Pope Francis to Panama's
authorities, civil society, diplomatic corps: Full text
 |
| Pope Francis addressing Panama's authorities, diplomats, civil society. |
Pope Francis, who is in Panama for World Youth Day, on
Thursday dedicated his first discourse on Panamanian soil to the country’s
authorities, civil society and the diplomatic corps.
On Thursday, January 24, his first full day in the Central
American nation, the Pope addressed the country’s authorities, representatives
of civil society and the diplomatic corps in the capital’s Palacio de
las Garzas, the governmental office and residence of the President of
Panama. Speaking in his native Spanish, the Pontiff evoked the image of a
“great fatherland” as envisaged by Simon Bolivar, looking upon Panama as a land
of convocation and of dreams.
Please find below the full text of the Pope’s speech:
Mr President,
Distinguished Authorities,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I thank you, Mr President, for your words of welcome and your kind invitation
to visit this nation. In addressing you, I would like to greet and thank
all the people of Panama who, from Darién to Chiriquí and Bocas del Toro, have
made a marvellous effort to welcome the many young people arriving from all
over the world. Thank you for having opened to us the doors of your home.
I begin my pilgrimage in this historical precinct where Simón Bolívar, who
stated that “if the world had to choose its capital, the Isthmus of Panama
would be marked out for this great destiny”, convoked the leaders of his time
to forge the dream of the unification of the Great Fatherland. A
convocation that helps us realize that our peoples are able to create, to forge
and, above all, to dream of a great fatherland that can include, respect and
embrace the multicultural richness of each people and culture. Taking up
this inspiration, we can look upon Panama as a land of convocation and of
dreams.
1. A land
of convocation
This was seen in the Congress of Panama and is seen today too in the arrival of
thousands of young people who bring with them the hope and desire to meet and
celebrate with one another.
Thanks to its privileged location, your country is a strategic enclave not only
for the region but also for the entire world. A bridge between oceans and
a natural land ofencounter , Panama, the narrowest country of the entire
American continent, is the symbol of the sustainability born of the ability to
create bonds and alliances. This capacity shapes the heart of the
Panamanian people.
Each of you has a special place in the building of the nation, and is
called to ensure that this land can live up to its vocation to be a land of
convocation and encounter. This involvesdecision , commitment and
daily effort to ensure that all have the opportunity to feel that they are
agents of their own destiny and that of their families and the entire
nation. It is impossible to think of the future of a society without the
active – and not merely nominal – participation of each of its members, in such
a way that his or her dignity is acknowledged and guaranteed through access to
quality education and the promotion of dignified jobs. These two
realities help make it possible to recognize and appreciate the genius and the
creative dynamism of this people . Similarly, they are the best
antidote to any type of “guardianship” that would restrict your freedom and
subordinate or ignore the dignity of citizens, especially that of the most
poor.
The genius of these lands is marked by the richness of its indigenous peoples:
the bribri , bugle, emberá, kuna, nasoteribe , ngäbe
and waunana , who have so much to relate and recall from their
culture and vision of the world. I greet them and I thank them. To
be a land of convocation means celebrating, acknowledging and listening to what
is specific about each of these peoples and of all those men and women who make
up the face of Panama and work to build a future of hope. For it is
possible to defend the common good above the interests of a few or for few only
when there is a firm decision to share with justice one’s goods.
The younger generation, with its joy and enthusiasm, with its freedom,
sensitivity and critical capacity, demands that adults, and especially all
those who exercise roles of leadership in public life, lead a life consonant
with the dignity and authority that they possess and that has been entrusted to
them. They call upon them to live in simplicity and transparency, with a
clear sense of responsibility for others and for our world. To lead a
life that demonstrates that public service is a synonym of honesty and justice,
and opposed to all forms of corruption. Young people demand a commitment
in which all – beginning with those of us who call ourselves Christians – have
the audacity to build “an authentically human politics” (Gaudium et Spes, 73)
that makes the person the centre and heart of everything. A politics that
works to build a culture of greater transparency between governments, the
private sector and the entire population, in the words of your prayer for your
country: “Give us our daily bread: may we eat it in our own homes and in a
state of health worthy of human beings”.
2. A land
of dreams
In these days, Panama will not only be spoken of as a regional centre or
strategic site for commerce or the transit of persons: it will turn into a hub
of hope. A meeting-point where young people coming from the five
continents, brimming with dreams and hopes, will celebrate, meet one another,
pray and kindle their desire and commitment to building a more humane
world. In this way, they will defy the shortsighted and short-term views
that, seduced by resignation or greed, or prey to the technocratic paradigm,
believe that the only way forward is to obey the “laws of competition,
[speculation] and the survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the
powerless” (Evangelii Gaudium, 53). To believe that would be to close the
future to a new imagination of humanity. By welcoming the
dreams of these young people, Panama becomes once more a land of dreams that
challenges so many certainties of our time and opens up vital horizons that can
enrich the path ahead through a respectful and compassionate gaze upon
others. In these days, we will witness the opening of new channels of
communication and understanding, of solidarity, creativity and mutual
assistance; channels of humanity that foster commitment and break through
anonymity and isolation, for the sake of a new way of building history.
Another world is possible! We know this and young people urge us to take
our part in building it, so that our dreams do not remain ephemeral or
ethereal, but can promote a social contract in which everyone has the chance to
dream of a tomorrow. The right to the future is also a human right.
Against this horizon, the words of Ricardo Miró seem to come alive. In
singing to his beloved homeland, he said: “When they see you, my native land,
they might say that you were shaped by God’s will, so that beneath the sun
shining down upon you, all humanity can come together in you” (Patria
de mis amores ).
Once more I thank you for everything you have done to make this meeting
possible, and I express to you, Mr President, to all those here present, and
all those who join us through the communications media, my best wishes for
renewed hope and joy in the service of the common good.
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