute speech to the assembled Italian parliamentarians was historically significant not only in terms of the relations between the Holy See and the State of Italy - this was the first-ever address by a Pope to the Italian Parliament - but also in a much wider European, and global, context.

For the breadth of its scope, and the richness of its message, John Paul II's address won plaudits from across the Italian political spectrum and from practically the whole range of Italian public opinion, although foreign news media (sadly including Reuters) downplayed its enormous significance.

In his speech, the Pope covered issues which are not only of domestic Italian concern, such as the prison situation, demographic trends, education, unemployment and other social problems, but also the shape of the "new European common home" and religion's role in it, war and peace, and human solidarity - words of wisdom which can be readily applied to many nations, including Malta.

For example, although he was referring specifically to Italy, the Pope's warning that the decline in the birth rate and the aging of the population were posing a serious threat to that country's development, can be equally applied here. The implications of these demographic trends for the social security burden are already obvious and we ignore them at our peril. The problem can only get worse, and the longer a solution is delayed, the harder and more burdensome it is bound to become.

John Paul II was referring to the importance of measures to help the family, as a natural society based on marriage, by making the raising and education of children less onerous in social and economic terms, and thus help "reverse the trend". This would be one way of making the solution more palatable, although action must be also taken in the all-important area of pension and welfare reform.

The Pope could not fail to include a reference to the new, enlarged European Union now taking shape. He welcomed the imminent accession of new states, most of them in Central and Eastern Europe, as "the overcoming of an unnatural division" and expressed the hope that, the new foundations of the "common European home" will not lack the "cement" of that extraordinary religious, cultural and civil heritage which has made Europe great throughout the ages.

Malta too aspires to belong to the common European home, and its quintessentially Catholic heritage can only contribute to that "cement".

The Pope stressed that if we want to ensure enduring stability to the new European union, each one of us has to ensure it rests on those ethical foundations which once were at the base, making room at the same time for the richness and diversity of the cultures and traditions of each individual nation. In this regard, he repeated the appeal he has so often made in other continents: "Europe, at the beginning of the new millennium, open your doors again to Christ!"

At a time when peace is threatened by conflicts such as the ongoing one in the Middle East, or the new one represented by international terrorism, all religions had to exploit to the full their potential for peace, serving to bring and 'convert' the cultures and civilisations which inspire them to greater reciprocal understanding.

Earlier, the Pope referred to the "moral climate" which prevails in social relationships and which finds an enormous and highly influential expression in the means of commmunication.

"This is a challenge which every person and every family has to face, but which is particularly addressed to those who have major political and institutional responsibilities," John Paul II warned. It is a warning which we in Malta, if we want our nation to provide the best possible cultural and educational environment for its citizens, must take particularly to heart.