Pope: only collaboration between States stops domination over the weak
In the speech to the diplomatic corps, Francis lists concerns over crisis of multilateral diplomacy and violations of respect due to each person. Thanks to the agreement "all the Bishops in China are in full communion with the Successor of Peter and with the universal Church".
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The crisis in multilateral diplomacy and violations of the respect due to each person is what most concerns Pope Francis. Crisis that causes the rebirth of tensions and violations that are expressed in wars and conflicts, including religious ones, but also in the refusal of aid to migrants and refugees, in the disinterest for the needy, young people and women.
These are all themes that Francis addressed in the long discourse this morning to the representatives of the 183 States that currently have diplomatic relations with the Holy See, received for the exchange of good wishes for the New Year.
It is an event in which, traditionally, the popes give their State of the World address from the perspective of the Holy See.
This year, the Pope traced a picture with a few highlights and many shadows. In these, he placed a long list of countries on every continent. Among the highlights, the agreement with China, "he result of a lengthy and thoughtful institutional dialogue that led to the determination of certain stable elements of cooperation between the Apostolic See and the civil authorities". Recalling that he had "readmitted to full ecclesial communion" the " bishops ordained without a pontifical mandate", Francis wanted to “thank the Lord that, for the first time after so many years, all the bishops in China are in full communion with the Successor of Peter and with the universal Church." "It is to be hoped that further contacts regarding the application of the signed Provisional Agreement will help resolve questions that remain open and make needed room for an effective enjoyment of religious freedom."
In his speech, Francis stressed the numerous anniversaries, starting from the centenary of the League of Nations, remembered in particular as a significant step for the launch of multilateral diplomacy, " that way remains full of difficulties and obstacles, nor is it always effective, since conflicts persist even today, yet it cannot be denied that it provides an opportunity for nations to meet and seek common solutions".
This requires " An indispensable condition for the success of multilateral diplomacy is the good will and good faith of the parties, their readiness to deal with one another fairly and honestly, and their openness to accepting the inevitable compromises arising from disputes. Whenever even one of these elements is missing, the result is a search for unilateral solutions and, in the end, the domination of the powerful over the weak. The League of Nations failed for these very reasons, and one notes with regret that the same attitudes are presently threatening the stability of the major international organizations". It is evident, in fact, " It is clear, though, that relationships within the international community, and the multilateral system as a whole, are experiencing a period of difficulty, with the resurgence of nationalistic tendencies at odds with the vocation of the international Organizations to be a setting for dialogue and encounter for all countries." This is partly due to a certain inability of the multilateral system to offer effective solutions to a number of long unresolved situations, like certain protracted conflicts, or to confront present challenges in a way satisfactory to all. artially the outcome of the growing influence within the international Organizations of powers and interest groups that impose their own visions and ideas, sparking new forms of ideological colonization, often in disregard for the identity, dignity and sensitivities of peoples. In part too, it is a consequence of the reaction in some parts of the world to a globalization that has in some respects developed in too rapid and disorderly a manner."
Then recalling the theme of his message for the 52nd World Day of Peace "Good politics is at the service of peace" Francis called "an essential aspect of good politics" the "pursuing the common good of all". It is in this perspective that the Church has promoted " the humanitarian initiative in Ukraine on behalf of those suffering, particularly in the eastern areas of the country, from the conflict that has now lasted for almost five years" and that the Pope renewed the appeal to the international community to promote a political solution to the war in Syria, "a conflict that will eventually only be defeated". This conflict, moreover, saw the generous help offered by Jordan and Lebanon to the refugees.
"Among those affected by the instability that for years has marked the Middle East are especially the Christian communities". " It is extremely important that Christians have a place in the future of the region, and so I encourage all those who have sought refuge in other places to do everything possible to return to their homes and in any event to maintain and strengthen their ties to their communities of origin. At the same time, I express my hope that political authorities will not fail to ensure their security and all else needed for them to continue to dwell in the countries of which they are full citizens".
The events of the Middle East, but also those involving Europe and America, have prompted Francis to "appeal to governments to provide assistance to all those forced to emigrate on account of the scourge of poverty and various forms of violence and persecution, as well as natural catastrophes and climatic disturbances, and to facilitate measures aimed at permitting their social integration in the receiving countries".
And speaking of Europe, the Pope also said that "marked by new centrifugal tendencies and the temptation to erect new curtains, may Europe not lose its awareness of the benefits – the first of which is peace – ushered in by the journey of friendship and rapprochement between peoples begun in the postwar period." (FP)
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04/11/2004
