I would like to thank the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr António
Guterres, for convening this meeting and for drawing the attention of
Heads of State and Government - and of the entire international
community and world public opinion - to one of the most serious and
worrying phenomena of our time: climate change.
With the Paris
Agreement of 12 December 2015, the international community became aware
of the urgency and need for a collective response to help build our
common home. However, four years after that historic Agreement, we can
see that the commitments made by States are still very "weak", and are
far from achieving the objectives set.
Along with so many
initiatives, not only by governments but by civil society as a whole, it
is necessary to ask whether there is a real political will to allocate
greater human, financial and technological resources to mitigate the
negative effects of climate change and to help the poorest and most
vulnerable populations, who suffer the most.
With honesty,
responsibility and courage we have to put our intelligence "at the
service of another type of progress, one which is healthier, more human,
more social, more integral" (Laudato si', 112), capable of placing economy at the service of the human person, building peace and protecting the environment.
While
the situation is not good and the planet is suffering, the window of
opportunity is still open. We are still in time. Let us not let it close
I
would like these three key words - honesty, courage and responsibility -
to be at the heart of your work today and tomorrow. May they accompany
you together with my best wishes and with my prayer.
This video was made under the auspices of The Elijah Interfaith Institute. This institute was founded in 1996 by the the crypto-haredi rabbi, Alon Goshen-Gottstein who specializes in Talmud, Jewish thought, and interreligious dialogue; and is financed by the the UNESCO agency of the United Nations. It is headquartered in Jerusalem and its purpose is to make good noahides out of all the myriad of religions in the world. They believe that all idol-worship (including what passes for Christianity today) is okay as long as it is subordinate to Talmudic Judaism. The Elijah Interfaith Institute is also heavily into mysticism and the occult.
Notice in the video the mentions of:
dialogue — the code word for the one-way street with the Novus Ordo goose-stepping to the dictates of the Talmudic Jews;
criticism of authority — in the Talmudic religion this means correcting God’s errors;
ongoing projects of Francis & Skorka;
Francis learned to be a better Catholic through dialogue — study of the blasphemous Talmud and satanic Kabbalah;
encounter — two facets of which were explained so well by the triple agent con-man, Malachi Martin, this means inviting rabbis to teach their false doctrines at Catholic schools and destroy Roman Catholic Hebraeophobia;
Francis has preached in Skorka’s synagogue twice — put on your surprise face, as Francis regularly celebrates Talmudic holidays;
Francis’ friendship with Skorka made him richer because the rabbi explained the answers to his religious questions — Francis mentions specifically, revelation;
the pair are a model of where dialogue can take one — straight to apostasy!;
they believe God is responsible for their friendship and dialogue; and
neither one of them has attempted to convert the other one — Francis doesn’t need to convert, as he’s a walking talking blasphemous rabbi who is regularly uttering heresies.
This video and the remaining twenty produced by The Elijah Interfaith Institute are anti-Catholic in the highest sense of the word. Taken together they preach a form of gnostic perennialism under the umbrella of the rabbinic talmudists. This goes against what Francis is supposed to be representing on earth as the ‘Vicar of Christ’.
“Bear not the yoke with unbelievers. For what participation hath justice with injustice? Or what fellowship hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath the faithful with the unbeliever? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God; as God saith: I will dwell in them, and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore, Go out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing: And I will receive you; and I will be a Father to you; and you shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”
Let’s return for a few minutes to The Elijah Interfaith Institute. The name of the institute is a very interesting one. For Catholics, in the Old Testament (see Kings) the prophet Elias was opposed to idol worship and the prophets of Baal. Talmudic Judaism sees Elijah in quite a different manner.
Talmudists believe that Elijah witnesses the bris (brit milah or circumcision) the seal of the old covenant (which has been superseded by the New Covenant).
“Since medieval times, when a brit milah is performed, a chair is set aside for Elijah, the “Angel of the Covenant,” who is believed to be present at every brit milah.”
source: Geoffrey W. Dennis, “The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic and Mysticism” e-book, p. 119
Another ritual involving cursing the Gentiles is the famous custom of reciting "Pour Out Thy Wrath" (Shefokh hamatkha) at the Passover seder ... It's earliest mention appears in Mahzor Vitry ... This section of the [Passover] Haggadah is understood by the participants as closely connected with the future Redemption. Opening the door to the prophet Elijah in tandem with the prayer for vengeance signifies a connection between vengeance against the Gentiles and the appearance of the Messiah. It should also be noted that this section of the Haggadah is recited as an introduction to the fourth and last cup of wine, the cup of deliverance ...
