Honored by Italian Cultural Association
MILAN, Italy, MAY 30, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Lech Walesa has been awarded the Defensor Fidei Award, given by the Italian Cultural Association, Il Timone.
The former Polish president, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, received the award last Saturday in Milan.
Walesa founded Solidarity, the 1980s Polish labor movement, which stood up to Communism and eventually helped bring democracy to the country.
Archbishop Girolamo Grillo of Civitavecchia and Tarquinia, one of the guests at the event, hailed Walesa as a "champion of freedom."
Walesa, receiving the award, said: "I would like to thank, above all, certain Italians among you who supported me in the '80s, helping to bring to a close the difficult era of divisions and contradictions."
"Today, too, in the age of information and global economy," he continued, "we need political and economic solutions. We live a different time, with a much greater chance for prosperity and peace than 30 years ago.
"I am not here to teach you anything, I have come to thank you. We have a lot in common: We are people of faith.
"I would prefer to speak to the atheists, because they are the sick ones in need of a doctor. It would be constructive to find interesting arguments to discuss with them."
Code: ZE07053012
Date: 2007-05-30