 I'm truly grateful for the opportunity to visit with you again in this place of peace. You've always said that the power of love for our fellow man is stronger than the evils that befall mankind or humankind. And one feels the power of that strong moral force here in this holy city of St. Peter. Just as we see it in your courageous and compassionate leadership. Your Holiness, on my last visit here, I urge you to carry your ministry to the southern and western sections of the United States. And you graciously agreed. And I know that all America looks forward to your arrival in September. You'll find in our country a deeply religious people, a people devoted to the same ideals and values you so eloquently champion. A striving for peace and justice, human rights, and above all, our duty as fellow creatures of God to love one another. Not long ago, Your Holiness, you visited Canada where you spoke passionately of the moral obligation of the wealthier nations to share with those less fortunate. Recently, I also traveled to Canada and said it's time that we take up that challenge to share our prosperity with the underdeveloped nations, with generous aid, yes, but also in the most effective way we know, by sharing the conditions that promote prosperity. You have spoken eloquently of the moral causes of prosperity, among them hard work, honesty, initiative, thrift, spirit of service, and daring. In many countries today, we see economic revolutions founded on this basic tenet that the sources of prosperity are moral ones, that the spirit and imagination of man, freed of status shackles, is a revolutionary force for growth and human betterment. In your travels, you've inspired millions, people of all races and all faiths, who have felt the intensity of your desire for peace and brotherhood among men. As you embark on a pastoral visit to the land of your birth, Poland, be assured that the hearts of the American people are with you. Our prayers will go with you in profound hope that soon the hand of God will lighten the terrible burden of brave people everywhere who yearn for freedom, even as all men and women yearn for the freedom that God gave us all when he gave us a free will. We see the power of the spiritual force in that troubled land, uniting a people in hope, just as we see the powerful stirrings to the east of a belief that will not die, despite generations of oppression. Perhaps it's not too much to hope that true change will come to all countries that now deny or hinder the freedom to worship God. And perhaps we'll see that change comes through the reemergence of faith, through the irresistible power of religious renewal. But despite all the attempts to extinguish it, the people's faith burns with a passionate heat. Once allowed to breathe free, that faith will burn so brightly it will light the world. Your Holiness, when I last visited you, our representative in Vatican City was a personal envoy. Now I'm happy to say America is represented here by a full-fledged diplomatic mission at the ambassadorial level. The consequence of our efforts deserves nothing less, for we join with the Holy See in our concern for a world of peace, where armaments are reduced and human rights respected, a world of justice and hope, where each of God's creatures has the means and opportunity to develop to his or her full potential. Your Holiness, I'm reminded of the passage from the Bible of St. Peter walking out on the water after Christ. We know that as long as he kept his eyes on our Savior, as long as his faith was strong, he was held up. But as soon as his faith faltered, he began to sink. Your Holiness, with gentle chidings and powerful exhortations, you have continually directed our thoughts to the spiritual source of all true goodness and happiness. At the opening of the Second Vatican Council, in which you played such an important role, Pope John the 23rd spoke of the duty of every Christian to tend always toward heaven. In your great courage and compassion, in your piety and the boundless energy with which you carry out your mission, you have set an example for the world. It's an example that challenges us all to live a life of charity, to live a life of prayer, to work for peace, and in that beautiful phrase of John the 23rd, to tend always toward heaven. I know that today marks the beginning of a very important time for you personally and for the people of your faith. For it's this day that you begin the observance of a year of prayer and devotion to the Virgin Mary with a worldwide prayer for peace. I wish you great joy, happiness, and fulfillment in the coming months. And I thank you, Your Holiness, and may God bless you. Mr. President, this is the second time that I have the pleasure of welcoming you to the Vatican. Although this visit is somewhat brief, I am grateful for the opportunity to assure you again of my greatest team for all the people of the United States of America. On the occasion of your previous visit, I spoke of the importance of building society on the strong foundation of moral and spiritual values. And I expressed the hope that world peace might be fostered through greater trust between peoples and nations, a trust that is manifested and proved through constructive negotiations aimed at ending the arms race and at liberating immense resources that can be used to alleviate misery and feed millions of hungry human beings. I am confident, Mr. President, that you share my continued concern about these issues. Whenever moral and spiritual values are rejected or even given mere lip service and not truly integrated into daily life, then we, as individuals groups, as communities or nations, fall short of what we were intended to be as men and women created in the image of God. At the same time, the absence of trust and unwillingness to work together for the good of all. Breed division in the world and become a great stumbling block to the pursuit of true justice and peace in order to secure a brighter future and to overcome the obstacles to peaceful coexistence in the world. We must keep in mind a fundamental truth about human life, namely that together we make up a single human family. We are sons and daughters of one and the same God, brothers and sisters in a common humanity. As I stated in my message for the 1987 World Day of Peace, by simply being born into this world, we are of one inheritance and one stock with every other human being. This oneness expresses itself in all the richness and diversity of the human family in different races, cultures, languages, and histories. And we are called to recognize the basic solidarity of the human family as the fundamental condition of our life together in this earth. The consequences of this important truth are many and profound. If taken to heart, this truth will shape the attitudes of mind and spirit which make it possible for peoples and nations to collaborate effectively for the good of all. To overcome strife and conflict, to promote authentic integral development, and to assist refugees and victims of natural disasters. The oneness of humanity must have an impact on the policies and practices of governments, providing a solid foundation for international cooperation which reaches beyond political, racial, geographical, and ideological boundaries and forest new bounds of trust and mutual service. Even those who have previously been labeled as enemies can be seen in a new perspective as brothers and sisters in the human family. Not long ago, it became possible to establish full diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the United States. You view such relations as an important way of furthering mutual understanding and constructive collaboration. The Holy See has no political ambitions, but it does consider it part of its mission in the world to be widely concerned about human rights and the dignity of all, especially for the poor and suffering. Drawing its inspiration and guidance from the gospel of Jesus Christ, we came to bring glad tidings to the pool. The Holy See seeks to promote the highest spiritual values and ethical principles. In this regard, diplomatic relations are meant to facilitate a more fruitful dialogue on the basic questions facing the international community in sharing these thoughts with you today. I also wish to say how much I look forward to my forthcoming visit to the United States. Memories of my previous visit remained for me a source of joy. I'm grateful for this fathered opportunity to travel to a number of cities in your country and ask to be once again in the midst of the American people so as to join my heart and voice with theirs in praise of the living God. May the Lord assist you, Mr. President, in all your love to responsibilities and may his blessings be upon you and all the people of the United States of America. Thank you very much.