[...]
The messianic content of "Pour Out Thy Wrath" was illustrated in illuminated Ashkenazic Haggadot through pictures depicting the Messiah riding on a donkey with Elijah by his side, proclaiming his coming. [Antonius] Margarita ... relates the popular Jewish exegesis of the Messiah's donkey ...
I think that I myself sincerely believed the lies told below. Blessed be God and the Holy Spirit, who saved me from such and other errors. According to the lies of the Jews, when the Messiah comes he will ride upon an ass and seat all Jews upon the ass, while all Christians will sit on the ass's tail. Then the Messiah will ride with all his passengers into the sea, and when he comes to the depths of the sea, the donkey will drop its tail and all the Christians will fall into the sea and drown. And indeed, this will have to be a very big ass. But an even bigger ass is a person who believes such things! (Antonius Margarita, Ein kurner Bericht und Anzaigung [Wien, 1541], fol. IIv).
Talmudists believe that Elijah teaches that non-Jews don’t have souls:
source: The Talmud, The Steinsaltz Edition, Tractate Bava Metzia 114b
Elijah announces to the rabbis that they have defeated God:
...when Rabbi Yehoshua refused to heed the heavenly voice. Elijah the Prophet responded, “God smiled and said, ‘My sons have defeated me! My sons have defeated me!’” In Hebrew, the echoing sentence is “Nitzjuni banai! Nitzjuni banai!”
Elijah is thought to be the teacher of secret doctrines (Kabbalah) to the rabbis:
The mystics and cabalists of all times frequently appealed to Elijah as their patron. Among them was the gaon Joseph, of whom it was said that Elijah was a daily visitor at his academy (First Epistle of Sherira, ed. Neubauer, p. 32). The introduction of the Cabala to Provence is traced directly to Elijah, who revealed the secret doctrine to Jacob ha-Nozer. Similarly Abraham b. Isaac and Abraham ben David of Posquières are mentioned as privileged ones, to whom Elijah appeared (see Jellinek, "Auswahl Kabbalistischer Mystik," pp. 4, 5). The pseudonymous author of the "Ḳanah" asserted that he had received his teachings directly from Elijah. In the Zohar, Simon ben Yoḥai and his son Eleazar are mentioned as among those who enjoyed the special friendship of Elijah. This work, as well as the Tiḳḳun Zohar and the Zohar Ḥadash, contains muchthat is ascribed to Elijah (compare Friedmann, "Seder Eliyahu Rabba we-Seder Eliyahu Zuṭa," pp. 38-41). When, toward the middle of the fourteenth century, the Cabala received new prominence in Palestine, Elijah again took a leading part. Joseph de la Regna asks Elijah's advice in his combat with Satan. The father of the new cabalistic school, Isaac Luria, was visited by Elijah before his son was born. In like manner, the father of Israel Ba'al Shem-Ṭob received the good news from Elijah that a son would be born unto him, "who would be a light in Israel" ("Ma'asiyyot Peliot," pp. 24, 25, Cracow, 1896, which contains an interesting narrative of Elijah's meeting with the father of Ba'al Shem-Ṭob).
We could go on but we believe the reader has an idea of what the Elijah of the Talmudic Jews represents and that he has little to do with the prophet Elias of the Old Testament. Is it beginning to sink in how bad Francis and his rabbinical buddies are?
Below are the religious leaders who made videos for The Elijah Interfaith Institute. It’s a motley crew of anti-Christs who all long to see the contrivances of the Talmudic rabbis implemented through the nightmare of noahidism.
Earlier last week at the Vatican, Francis had a private audience with ‘indigenous peoples’ who were attending the United Nations’ Third Global Meeting of the Indigenous Peoples’ Forum for Investing in Rural People organized by the International Fund Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Rome, Italy. When they were assembled for this private audience, Francis delivered a speech, then went around the room and personally greeted each attendee. As would be expected with ‘Indigenous Peoples’, and we are using that term very loosely, they practiced a hodgepodge of pagan religions. One encounter Francis had caught our attention. It is shown below.
What is the heck is happening?
Who is this woman and what is she doing? To us at Call Me Jorge... she appears to be a shaman working some sort of sorcery. Well, we did a bit of digging around and found out that she is a member of the Amaicha del Valle settlement in Valles Calchaquíes, Tucumán, Argentina.
A photo from the United Nations’ Third Global Meeting of the Indigenous Peoples’ Forum
for Investing in Rural People organized by the International Fund
Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Rome, Italy.
