(dpa) -
Following in the footsteps of his predecessors, Pope Benedict XVI reminded the
United Nations on Friday that it is a "moral centre" where all
nations should feel comfortable to share their awareness of being a
"family of nations."
Benedict was the third pope to have visited the UN headquarters in New York, after Paul VI's visit in 1967 and John Paul II in 1979 and 1995 delivered
addresses to the UN General Assembly. The assembly now has 192 members
and is a secular body.
Benedict said John Paul in particular emphasized the moral
character of the UN.
He said the founding principles of the UN call for humankind to achieve its
desire for peace, the quest for justice, respect for the dignity of the person,
humanitarian cooperation and assistance - all of which are to express "the
just aspirations of the human spirit, and constitute the ideas which should
underpin international relations."
He said those aspirations remain true even if the world today is faced with the
paradox of the multilateral consensus, which is always in crisis because
multilateralism is "subordinated to the decision of a small number."
"In the context of international relations, it is necessary to recognize
the higher role played by rules and structures that are intrinsically ordered
to promote the common good, and therefore to safeguard human freedom," he
said.
"These regulations do not limit freedom," he said. "In the name
of freedom, there has to be a correlation between rights and duties, by which
every person is called to assume responsibility for his or her choices, made as
a consequence of entering into relations with others."