To the President of Upper Volta and to the Nation (10 May 1980)

On Saturday, 10 May 1980, the Holy Father addressed the President of Upper Volta and the Nation*, to whom, while expressing his joy at being there in Ouagadougou, he observed that power and service are inseparable.

Mister President,

1. As soon as I arrived, just now, I wanted to publicly express my joy in responding to the cordial invitation addressed to me, both by Your Excellency in the name of the Republic of Upper Volta, and by the bishops of the country. On the occasion of this meeting with the highest authorities of the State, allow me to repeat to them my feelings of deep gratitude, and to offer them my respectful greeting.

I am proud and happy to be able to come and find the People of Volta in his home. I come to him as a brother who, for this very reason, wishes to know him better in order to be even closer to him. My words want to be words of love and peace, for everyone, for Christians, and also for those who belong to ancestral religions or to the important Islamic community of the country. We have religious values ​​in common.

We must therefore, with all the more reason, respect each other, and recognize the right of each to freely profess his faith. This is mutually valid for each of us. I therefore come as a man of God, to speak to everyone the language of the heart , which all the inhabitants can understand if they listen to it. At this level, there is no difference between men, all shaped by the hand of the Creator, all called to live in brotherhood, to help each other, and to seek spiritual values.

My thoughts and my affection therefore reach out to each and every one of the Voltaians at this time, the young and the wise old, families, parents, the poor, the sick, the workers of the country - whether they are in their homeland or abroad. abroad - who contribute to development despite so many natural difficulties. I greet them in the person of those who bear the burden of guiding them, with the awareness of their great mission. To all of you, I renew the good wishes that my predecessor Pope Paul VI addressed to them on many occasions, and in particular when Your Excellency, a few years ago, honored him with a visit to the Vatican[ 1 ] .

 I will personally mention my satisfaction at having been able to meet, on July 13, with the Prime Minister of the Republic.

2. If previous stages of this pastoral journey have already offered the opportunity to address certain more specific problems of the African continent or of the place in the world which belongs to its own genius, I had the essential concern their religious and moral dimension, the desire to dialogue in the name of man taken as a whole[ 2 ].

The Catholic Church therefore in no way intends to weigh on the specific responsibilities of rulers. However, it likes to remember that, in the mind of its Founder, the notion of power; is inseparable from the notion of service, and that in a certain way all power being received from above, it must be exercised according to God[ 3 ].

This is indeed the concern that drives her when she devotes herself, for example, to works of education, to also contribute to the training of those who will have to take over the development and the future of their country: prepare men and women inhabited by the ideal of true public service, honest, disinterested and concerned with the common good of the population.

In this area, the Church in Upper Volta has already given loyal collaboration to the progress of the country. It continues today to the extent of its possibilities, with the conviction of the importance of this task. I have no doubt that his catechetical teaching is open, moreover, to the whole of life, so as to train in depth the man of tomorrow, in the service of his country and the noblest ideals.

3. In the same way, she asks only to be present wherever she can help the dignity of man, of the citizen, with meager means but the generosity of a heart ready to share.

May she persevere in this momentum which, eighty years after the start of evangelization, has never wavered, pushing her to constantly take new initiatives, with respect for consciences and loyalty to of civil power. I have full confidence in the bishops of the country and in my dear collaborator, Cardinal Paul Zoungrana, to remain faithful to this line inspired by the sense of authentic fraternity.

4. It is certain that, nourished by a common desire for dialogue, relations between the Holy See and the Republic of Upper Volta will continue to grow stronger in the future. This is my very dear wish, which I want to share; to Your Excellency and to all our listeners. This stage of my trip is proof of this, with the joy I feel in spending this day in Ouagadougou, in the midst of the dear People of Volta! Thank you for your hospitality, Mr President, thank you for your welcome and for so much consideration for my humble person.

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 [ 1 ] Cfr. "L'Osservatore Romano", diebus 18-19 jun. 1973.

 [ 2 ] Cfr. Ioannis Pauli PP. II Allocutio ad Nationem Unitarum Legatos , 5, die 2 oct. 1979: Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II , II, 2 (1979) 524.

 [ 3 ] Cfr. Io . 19, 11.

* Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II , vol. III, 1 pp. 1288-1290.

L'Osservatore Romano 11.5.1980 p.4.

L'Osservatore Romano. Weekly edition in French language n.22 p.7.

© Copyright 1980 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

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