ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II
TO THE NEW CARDINAL EDWARD IDRIS CASSIDY

Monday, 1 July 1991

Dear Cardinal Cassidy,

There are many reasons why this visit, in the company of your relatives and friends, many of whom have come from Australia, is particularly pleasant. It is an occasion for us to share in the joy of your entering the College of Cardinals, and to give you the assurance of our prayers for you and your generous service of the Church.

For almost forty years you have been at the heart of the Church, so to speak, serving the Holy See as a diplomat in different parts of the world. You have always understood the special nature of the Holy See’s presence in the international community as a continuation of the Church’s mission to promote the full development of individuals and peoples, to defend and foster human dignity and human rights, and to keep alive the awareness of the ethical and moral dimensions of all human life and activity.

I am personally grateful to you for the competence and dedication with which you assisted me in the role of Substitute of the Secretariat of State. Now you are my close and responsible collaborator in fulfilling the charge which the Second Vatican Council entrusted to the Church, and to the Pope in particular, the duty of working wisely and untiringly for the union of divided Christians. You are called to this service at a time of radical changes in the world, a time of new and not always easy challenges in the field of dialogue and understanding between Christians of the East and of the West. I am fully confident that you will continue to help me in this important and delicate sector of my ministry.

I gladly invoke God’s blessings upon you and the members of your family, and upon all who are here with you today. Through you I send a special greeting to your homeland, Australia. God bless you all.

© Copyright 1991 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana