Pope urges for a global family of nations based on unity,
solidarity where the weak are protected
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| Pope Francis addressing authorities, members of the civil society and authorities at Dublin Castle, Ireland, August 25, 2018.- AFP |
On a visit to Dublin, Ireland, on the occasion of the World
Meeting of Families, Pope Francis on Saturday addressed authorities, civil
society and the diplomatic corps.
By Robin Gomes
Pope Francis on Saturday called on the international
community to create a global family of nations and peoples with a sense of
unity and solidarity, especially with the weakest of our brothers and sisters.
While calling for the protection of the vulnerable, he also denounced the
“grave scandal” of clerical sexual abuse of young people by members of the
Church in Ireland as “repellent crimes”.
The Pope’s call came in his address to Irish authorities,
civil society and the diplomatic corps at Dublin Castle, part of his 2-day
visit to Dublin, Saturday and Sunday, on the occasion of the World Meeting of
Families which is taking place in the Irish capital, August 21-26.
Family
“Families,” the Pope said, “are the glue of society; their
welfare cannot be taken for granted, but must be promoted and protected by
every appropriate means.”
Noting that “racial and ethnic hatred, intractable conflicts
and violence, contempt for human dignity and for fundamental human rights, and
the growing divide between rich and poor,” go against the sense of the entire
world as a single family, the Pope urged that we never lose hope or the courage
to persevere in the moral imperative to be peacemakers, reconcilers and
guardians of one another.
Good Friday Agreement
He particularly expressed satisfaction over the Good Friday
Agreement signed 20 year ago to bring an end to the long conflict between
Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland, and hoped for a “future of
harmony, reconciliation and mutual trust.”
Throwaway culture
The growth of a materialistic “throwaway culture”, the Pope
noted, has in fact “made us increasingly indifferent to the poor and
to the most defenceless members of our human family, including
the unborn, deprived of the very right to life."
“Perhaps the most disturbing challenges in this regard today is the
massive refugee crisis,” the Pope said and called for a
wisdom, breadth of vision and humanitarian concern that go far beyond
short-term political decisions.
Abuse of minors
Speaking about protecting the vulnerable, such as women,
children and orphans, the Pope acknowledged the “grave scandal caused
in Ireland by the abuse of young people by members of the Church charged with
responsibility for their protection and education.” Pope Francis said that “the
failure of ecclesiastical authorities – bishops, religious superiors, priests
and others – adequately to address these repellent crimes has
rightly given rise to outrage, and remains a source of pain and shame for
the Catholic community.” He called on the Church’s leadership to remedy
past mistakes and to adopt stringent norms meant to ensure that they do not
happen again.
In his recent “Letter to the People of God”, the Pope said
he has called for greater commitment to “eliminate this scourge in
the Church”.
However, Pope Francis acknowledged that the Church in
Ireland, in the past and present, has played a role in “promoting the
welfare of children that cannot be obscured.” He hoped that the
"gravity of the abuse scandals, which have cast light on the failings of
many, will serve to emphasize the importance of the protection of minors and
vulnerable adults on the part of society as a whole."
Christian heritage
The Holy Father expressed satisfaction over Holy See-Irish
relations and the nation’s rich Christian heritage of more than a millennium
and a half, recalling the first preachers Palladius and Patrick, and saints and
scholars like Columba, Columbanus, Brigid, Gall, Killian and Brendan.
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