Pope says global world must be met with greater solidarity

Published: 2004-04-30

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The changing economic and social realities brought by globalization must be met with greater solidarity between the rich and poor as well as between the young and old, Pope John Paul II said. In separate messages to two Vatican meetings April 30, the pope said governments and individuals have a moral responsibility to ensure the world's poorest, weakest or oldest citizens are not forgotten. The Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences was meeting April 29-May 3 to discuss "intergenerational solidarity," while the "Centesimus Annus" Foundation was discussing "Global Governance and the Politics of Development" during its April 30-May 1 meeting. Mary Ann Glendon, a Harvard law professor and president of the social sciences academy, said her group was exploring ways to face "the challenges posed by the fact that changing relations between generations have placed increasing strain on every society's capacity to provide for the needs of the very young, the frail elderly and the severely ill or disabled."

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