Knowledge makes man free and beacons him to works of altruism and civilization. A desire to create along with experience guide him, opening up new prospects and new horizons that help him become aware of his real role in society.

And while he incessantly becomes a participant in the achievements of modern civilization, at the same he comes face to face with the consequences of the reckless exploitation of natural resources and of the destruction of the environment, which will affect the lives of future generations as well. 

And while he often stands speechless before technological wonders, he also becomes a witness of poverty and social inequality in education, health and work; and while he remains ecstatic before the leaps made by science, he watches, almost scared, on the one hand the continuous increase in crime and on the other social actors making demands that are beyond the realm of realism and rationality and governments responding with strong interference and interventions. 

Freemasons, sensitive receivers of contemporary social concerns, feel indeed sad. Still, they remain optimistic. They believe that men are born equal and that there are enough riches for all and that therefore no one is entitled to place some people in the ranks of the poor. They maintain that new technologies should be exclusively used to benefit citizens and that economic growth and prosperity are a common objective. They advocate the rights of young people for education. They envision a time when all people will be included in society without discrimination, and they fight for global Peace, Solidarity and Justice.  

With the above thoughts in mind, I wish to address to all of you, members of our Order, the following message for the new year 2008:

Let us all realize our role in social and political developments and let us all become heralds without borders of the rights of individuals and societies, who are the only ones entitled to decide and responsible for deciding freely about their own future and about the protection of the environment in which they live and prosper.