Tuesday, April 27, 2004
Can we hold it together?
"Without ethical foundations, democracy runs the risk of deteriorating
with the passing of time and even of disappearing," the Holy Father told
his guests.
This is the legacy left by Giorgio La Pira (1904-1977), a jurist,
politician and deputy of the Christian Democratic Party who participated
in the assembly that wrote the Italian Constitution after World War II.
La Pira was elected mayor of Florence in the periods 1950-1956 and
1960-1964.
The Pope described La Pira, a member of the Dominican Third Order, as an
"eminent figure of politics, culture and spirituality of the century that
has just ended."
The mayor of Florence served "the cause of fraternal coexistence among
nations," fostering in particular "friendship between peoples, whose
reference is Abraham," the Holy Father said.
"Before the powerful of the earth, La Pira expressed with firmness his
ideas as believer and as a man who loved peace, inviting his interlocutors
to a common effort to promote that fundamental good in different ambits:
in society, politics, the economy, cultures, and among religions," the
Pope added.
with the passing of time and even of disappearing," the Holy Father told
his guests.
This is the legacy left by Giorgio La Pira (1904-1977), a jurist,
politician and deputy of the Christian Democratic Party who participated
in the assembly that wrote the Italian Constitution after World War II.
La Pira was elected mayor of Florence in the periods 1950-1956 and
1960-1964.
The Pope described La Pira, a member of the Dominican Third Order, as an
"eminent figure of politics, culture and spirituality of the century that
has just ended."
The mayor of Florence served "the cause of fraternal coexistence among
nations," fostering in particular "friendship between peoples, whose
reference is Abraham," the Holy Father said.
"Before the powerful of the earth, La Pira expressed with firmness his
ideas as believer and as a man who loved peace, inviting his interlocutors
to a common effort to promote that fundamental good in different ambits:
in society, politics, the economy, cultures, and among religions," the
Pope added.
