ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER PAUL VI
TO THE MEMBERS OF «THE TRILATERAL COMMISSION»*

Saturday, 25 September 1976

Gentlemen,

We are glad to receive your visit on the occasion of the meeting of your Steering Committee in Rome. The knowledge and experience of the members of the Trilateral Commission enable them to tackle, with outstanding competence, subjects that are of vital importance for the development of society on the political, economic, professional and social planes. This means that your discussion, your publications, your action can have an important influence on those who directly exercise the highest functions in these sectors.

We do not doubt that you seek to put this technical knowledge in the service of peoples for a development that is fully human, permitting not only the increase of wealth but also its fair distribution and the responsible participation of the greatest number in such wealth. And this applies not only to material progress and the prosperity derived from it, but also to the blossoming of those moral and spiritual qualities which make a civilization great. These are, for example, access to a culture and a wisdom that lead one to understand the meaning of life, increased consideration for the dignity of others and their freedom, voluntary and generous cooperation in the common good, the desire for peace, respect for human life in all its forms, faithfulness in love and concern with a wholesome education of the young, which lays stress on dedication, recognition of the supreme values and of God who is then source and their end. In this, we express to you our esteem and our encouragement.

We hope that your work will be beneficial, naturally for the countries or continents that you represent – North America, Europe, Japan, which are quite privileged as regards certain conditions of life – but also for other countries, particularly those which are really in want and which rightly ask the international authorities for assistance in solidarity, respecting their dignity. As a disciple of Christ, we are particularly convinced of the necessity of conceiving power as a service. We know that you, too, are sensitive to this. We pray to God to inspire you and to bless your families and those who are dear to you.

*ORa n.41 p.12.