Pope in Kenya: climate conference would be “catastrophic” if no global “transformational” agreement is reached
Nairobi (AsiaNews) – This afternoon Pope Francis first held a special meeting with clergy, religious men and women, as well as seminarians at Nairobi’s St Mary's School. Later he addressed the directors and staff at the United Nations Offices in the Kenyan capital (pictured), headquarters of the United Nations in Africa, where he planted a tree, a “simple symbolic act, which is so meaningful in many cultures”.
In his speeches, the Holy Father stressed the importance of reducing the impact of climate change, fight poverty, and uphold human dignity, stressing the role the Catholic Church plays in this through the work of its priests, men and women religious, and the laity.
“Planting a tree,” he said, “is first and foremost an invitation to continue the battle against phenomena like deforestation and desertification. It reminds us of the importance of safeguarding and responsibly administering those richly biodiverse lungs of our planet, which include, on this continent, the Congo basins, a place essential for the entire earth and for the future of humanity”. What is more, “Planting a tree is also an incentive to keep trusting, hoping, and above all working in practice to reverse all those situations of injustice and deterioration which we currently experience.
“In a few days an important meeting on climate change will be held in Paris, where the international community as such will once again confront these issues. It would be sad, and I dare say even catastrophic, were particular interests to prevail over the common good and lead to manipulating information in order to protect their own plans and projects.
“COP21 represents an important stage in the process of developing a new energy system which depends on a minimal use of fossil fuels, aims at energy efficiency and makes use of energy sources with little or no carbon content. We are faced with a great political and economic obligation to rethink and correct the dysfunctions and distortions of the current model of development.
“The Paris Agreement can give a clear signal in this direction, provided that, as I stated before the UN General Assembly, we avoid “every temptation to fall into a declarationist nominalism which would assuage our consciences. We need to ensure that our institutions are truly effective” (ibid.). For this reason, I express my hope that COP21 will achieve a global and transformational agreement based on the principles of solidarity, justice, equality and participation; an agreement which targets three complex and interdependent goals: lessening the impact of climate change, fighting poverty and ensuring respect for human dignity.
“For all the difficulties involved, there is a growing conviction that our planet is a homeland and that humanity is one people living in a common home (Laudato Si’, 164). No country can act independently of a common responsibility. If we truly desire positive change, we have to humbly accept our interdependence (Address to Popular Movements, 9 July 2015). The problem arises whenever we think of interdependence as a synonym for domination, or the subjection of some to the interests of others, of the powerless to the powerful.
“What is needed is sincere and open dialogue, with responsible cooperation on the part of all: political authorities, the scientific community, the business world and civil society. Positive examples are not lacking; they demonstrate that a genuine cooperation between politics, science and business can achieve significant results.
“At the same time we believe that ‘human beings, while capable of the worst, are also capable of rising above themselves, choosing again what is good and making a new start’” (Laudato Si’, 205). This conviction leads us to hope that, whereas the post-industrial period may well be remembered as one of the most irresponsible in history, “humanity at the dawn of the twenty-first century will be remembered for having generously shouldered its grave responsibilities” (ibid., 165).
“If this is to happen, the economy and politics need to be placed at the service of peoples, with the result that “human beings, in harmony with nature, structure the entire system of production and distribution in such a way that the abilities and needs of each individual find suitable expression in social life”. Far from an idealistic utopia, this is a realistic prospect which makes the human person and human dignity the point of departure and the goal of everything (cf. Address to Popular Movements, 9 July 2015).
“Far from an idealistic utopia, this is a realistic prospect which makes the human person and human dignity the point of departure and the goal of everything (cf. Address to Popular Movements, 9 July 2015).
A new way of life and cultural action are needed
This much-needed change of course cannot take place without a substantial commitment to education and training. Nothing will happen unless political and technical solutions are accompanied by a process of education which proposes new ways of living. A new culture. This calls for an educational process which fosters in boys and girls, women and men, young people and adults, the adoption of a culture of care – care for oneself, care for others, care for the environment – in place of a culture of waste, a throw-away culture where people use and discard themselves, others and the environment. By promoting an “awareness of our common origin, of our mutual belonging, and of the future to be shared with everyone”, we will favour the development of new convictions, attitudes and lifestyles. ‘A great cultural, spiritual and educational challenge stands before us, and it will demand that we set out on the long path of renewal’ (Laudato Si’, 202). We still have time.
“Many are the faces, the stories and the evident effects on the lives of thousands of persons whom the culture of deterioration and waste has allowed to be sacrificed before the idols of profits and consumption. We need to be alert to one sad sign of the ‘globalization of indifference’: the fact that we are gradually growing accustomed to the suffering of others, as if it were something normal (cf. Message for World Food Day, 16 October 2013, 2), or even worse, becoming resigned to such extreme and scandalous kinds of ‘using and discarding’ and social exclusion as new forms of slavery, human trafficking, forced labour, prostitution and trafficking in organs. [. . .] We cannot remain indifferent in the face of this. We have no right.