The two circled people, in the picture above, are from the Amaicha del Valle settlement. The man is Dr. Eduardo Alfredo Nieva and the woman is the one who performed the incantation on Francis. Dr. Eduardo Alfredo Nieva is the commissioner of the Amaicha del Valle settlement. They are holding a bottle of wine because Dr. Nieva runs a community winery (Sumak Kawsay means ‘good living’ in the Quechua tongue and is precept of the Pachamama religion) which he started with the help of one of Francis’ favorite pet causes, micro-usury. During this trip to Rome, Dr. Nieva helped secure an additional 50 million dollar loan to the people in rural Argentina. He also gave a bottle of Sumak Kawsay to Francis when they met (see video below, It’s pagan day at the Vatican!).
As you can see, it’s the same woman.
The people of the Amaicha del Valle settlement are pagans as they believe in a multitude of gods. The four gods of primary importance are the husband and wife tandem — Pacha Kamaq (creator of the world) & Pachamama (mother earth) — and their two children — Inti (the sun) & Mama Killa (the moon). Every year in the Amaicha del Valle settlement they hold a six day festival for Pachamama the mother earth goddess.
Dr. Nieva participating in the pagan Pachamama ritual.
So here we have Francis having a private audience with a United Nations’ group. This same United Nations which pushes all sorts of anti-Catholic causes is also selling the belief in pagan deities in their children publications by equating belief in Pachamama as environmentalism. So what do others in the Novus Ordo church think of Pachamama?
On 17 January 2015 in Chile on the occasion of the consecration of the new diocesan bishop of Arica, Bishop Moisés Atisha, after the service in the cathedral finished, all the bishops assisting including the Apostolic Nuncio and the Cardinal archbishop of Santiago poured outside into the area directly in front of the cathedral and participated in Pachamama worship. The Pachamama shaman placed a rug on the ground and proceeded to offer coca leaves, seeds, water and fermented chicha (corn alcohol). These items were being offered to the deities Pachamama (mother earth), Inti (the sun) and the Malkus (mountain spirits). As can be seen from the photos below, the assembled bishops participated in this offering. After the offering was complete the witch then placed multi-colored necklaces onto the bishops.
“What then? Do I say, that what is offered in sacrifice to idols, is any thing? Or, that the idol is any thing? But the things which the heathens sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God. And I would not that you should be made partakers with devils. You cannot drink the chalice of the Lord, and the chalice of devils: you cannot be partakers of the table of the Lord, and of the table of devils.”
If one is interested in more photos from this event (click here).
Cardinal Ravasi participating in Pachamama ritual in 2015
Did these prelates tell Francis of their participation in the pagan Pachamama rituals and rave over them? Or maybe Francis has a deeper connection to this pantheistic gnostic religion back to when he was Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina?
In his address to Representatives of Indigenous Peoples, (15 February 2017) at the private audience he said, “I believe that the central issue is how to reconcile the right to development, both social and cultural, with the protection of the particular characteristics of indigenous peoples and their territories. This is especially clear when planning economic activities which may interfere with indigenous cultures and their ancestral relationship to the earth.” Is this not a clear endorsement of non-Christian religions?
Francis continued later, “A second aspect concerns the development of guidelines and projects which take into account indigenous identity, with particular attention to young people and women; not only considering them, but including them!” Francis then proceeded to put his money where his mouth was by having the female shaman work her ‘magic’ on himself.
Regardless it’s obvious, when one looks at the photos below, that not only does Francis have a deep respect for the pagan Pachamama religion, he like his bishops is an enthusiastic believer in “sitting at the table of devils.”
Below are some and we stress this is only a small sampling of the photos available from the L'Osservatore Romano’s photographic service database for this pagan sorcery ritual.
The late Driss Slaoui, the then: Minister of Justice, Minister of Finance, Minister of National Economy, Commerce, Industry, Mines, Merchant Marine and Agriculture, Wali of Bank al-Maghrib, director of the Royal Cabinet, Ambassador of Morocco to the United Nations, as well as personal advisor to King Hassan II, gets blessed by the crazy chabad rabbi — Menachem Mendel Schneerson in the first video below. Don’t worry, Driss Slaoui also got a magic Federal Reserve Note for King Hassan II and a blessing too.
