Pope
in Kenya: we must choose to improve or destroy the environment
(Vatican
Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday addressed the United Nations family in Nairobi
encouraging its staff to pursue its work for human development and protection
of the environment for the common good.
He
urged them to listen to “the cry rising up from humanity and the earth itself,
a cry that needs to be heard by the international community.
In
Nairobi, Vatican Radio’s Linda Bordoni reports:
Even
before crossing the threshold of the United Nations Office at Nairobi
headquarters on Thursday, Pope Francis planted a tree in the UN Compound
garden.
A
simple, symbolic act, so meaningful in many cultures.
And
that’s exactly how the Pope set the tone for his eagerly awaited address to the
UN and its Agencies that are entrusted to work for a better human future and to
care for the environment.
Singled
out as one of the highlights of Pope Francis’ Kenya visit just days before
Climate Change talks in Paris, and just as a new report warns that 2015 could
be the hottest year on record, those present knew Francis was not going to
mince his words.
“In
this international context – he said – we are confronted with a choice which
cannot be ignored: either to improve or to destroy the environment”.
Quoting
frequently from his encyclical “Laudato Sì". On Care for our Common Home”,
Francis immediately shone the light on the need for leaders and policymakers to
urgently reach “a global and transformational agreement based on the principles
of solidarity, justice, equality and participation”.
“An
agreement – he continued – which targets three complex and interdependent
goals: lessening the impact of climate change, fighting poverty and ensuring
respect for human dignity”.
And
in hard hitting words the Pope went on to speak of how economy and politics
need to be placed at the service of peoples, not for profit and to the
detriment of the poor.
He
called for an adoption of a culture of care as opposed to the current
“throwaway” culture of waste where – he said – “people use and discard
themselves, others and the environment” with far reaching consequences
especially on the weakest members of our one human family.
And
forgetting nothing and no one Pope Francis reminded his listeners of the rising
numbers of migrants fleeing from growing poverty aggravated by environmental
degradation.
He
spoke of the effects of social breakdown in urban settlements: violence, drug
abuse and trafficking, loss of identity.
He
shone the light on the exploitation and illegal trade of natural resources –
specifically mentioning ivory trafficking and the killing of elephants!
Pope
Francis full heartedly decried the fact we are growing accustomed to the
suffering of others, and said: “We have no right”.
“We
are faced – he said - with a great political and economic obligation to rethink
and correct the dysfunctions and distortions of the current model of
development”.
But
it wasn’t all darkness. “Human beings – the Pope said – while capable of the
worst, are also capable of rising above themselves, choosing again what is good
and making a new start”.
“May
humanity at the dawn of the twenty-first century – Pope Francis appealed - be
remembered for having generously shouldered its grave responsibilities.”
And
coming back to the tree, as Francis mentioned at the very beginning: it’s a
simple gesture and a powerful invitation to continue the battle against
deforestation and desertification as well as an incentive to keep trusting,
hoping and working to reverse situations of injustice and deterioration”.
In
Nairobi with Pope Francis, I’m Linda Bordoni
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