Vatican City, Dec 18, 2003 / 22:00 pm
420 lawyers from around the world greeted on Friday Pope John Paul II and presented him with a book of essays inspired on his teachings.
The group, which includes experts in Judaism and Islam, presented the book entitled, “John Paul II: Paths of Justice.”
The Pope responded to the gift by saying that he joined them in their “conviction that, in order to promote man and his dignity, and to pursue the common good and understanding among peoples, the only road to take is that of making the 'force' of the law prevail, with due respect for people of every culture, language and religion.”
“This is what I wanted to emphasize in the Message for the upcoming World Day of Peace, recalling at the same time the importance and urgency of educating to peace. I hope very much,” he concluded, “that this work may contribute to better demonstrate the fundamental duty to safeguard human rights, merits and also the limits of globalization and the value of European integration and peace.”