Who is Schneerson and why is he important? Schneerson was the head rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch sect and claimed to be a descendant of King David. Some of his sect followers believed him to be the ‘moshiach’ or messiah. President Jimmy Carter on 18 April 1978 inaugurated Education and Sharing Day when he declared that every 11 Nissan (Menachem Mendel Schneerson’s birthday) this day be celebrated. In 1999, the bill H.J.Res.104 proclaiming Education and Sharing Day stated that the Noahide Laws promoted by Talmudic Judaism are the bedrock of society. Rebbe Scheerson’s influence rarely makes the mainstream media. Rabbis and followers of his Chabad-Lubavitcher school of Tamludic thought fill the upper echelons of government in the United States of America as well as Israel.
A magical kabbalistic talisman & blessing for two Sunni Moslems
Photos of the late King Hassan II and the late Rebbe Schneerson adorn the wall of a Chabad-Lubavitch Center in Casablanca, Morocco.
“As far as we are concerned, we can pray to the Rebbe and he can deal
with God for us. The Rebbe was not created; the Rebbe has always been
around and always will be.”
“When the messiah reveals himself, those who didn't see him won't be
saved, so you should work on... Look, what you need to do is start with
God and work your way up to the Rebbe.”
Even though he is long dead and isn’t visible in the video below, the crazy chabad rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson is still passing out magical Federal Reserve Notes to his gullible followers.
“To the thief it's not worth anything -- no more than just $1. It's like a (Pablo) Picasso painting. You know, to a thief it's just a piece of canvas. But to somebody who appreciates art, it may be worth millions of dollars.”
Why doesn’t the Swiss Guard arrest this humble man?
Yes, there is an official World Refugee Day since the UN General Assembly, on 4 December 2000, adopted a resolution which decreed every June 20th would be this day. Here’s how the United Nations has been selling their holiday to the world with emotional music, celebrities, world leaders, and the lie that all ‘refugees’ are fleeing war.
When will any of these celebrities put their money where their mouth is and navigate the bureaucratic laws in order that they can host some of the ‘refugees’, living say for example in the jungle that Calais, France has become, in their homes? We’re not holding our breathes waiting for this to happen.
Caritas Europa is calling on the EU and especially its Member States to:
* Invest effectively in saving lives at sea; * Open more safe and legal channels of entry into the EU, such as by introducing affordable and accessible humanitarian visas and engaging in more resettlement; * Facilitate family reunification for refugees and migrants, hence fostering integration in receiving countries; * Stop and reverse the externalisation of EU migration policies; * Cease using readmission and return agreements as a condition for development aid.
This push to de-Christianize Europe in the name of fraternal brotherhood is coming from many places such as: Caritas, other organizations, the United Nations, European intellectuals, and church officials. Where are the Catholics in Europe willing to put a stop to this?
Francis celebrates World Refugee Day at his general audience
Italy’s national clown, Roberto Benigni, summed up Francis and the modernist revolution he represents when he said, “He is bringing the Church, with all his strength, to a place we have almost forgotten. We don't remember it. He is taking us to Christianity, to Jesus Christ, to the Gospel. He is launching the Church toward Christianity. It is something incredible: The religion of the humanity of God, the divinity of man. He is bringing it. And how is he doing it? Through mercy.” Mr. Benigni sadly is not kidding when he says this. So, Francis is bringing the church closer towards Christ and His Gospel by de-Christianizing Europe through the process of Islamification. After all, Moslems are men so they must be divine.
The “brothers” of Francis that he wants to flood Europe with.
Many years ago the great Catholic man, Abp. Marcel Lefebvre, whom had worked for years as a missionary in Africa and was intimately familiar with Islam and Moslems said the following:
To read more about Abp. Lefebvre’s above statement click here.
If only Catholics had listened back then to people such as Abp. Lefebvre and practiced their Faith, they wouldn’t find themselves in the predicament they are in today. Will the Catholics of today stand up for their Faith and their countries? Will their fellow Europeans ever wake up? Or will they continue to show up at Francis’ general audiences and go along with his program to de-Christianize Europe. If they don’t wake up soon, it will be the death of them, their children and the civilization of their native lands. In fact it may be too late already. May God have mercy on us and spare Europe from this self-inflicted plague which has descended upon it.
United Nations Headquarters, New York Friday, 25 September 2015
Dear Friends,
On the occasion of my visit to the United Nations, I am pleased to greet you, the men and women who are, in many ways, the backbone of this Organization. I thank you for your welcome, and I am grateful for all that you have done to prepare for my visit. I would ask you also to offer my greetings to the members of your families and to your colleagues who could not be with us today.
