American Catholics are committed to building a society which is truly tolerant and inclusive, to safeguarding the rights of individuals and communities, and to rejecting every form of unjust discrimination. With countless other people of good will, they are likewise concerned that efforts to build a just and wisely ordered society respect their deepest concerns and their right to religious liberty.

While all too many people live in dire poverty, others are caught up in materialism and lifestyles which are destructive of family life and the most basic demands of Christian morality.

Missionaries never give up on their dream of peace, even when they experience difficulties and persecution, which makes their presence strongly felt today.

May the power of Christ, which brings freedom and service, be felt in so many hearts afflicted by war, persecution and slavery.

It is better to have a Church that is wounded but out in the streets than a Church that is sick because it is closed in on itself.

Sometimes we are saddened by the weight of our sins. May we not be discouraged. Christ has come to lift this burden and give us peace.

I would like to ask all those who have positions of responsibility in economic, political and social life, and all men and women of goodwill: let us be 'protectors' of creation, protectors of God's plan inscribed in nature, protectors of one another and of the environment.