Pope says promoting peace requires respect for unchanging morals

Published: 2007-12-03

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Promoting lasting peace, justice and human dignity requires solidarity and a respect for unchanging moral values, Pope Benedict XVI said. Meeting Dec. 1 with representatives of 85 Catholic agencies recognized as nongovernmental organizations by the United Nations and other international bodies, Pope Benedict said the problems of humanity cannot be solved without a clear acceptance of ethical norms. "International discussions often seem marked by a relativistic logic," which is convinced that the only way to find agreement and promote peaceful coexistence is to ignore the fact that each human life was created by God and to pretend that there are no moral absolutes, the pope said. "This has led, in effect, to the imposition of a notion of law and politics which ultimately makes consensus between states -- a consensus conditioned at times by short-term interests or manipulated by ideological pressure -- the only real basis of international norms," he said.

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