The vast majority of the work done here is not of the kind that makes the news. Behind the scenes, your daily efforts make possible many of the diplomatic, cultural, economic and political initiatives of the United Nations, which are so important for meeting the hopes and expectations of the peoples who make up our human family. You are experts and experienced fieldworkers, officials and secretaries, translators and interpreters, cleaners and cooks, maintenance and security personnel. Thank you for all that you do!
Your quiet and devoted work not only contributes to the betterment of the United Nations. It also has great significance for you personally. For how we work expresses our dignity and the kind of persons we are.
Many of you have come to this city from countries the world over. As such, you are a microcosm of the peoples which this Organization represents and seeks to serve. Like so many other people worldwide, you are concerned about your children’s welfare and education. You worry about the future of the planet, and what kind of a world we will leave for future generations. But today, and everyday, I would ask each of you, whatever your capacity, to care for one another. Be close to one another, respect one another, and so embody among yourselves this Organization’s ideal of a united human family, living in harmony, working not only forpeace, butinpeace; working not onlyforjustice, but in aspiritof justice.
Dear friends, I bless each one of you from my heart. I will pray for you and your families, and I ask each of you, please, to remember to pray for me. And if any of you are not believers, I ask you to wish me well. God bless you all.
United Nations Headquarters, New York Friday, 25 September 2015
Mr President, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good day. Once again, following a tradition by which I feel honored, the Secretary General of the United Nations has invited the Pope to address this distinguished assembly of nations. In my own name, and that of the entire Catholic community, I wish to express to you, Mr Ban Ki-moon, my heartfelt gratitude. I greet the Heads of State and Heads of Government present, as well as the ambassadors, diplomats and political and technical officials accompanying them, the personnel of the United Nations engaged in this 70thSession of the General Assembly, the personnel of the various programs and agencies of the United Nations family, and all those who, in one way or another, take part in this meeting. Through you, I also greet the citizens of all the nations represented in this hall. I thank you, each and all, for your efforts in the service of mankind.
This is the fifth time that a Pope has visited the United Nations. I follow in the footsteps of my predecessors Paul VI, in1965, John Paul II, in 1979 and 1995, and my most recent predecessor, now Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, in 2008. All of them expressed their great esteem for the Organization, which they considered the appropriate juridical and political response to this present moment of history, marked by our technical ability to overcome distances and frontiers and, apparently, to overcome all natural limits to the exercise of power. An essential response, inasmuch as technological power, in the hands of nationalistic or falsely universalist ideologies, is capable of perpetrating tremendous atrocities. I can only reiterate the appreciation expressed by my predecessors, in reaffirming the importance which the Catholic Church attaches to this Institution and the hope which she places in its activities.
The United Nations is presently celebrating its seventieth anniversary. The history of this organized community of states is one of important common achievements over a period of unusually fast-paced changes. Without claiming to be exhaustive, we can mention the codification and development of international law, the establishment of international norms regarding human rights, advances in humanitarian law, the resolution of numerous conflicts, operations of peace-keeping and reconciliation, and any number of other accomplishments in every area of international activity and endeavour. All these achievements are lights which help to dispel the darkness of the disorder caused by unrestrained ambitions and collective forms of selfishness. Certainly, many grave problems remain to be resolved, yet it is also clear that, without all this international activity, mankind would not have been able to survive the unchecked use of its own possibilities. Every one of these political, juridical and technical advances is a path towards attaining the ideal of human fraternity and a means for its greater realization.
I also pay homage to all those men and women whose loyalty and self-sacrifice have benefitted humanity as a whole in these past seventy years. In particular, I would recall today those who gave their lives for peace and reconciliation among peoples, from Dag Hammarskjöld to the many United Nations officials at every level who have been killed in the course of humanitarian missions, and missions of peace and reconciliation.
Beyond these achievements, the experience of the past seventy years has made it clear that reform and adaptation to the times is always necessary in the pursuit of the ultimate goal of granting all countries, without exception, a share in, and a genuine and equitable influence on, decision-making processes. The need for greater equity is especially true in the case of those bodies with effective executive capability, such as the Security Council, the Financial Agencies and the groups or mechanisms specifically created to deal with economic crises. This will help limit every kind of abuse or usury, especially where developing countries are concerned. The International Financial Agencies are should care for the sustainable development of countries and should ensure that they are not subjected to oppressive lending systems which, far from promoting progress, subject people to mechanisms which generate greater poverty, exclusion and dependence.
