Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Catholic inspired Non governmental Organisations (NGO) “continue to bring their contribution on a national, regional and international level to issues of major importance on behalf of the integral good of the human person and of all humanity”. This is the affirmation with which the first Forum of Catholic inspired NGO’s closed yesterday.  The Holy See press office today issues a statement saying, “dialogue and an exchange of experiences have strengthened participant’s desire for collaboration between them and the Holy See, in a spirit of communion, as well as a will to find working methods suited to their aim”.

This is exactly what Benedict XVI had asked of them, during an audience with the 85 NGO’s participating in the Forum Saturday.  The pope highlighted the need to always defend human dignity against the relativistic trends which are signing international discussions.

The Pope first and foremost had underlined how international cooperation “despite the tragic disruption of two world wars, has significantly contributed towards the creation of a more just international order”. Often however, discussions within the field of international organisations underscore a “a relativistic logic which would consider as the sole guarantee of peaceful coexistence between peoples a refusal to admit the truth about man and his dignity”. This negates “the possibility of an ethics based on recognition of the natural moral law”. Based on this imposition, “the only true basis of international norms” is consensus between States, which is “conditioned at times by short-term interests or manipulated by ideological pressure”.

This is a reality which leads to “the attempt to consider as human rights the consequences of certain self-centred lifestyles” and to “a lack of concern for the economic and social needs of the poorer nations”. In order to counter this Catholic NGOs must become promoters of the Catholic social doctrine so that starting from this basis, answers to the great themes under discussions can be developed and initiatives “animated by a spirit of freedom and solidarity” can be promoted, ethical principals whose nature and role as a basis of social life remain “non negotiable”.