9 March 2010
Your Eminence, Your Excellencies,
organisers and participants of the conference,
I am pleased to see so numerous an audience in the Seimas representing a variety of walks of life including the Church, public and religious organisations, as well as the fields of economy, politics, finance, and business. I have to admit that several months ago, when the Papal Nuncio proposed arranging the conference, I could hardly imagine the scope and size of the event.
Your presence in this hall today and the interest you take in the subject attest to the fact that we were not mistaken in holding this conference on the eve of 11 March, the Day of Reestablishment of Lithuanias Independence. This is indeed a good time to address the issues of freedom and responsibility, the importance of values in our daily lives, and caritas in veritate, which should shape our public life as well as our every decision and every step we make.
I take this occasion to congratulate you and those who are watching the conference broadcast on the Internet in Lithuania and abroad on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of a free state of Lithuania we are going to celebrate in two days time. I congratulate Lithuania and all our friends on this happy and solemn occasion.
I consider this to be a perfect opportunity to make a pause and reassess our past, review the past actions, and think on ways for each of us to contribute to a better, more respectable, and more dignified life and communion in Lithuania.
This is too brief an address for me to contemplate on the provisions of the Encyclical Letter of Pope Benedict 16th in detail. Nevertheless, I will draw your attention to several aspects I consider to be particularly important.
The Introduction of the Encyclical Letter covers two principles, which Lithuania and our people need badly today. The first of them is the thirst for the public good. Currently, Lithuania experiences a particular need for community and communion, a need of directing more efforts towards the public good rather than material, economic, or financial profit alone. What we need is a dignified life and human communion, respect for every human being and every citizen. I am referring to the need for dignity in the civic community.
Another important aspect is the thirst for justice, which is inseparable from the thirst for public good. The justice I am referring to does not amount to arbitrary street-type of justice or mob justice. What we need is genuine justice, free from manipulation and power struggles, justice based on humanity and human dignity. We need justice that is based on love and charity rather than revenge, justice aimed at support rather than condemnation.
I firmly believe that these and many other principles covered in the Encyclical Letter of Pope Benedict 16th can help us all join our efforts for a new decade in a free state of Lithuania oriented towards more justice, dignity, respect, and public good.
I sincerely wish you an open and fruitful discussion.