The work of the United Nations, according to the principles set forth in the Preamble and the first Articles of its founding Charter, can be seen as the development and promotion of the rule of law, based on the realization that justice is an essential condition for achieving the ideal of universal fraternity. In this context, it is helpful to recall that the limitation of power is an idea implicit in the concept of law itself. To give to each his own, to cite the classic definition of justice, means that no human individual or group can consider itself absolute, permitted to bypass the dignity and the rights of other individuals or their social groupings. The effective distribution of power (political, economic, defense-related, technological, etc.) among a plurality of subjects, and the creation of a juridical system for regulating claims and interests, are one concrete way of limiting power. Yet today’s world presents us with many false rights and – at the same time – broad sectors which are vulnerable, victims of power badly exercised: for example, the natural environment and the vast ranks of the excluded. These sectors are closely interconnected and made increasingly fragile by dominant political and economic relationships. That is why their rights must be forcefully affirmed, by working to protect the environment and by putting an end to exclusion.
First, it must be stated that a true “right of the environment” does exist, for two reasons. First, because we human beings are part of the environment. We live in communion with it, since the environment itself entails ethical limits which human activity must acknowledge and respect. Man, for all his remarkable gifts, which “are signs of a uniqueness which transcends the spheres of physics and biology” (Laudato Si’, 81), is at the same time a part of these spheres. He possesses a body shaped by physical, chemical and biological elements, and can only survive and develop if the ecological environment is favourable. Any harm done to the environment, therefore, is harm done to humanity. Second, because every creature, particularly a living creature, has an intrinsic value, in its existence, its life, its beauty and its interdependence with other creatures. We Christians, together with the other monotheistic religions, believe that the universe is the fruit of a loving decision by the Creator, who permits man respectfully to use creation for the good of his fellow men and for the glory of the Creator; he is not authorized to abuse it, much less to destroy it. In all religions, the environment is a fundamental good (cf. ibid.).
The misuse and destruction of the environment are also accompanied by a relentless process of exclusion. In effect, a selfish and boundless thirst for power and material prosperity leads both to the misuse of available natural resources and to the exclusion of the weak and disadvantaged, either because they are differently abled (handicapped), or because they lack adequate information and technical expertise, or are incapable of decisive political action. Economic and social exclusion is a complete denial of human fraternity and a grave offense against human rights and the environment. The poorest are those who suffer most from such offenses, for three serious reasons: they are cast off by society, forced to live off what is discarded and suffer unjustly from the abuse of the environment. They are part of today’s widespread and quietly growing “culture of waste”.
The dramatic reality this whole situation of exclusion and inequality, with its evident effects, has led me, in union with the entire Christian people and many others, to take stock of my grave responsibility in this regard and to speak out, together with all those who are seeking urgently-needed and effective solutions. The adoption of the2030 Agenda for Sustainable Developmentat the World Summit, which opens today, is an important sign of hope. I am similarly confident that theParis Conference on Climatic Changewill secure fundamental and effective agreements.
Solemn commitments, however, are not enough, although they are certainly a necessary step toward solutions. The classic definition of justice which I mentioned earlier contains as one of its essential elements a constant and perpetual will:Iustitia est constans et perpetua voluntas ius sum cuique tribuendi. Our world demands of all government leaders a will which is effective, practical and constant, concrete steps and immediate measures for preserving and improving the natural environment and thus putting an end as quickly as possible to the phenomenon of social and economic exclusion, with its baneful consequences: human trafficking, the marketing of human organs and tissues, the sexual exploitation of boys and girls, slave labour, including prostitution, the drug and weapons trade, terrorism and international organized crime. Such is the magnitude of these situations and their toll in innocent lives, that we must avoid every temptation to fall into a declarationist nominalism which would assuage our consciences. We need to ensure that our institutions are truly effective in the struggle against all these scourges.
The number and complexity of the problems require that we possess technical instruments of verification. But this involves two risks. We can rest content with the bureaucratic exercise of drawing up long lists of good proposals – goals, objectives and statistics – or we can think that a single theoretical and aprioristic solution will provide an answer to all the challenges. It must never be forgotten that political and economic activity is only effective when it is understood as a prudential activity, guided by a perennial concept of justice and constantly conscious of the fact that, above and beyond our plans and programmes, we are dealing with real men and women who live, struggle and suffer, and are often forced to live in great poverty, deprived of all rights.
To enable these real men and women to escape from extreme poverty, we must allow them to be dignified agents of their own destiny. Integral human development and the full exercise of human dignity cannot be imposed. They must be built up and allowed to unfold for each individual, for every family, in communion with others, and in a right relationship with all those areas in which human social life develops – friends, communities, towns and cities, schools, businesses and unions, provinces, nations, etc. This presupposes and requires the right to education – also for girls (excluded in certain places) – which is ensured first and foremost by respecting and reinforcing the primary right of the family to educate its children, as well as the right of churches and social groups to support and assist families in the education of their children. Education conceived in this way is the basis for the implementation of the2030 Agendaand for reclaiming the environment.
