ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER PAUL VI
TO THE AMBASSADOR OF SUDAN*

Saturday, 10 January 1976

Mr Ambassador,

We are indeed happy to accept the Letters by which you are accredited as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Holy See. At the same time, we are pleased to reciprocate cordially the sincere good wishes which you have conveyed to us this morning from His Excellency the President of the Sudan.

We are grateful to you for your kind words in regard to the significant role played by the Church in history, and in regard specifically to our own Pontificate and to our endeavours to help create peace and brotherhood among men.

Your country is one which deeply engages our interest and attention. Regarding the presence of the Church there, we were privileged only last year to establish its national hierarchy. Such a step forward indicates how the Church has taken root in your native soil and grown to full stature: We are very pleased that a spirit of understanding and cooperation has made this development possible.

This consolidation of the structure in the Sudan provides an assurance that the Catholic population will ever more effectively contribute to the development of their beloved country, in sincere collaboration with all their fellow-citizens and in harmony with the concern that inspires the public authorities in this regard. They can now do this all the better by virtue of greater organization within the local Church itself. But Catholics will always be disposed by their religious faith to face the future with hope, courage and optimism and to respond constructively to the rich possibilities inherent in the present time. Inspired by a deep sense of the sacredness and dignity of human existence, they are likewise enabled to adopt the moral attitudes that contribute to the betterment of society. It is for this reason that we have no hesitation in stating that the Church’s presence will always involve a constant solicitude to promote in whatever way possible the good of the Sudan.

While we invoke upon all the people of your country the divine favours of fraternal harmony and true prosperity, we extend to you personally our good wishes for the happy fulfilment of your mission as Ambassador.

*AAS 68 (1976), p.184.

Insegnamenti di Paolo VI, vol. XIV, p.21-22.

L’Attività della Santa Sede 1976, p.10.

L'Osservatore Romano 11.1.1976 p.1;

ORa n.4 p.2.