Natural Law is Theme of Pope's "State of the World" Address

From Catholic World News:

Vatican, Jan. 7, 2008 (CWNews.com) - World peace is possible only if it is "solidly anchored in natural law, given by the Creator," Pope Benedict XVI told the members of the Vatican diplomatic corps in a major address on January 7.

Early each year the Roman Pontiff meets with all the diplomats accredited to the Holy See. The annual address has become the equivalent of a "state of the world" speech, with the Pope offering a panoramic view of world events as seen from the Vatican's perspective.

[The full text of the Pope's January 7 address is available on the Vatican web site.]

After giving a rundown of the world's trouble spots, Pope Benedict concluded that "the security and stability of the world are still fragile." To maintain a lasting peace, he said, world leaders must recognize natural law. "This is another reason why God can never be excluded from the horizon of man or of history," he said.

The Catholic Church will always defend the human rights based on natural law, the Pope reminded the assembled ambassadors. For that reason, he said, "I cannot but deplore once again the continual attacks perpetrated on every continent against human life."

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The Pope added that natural law weighs against "disturbing threats to the integrity of the family, founded on the marriage of a man and a woman." He also observed with regret that religious freedom is not universally accepted and that Christians and other religious believers suffer from discrimination and even violence in many lands.

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My Comments:
Wait a minute. Just 2 days ago, I posted a story wherein some lawyer said that the Church presents "a view that the world operates in conformity with supernatural forces and not with natural laws".