“Together with neglect of the environment, we have witnessed for some time now a rapid process of urbanization, which in many cases has unfortunately led to a ‘disproportionate and unruly growth of many cities which have become unhealthy to live in [and] inefficient’ (ibid., 44). There we increasingly see the troubling symptoms of a social breakdown which spawns ‘increased violence and a rise in new forms of social aggression, drug trafficking, growing drug use by young people, loss of identity’ (ibid., 46), a lack of rootedness and social anonymity (cf. ibid., 149).
“Here I would offer a word of encouragement to all those working on the local and international levels to ensure that the process of urbanization becomes an effective means for development and integration. This means working to guarantee for everyone, especially those living in outlying neighbourhoods, the basic rights to dignified living conditions and to land, lodging and labour. There is a need to promote projects of city planning and maintenance of public areas which move in this direction and take into consideration the views of local residents; this will help to eliminate the many instances of inequality and pockets of urban poverty which are not simply economic but also, and above all, social and environmental.
“In a few days, Nairobi will host the 10th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization. In 1967, my predecessor Pope Paul VI, contemplating an increasingly interdependent world and foreseeing the current reality of globalization, reflected on how commercial relationships between States could prove a fundamental element for the development of peoples or, on the other hand, a cause of extreme poverty and exclusion (Populorum Progressio, 56-62). While recognizing that much has been done in this area, it seems that we have yet to attain an international system of commerce which is equitable and completely at the service of the battle against poverty and exclusion. Commercial relationships between States, as an indispensable part of relations between peoples, can do as much to harm the environment as to renew it and preserve it for future generations.
“It is my hope that the deliberations of the forthcoming Nairobi Conference will not be a simple balancing of conflicting interests, but a genuine service to care of our common home and the integral development of persons, especially those in greatest need. I would especially like to echo the concern of all those groups engaged in projects of development and health care – including those religious congregations which serve the poor and those most excluded – with regard to agreements on intellectual property and access to medicines and essential health care. Regional free trade treaties dealing with the protection of intellectual property, particularly in the areas of pharmaceutics and biotechnology, should not only maintain intact the powers already granted to States by multilateral agreements, but should also be a means for ensuring a minimum of health care and access to basic treatment for all. Multilateral discussions, for their part, should allow poorer countries the time, the flexibility and the exceptions needed for them to comply with trade regulations in an orderly and relatively smooth manner. Interdependence and the integration of economies should not bear the least detriment to existing systems of health care and social security; instead, they should promote their creation and good functioning. Certain health issues, like the elimination of malaria and tuberculosis, treatment of so-called orphan diseases, and neglected sectors of tropical medicine, require urgent political attention, above and beyond all other commercial or political interests.
“Africa offers the world a beauty and natural richness which inspire praise of the Creator. This patrimony of Africa and of all mankind is constantly exposed to the risk of destruction caused by human selfishness of every type and by the abuse of situations of poverty and exclusion. In the context of economic relationships between States and between peoples, we cannot be silent about forms of illegal trafficking which arise in situations of poverty and in turn lead to greater poverty and exclusion. Illegal trade in diamonds and precious stones, rare metals or those of great strategic value, wood, biological material and animal products, such as ivory trafficking and the relative killing of elephants, fuels political instability, organized crime and terrorism. This situation too is a cry rising up from humanity and the earth itself, one which needs to be heard by the international community.”
“Following Christ, one enters through the door”
Speaking to the Kenyan clergy and religious at St Mary School, Francis emphasised the choice of following Jesus, a sequela in which one enters through "the door", and "not the window". This choice must not be made out of ambition or self-interest because "the Church is not a firm."
Speaking in Spanish, without notes, Francis said, among other things, that "in the Sequela Christi, in the priesthood and consecrated life, one enters through the door! And Christ is the door! He is the one calling; he is the one starting [things]; he is the one who does the work. Some might want to enter through the window. . . That will not work. Please, if anyone has a friend who has gone through the window, give him or her a hug but explain to them that it is better for them to leave and serve God elsewhere because they will not be able to complete a job that Jesus had not started through the door.”
This "should lead us to the kind of awareness typical of people who have been chosen.” Some “do not know why God has called them; yet, they feel God has called them. Go in peace, for God will help you understand why he has called you.” Others instead “want to follow the Lord out of interest and for interest.” This reflects a “temptation to follow Jesus out of ambition, the ambition of money, and power.” Such ambition was sown in the heart and “grew like weed”.
"In the life of the Sequela Christi, there is no place for one’s own ambition, riches, or importance in the world. One follows Jesus until the last step in his earthly life, namely the Cross. He will bring you back to life, but until that point, it is all up to you. . . . This is something serious because the Church is not a firm or an NGO. The Church is a mystery, the mystery of Jesus' gaze on everyone of us that says, ‘Come! Follow me!'” Thus, “This must be clear. Jesus calls. Those whom Jesus calls must enter through the door, not the window. After that we follow Jesus’ path.”
The pope also told his audience to think about the poorest, those who have been “discarded,” who live on the “farthest edge of society”. In urging them, he told priests to be ministers of a Church that serves others, rather than is served by others, as some missionaries continue to do.
Finally, he thanked all the members of the clergy for every “sign of tenderness” they have shown to all those in need and because they allowed themselves “to be helped, corrected and forgiven every day.”
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15/09/2022 21:10
