NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      VATICAN, 12 (NE) Yesterday in the Vatican Pope John Paul II addressed his traditional speech to the members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See. The Holy Father highlighted the positive and negative signs that are manifested in today's world at the threshold of the third millennium. Among the positive signs, the Pope remembered the processes of peace in Ireland and Spain, also stressing the agreement achieved between the nations of Peru and Ecuador. "I direct my earnest and paternal calling to the Peruvian and Ecuatorian Catholics so that, through prayer and action, they be convinced artisans of reconciliation," said the Successor of Peter.

      "However, the culture of peace is far from being universal, as the flames of persistent conflicts attest," declared the Holy Father, remembering the conflicts in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, as well as the difficult situation in the Middle East. The Successor of Peter also called the world's attention on the violence in the African continent, expressing his solidarity with the different nations. "They are to know that the Holy See doesn't scant efforts to heal their sufferings and to find, in both the political and humanitarian environment, sensible solutions to the serious problems that exist," he said.

      "Facing these familiar problems, Ladies and Gentlemen, I want to have you participate of an intimate conviction: in this last year before the 2000 it is necessary an awakening of our conscience." The Holy Father emphasized that, "International law cannot be the law of the stronger, nor that of a simple majority of States, nor even that of an international organization. It must be the law which is in conformity with the principles of the natural law and of the moral law, which are always binding upon parties in conflict and in the various questions in dispute."