At the same time, government leaders must do everything possible to ensure that all can have the minimum spiritual and material means needed to live in dignity and to create and support a family, which is the primary cell of any social development. In practical terms, this absolute minimum has three names: lodging, labour, and land; and one spiritual name: spiritual freedom, which includes religious freedom, the right to education and all other civil rights.
For all this, the simplest and best measure and indicator of the implementation of the newAgendafor development will be effective, practical and immediate access, on the part of all, to essential material and spiritual goods: housing, dignified and properly remunerated employment, adequate food and drinking water; religious freedom and, more generally, spiritual freedom and education. These pillars of integral human development have a common foundation, which is the right to life and, more generally, what we could call the right to existence of human nature itself.
The ecological crisis, and the large-scale destruction of biodiversity, can threaten the very existence of the human species. The baneful consequences of an irresponsible mismanagement of the global economy, guided only by ambition for wealth and power, must serve as a summons to a forthright reflection on man: “man is not only a freedom which he creates for himself. Man does not create himself. He is spirit and will, but also nature” (BENEDICT XVI,Address to the Bundestag,22 September 2011, cited inLaudato Si’, 6). Creation is compromised “where we ourselves have the final word… The misuse of creation begins when we no longer recognize any instance above ourselves, when we see nothing else but ourselves” (ID.Address to the Clergy of the Diocese of Bolzano-Bressanone,6 August 2008, cited ibid.). Consequently, the defence of the environment and the fight against exclusion demand that we recognize a moral law written into human nature itself, one which includes the natural difference between man and woman (cf.Laudato Si’, 155), and absolute respect for life in all its stages and dimensions (cf. ibid., 123, 136).
Without the recognition of certain incontestable natural ethical limits and without the immediate implementation of those pillars of integral human development, the ideal of “saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war” (Charter of the United Nations, Preamble), and “promoting social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom” (ibid.), risks becoming an unattainable illusion, or, even worse, idle chatter which serves as a cover for all kinds of abuse and corruption, or for carrying out an ideological colonization by the imposition of anomalous models and lifestyles which are alien to people’s identity and, in the end, irresponsible.
War is the negation of all rights and a dramatic assault on the environment. If we want true integral human development for all, we must work tirelessly to avoid war between nations and peoples.
To this end, there is a need to ensure the uncontested rule of law and tireless recourse to negotiation, mediation and arbitration, as proposed by theCharter of the United Nations, which constitutes truly a fundamental juridical norm. The experience of these seventy years since the founding of the United Nations in general, and in particular the experience of these first fifteen years of the third millennium, reveal both the effectiveness of the full application of international norms and the ineffectiveness of their lack of enforcement. When theCharter of the United Nationsis respected and applied with transparency and sincerity, and without ulterior motives, as an obligatory reference point of justice and not as a means of masking spurious intentions, peaceful results will be obtained. When, on the other hand, the norm is considered simply as an instrument to be used whenever it proves favourable, and to be avoided when it is not, a true Pandora’s box is opened, releasing uncontrollable forces which gravely harm defenseless populations, the cultural milieu and even the biological environment.
The Preamble and the first Article of theCharter of the United Nationsset forth the foundations of the international juridical framework: peace, the pacific solution of disputes and the development of friendly relations between the nations. Strongly opposed to such statements, and in practice denying them, is the constant tendency to the proliferation of arms, especially weapons of mass distraction, such as nuclear weapons. An ethics and a law based on the threat of mutual destruction – and possibly the destruction of all mankind – are self-contradictory and an affront to the entire framework of the United Nations, which would end up as “nations united by fear and distrust”. There is urgent need to work for a world free of nuclear weapons, in full application of the non-proliferation Treaty, in letter and spirit, with the goal of a complete prohibition of these weapons.
The recent agreement reached on the nuclear question in a sensitive region of Asia and the Middle East is proof of the potential of political good will and of law, exercised with sincerity, patience and constancy. I express my hope that this agreement will be lasting and efficacious, and bring forth the desired fruits with the cooperation of all the parties involved.
