Vatican Official Speaks At INTERPOL Conference

Zenit reports on an address Monday by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, secretary of the Governorate of Vatican City State, to the 79th General Assembly of Interpol meeting in Doha, Qatar. (Full text of remarks.)  Apparently the Archbishop chose to address the forum of police chiefs and law enforcement officers from around the world because of the Vatican's growing concern over violence against Christians in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East. Vatican security forces joined Interpol in 2008.  The Archbishop said in part:

Criminal behavior is an intrinsic part of the human experience, just as the conflict of good and evil is part of the world’s history, and, for Christians, a part of God’s saving plan. It is precisely this realization that inspires the Holy See to participate, either as a member or an observer, in the meetings and conferences promoted by international organizations to discuss issues which ultimately deal with man himself, the human being viewed holistically and with respect for all his complexity....

We are here today to renew, in one specific area, our commitment to cooperate in eliminating evil from the world. This is a enormous commitment if we think of the forces at play, yet we must remain undaunted. Indeed, we should be committed to even fuller cooperation.