On December 16, 1997, Pope John Paul II gave a brief address, welcoming to the Vatican the Ambassador from the United States: The Honorable Lindy Boggs. After the ceremonial introduction and an expression of his appreciation for the role of the United States, the Pope treated the ambassador to a lesson in American history that more than a few of our citizens need to hear.
"The Founding Fathers of the United States asserted their claim to freedom and independence on the basis of certain 'self-evident' truths about the human person: truths which could be discerned in human nature, built into it by 'nature's God.' Thus they meant to bring into being, not just an independent territory, but a great experiment in what George Washington called 'ordered liberty:' an experiment in which men and women would enjoy equality of rights and opportunities in the pursuit of happiness and in service to the common good."
How many Americans today feel this way about our nation's founding or would agree with the Pope's words? Yet these words are consistent with those enshrined in our nation's heritage. The Declaration of Independence, the document signed by John Hancock 224 years ago today, boldly proclaims: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Were these merely words of propaganda? Or were they, as Pope John Paul II declared, the true foundation of our national experiment?
As if anticipating the cynicism, the Pope continues: "Reading the founding documents of the United States, one has to be impressed by the concept of freedom they enshrine: a freedom designed to enable people to fulfill their duties and responsibilities towards the family and towards the common good of the community. Their authors clearly understood that there could be no true freedom without moral responsibility and accountability, and no happiness without respect and support for the natural units or groupings through which people exist, develop and seek the higher purposes of life in concert with others."