In this sense, hard evidence is not lacking of the negative effects of military and political interventions which are not coordinated between members of the international community. For this reason, while regretting to have to do so, I must renew my repeated appeals regarding to the painful situation of the entire Middle East, North Africa and other African countries, where Christians, together with other cultural or ethnic groups, and even members of the majority religion who have no desire to be caught up in hatred and folly, have been forced to witness the destruction of their places of worship, their cultural and religious heritage, their houses and property, and have faced the alternative either of fleeing or of paying for their adhesion to good and to peace by their own lives, or by enslavement.
These realities should serve as a grave summons to an examination of conscience on the part of those charged with the conduct of international affairs. Not only in cases of religious or cultural persecution, but in every situation of conflict, as in Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Libya, South Sudan and the Great Lakes region, real human beings take precedence over partisan interests, however legitimate the latter may be. In wars and conflicts there are individual persons, our brothers and sisters, men and women, young and old, boys and girls who weep, suffer and die. Human beings who are easily discarded when our response is simply to draw up lists of problems, strategies and disagreements.
As I wrote in my letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations on 9 August 2014, “the most basic understanding of human dignity compels the international community, particularly through the norms and mechanisms of international law, to do all that it can to stop and to prevent further systematic violence against ethnic and religious minorities” and to protect innocent peoples.
Along the same lines I would mention another kind of conflict which is not always so open, yet is silently killing millions of people. Another kind of war experienced by many of our societies as a result of the narcotics trade. A war which is taken for granted and poorly fought. Drug trafficking is by its very nature accompanied by trafficking in persons, money laundering, the arms trade, child exploitation and other forms of corruption. A corruption which has penetrated to different levels of social, political, military, artistic and religious life, and, in many cases, has given rise to a parallel structure which threatens the credibility of our institutions.
I began this speech recalling the visits of my predecessors. I would hope that my words will be taken above all as a continuation of the final words of the address of Pope Paul VI; although spoken almost exactly fifty years ago, they remain ever timely. I quote: “The hour has come when a pause, a moment of recollection, reflection, even of prayer, is absolutely needed so that we may think back over our common origin, our history, our common destiny. The appeal to the moral conscience of man has never been as necessary as it is today… For the danger comes neither from progress nor from science; if these are used well, they can help to solve a great number of the serious problems besetting mankind (Address to the United Nations Organization, 4 October 1965). Among other things, human genius, well applied, will surely help to meet the grave challenges of ecological deterioration and of exclusion. As Paul VI said: “The real danger comes from man, who has at his disposal ever more powerful instruments that are as well fitted to bring about ruin as they are to achieve lofty conquests” (ibid.).
The common home of all men and women must continue to rise on the foundations of a right understanding of universal fraternity and respect for the sacredness of every human life, of every man and every woman, the poor, the elderly, children, the infirm, the unborn, the unemployed, the abandoned, those considered disposable because they are only considered as part of a statistic. This common home of all men and women must also be built on the understanding of a certain sacredness of created nature.
Such understanding and respect call for a higher degree of wisdom, one which accepts transcendence, self-transcendence, rejects the creation of an all-powerful élite, and recognizes that the full meaning of individual and collective life is found in selfless service to others and in the sage and respectful use of creation for the common good. To repeat the words of Paul VI, “the edifice of modern civilization has to be built on spiritual principles, for they are the only ones capable not only of supporting it, but of shedding light on it” (ibid.).
El Gaucho Martín Fierro, a classic of literature in my native land, says: “Brothers should stand by each other, because this is the first law; keep a true bond between you always, at every time – because if you fight among yourselves, you’ll be devoured by those outside”.
The contemporary world, so apparently connected, is experiencing a growing and steady social fragmentation, which places at risk “the foundations of social life” and consequently leads to “battles over conflicting interests” (Laudato Si’, 229).
The present time invites us to give priority to actions which generate new processes in society, so as to bear fruit in significant and positive historical events (cf.Evangelii Gaudium, 223). We cannot permit ourselves to postpone “certain agendas” for the future. The future demands of us critical and global decisions in the face of world-wide conflicts which increase the number of the excluded and those in need.
The praiseworthy international juridical framework of the United Nations Organization and of all its activities, like any other human endeavour, can be improved, yet it remains necessary; at the same time it can be the pledge of a secure and happy future for future generations. And so it will, if the representatives of the States can set aside partisan and ideological interests, and sincerely strive to serve the common good. I pray to Almighty God that this will be the case, and I assure you of my support and my prayers, and the support and prayers of all the faithful of the Catholic Church, that this Institution, all its member States, and each of its officials, will always render an effective service to mankind, a service respectful of diversity and capable of bringing out, for sake of the common good, the best in each people and in every individual. God bless you all. Thank you.
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