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POPE-FRANCE Dec-19-2005 (350 words) xxxi
Riots in France showed youths' frustration, pope says
By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- While the violence that struck France in November must be condemned, the riots were an expression of the frustration felt by young people who feel excluded economically and socially, Pope Benedict XVI said.
Welcoming Bernard Kessedjian, France's new ambassador to the Vatican, Pope Benedict said the influx of immigrants to France after World War II helped fuel the country's economic and social development.
"It is important today to thank them and their descendants for the economic, cultural and social riches they helped create," the pope said in his Dec. 19 talk to the ambassador.
The riots that struck the outskirts of Paris and other French cities in November were carried out mainly by poor youths who are the children of immigrants.
Pope Benedict told the ambassador that "the challenge today consists in living the values of equality and fraternity" espoused by the country, ensuring that all citizens feel they are accepted members of society and enjoy equal opportunities.
Young people especially need to have the hope that they will be able to find a job to provide for their needs and the needs of their families, he said.
"It also is advisable to pay special attention to the institutions of marriage and family life," he said. "It is indeed the basis of society and it has an irreplaceable role in the education of youth, combining authority with emotional support (and) giving young people the values needed for personal maturity and participation in the common good."
Parents must be assisted in the task of educating their children so that the young grow with a properly formed conscience that will make them responsible adults who contribute to the improvement of society, the pope said.
Pope Benedict also spoke about the 100th anniversary of a French law formalizing the separation of church and state.
"The principle of secularity consists in a healthy distinction of powers, which is not an opposition" and which does not attempt to exclude the Catholic Church from carrying out its educational and charitable work, the pope said.
END
Copyright (c) 2005 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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