Holy See stresses on life,
family, material and moral development
 |
| Pope Francis and Archbishop Bernardito Auza |
Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Holy See’s Permanent
Observer to the United Nations in New York, addressed a meeting reviewing
progress made since the International Conference on Population and Development
(ICPD) 24years ago.
By Robin Gomes
The Holy See is urging policies that benefit life, the
family and the material and moral development of society to build a world of
genuine equality, fraternity and peace.
“Governments and society ought to promote social policies
that have the family as their principal object, assisting it by providing
adequate resources and efficient means of support, both for bringing up
children and looking after the elderly, to strengthen relations between
generations and avoid distancing the elderly from the family unit,” said
Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the United
Nations in New York.
He was speaking at a meeting evaluating the progress made
since the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in
Cairo, in view of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that UN members
vowed to achieve by 2030.
Population and development
The Vatican diplomat pointed out that for the first time a
link between population and development was established by the ICPD. The
conference rejected all forms of coercion in the implementation of population
policies. The family, based on marriage, was
recognized as the fundamental unit of society, entitled to
comprehensive support and protection. Improvement of the status of women received
a strong impetus, especially regarding their health, and their full and equal
participation in development. The growing phenomenon of migration was
considered along with its impact on development.
Human life
Speaking about transmitting and nurturing of human life,
Arch. Auza said that suggesting reproductive health as a right to abortion
explicitly violates the language of the ICPD, defies moral and legal standards
and divides efforts to address the real needs of mothers and children,
especially the unborn.
The Filipino archbishop explained that questions about
transmitting and nurturing of life cannot be adequate without taking into
account the good of the family which the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
defines as “the natural and fundamental group unit of society.”
Migration
Another link that the ICPD established was between migration
and development. Migration is a global phenomenon that is linked to development
and poverty, as well as to financial and health security. Despite the
fact that migrants are now seen as proactive agents of development, negative
stereotypes are, at times, exploited to promote policies detrimental to their
rights and dignity, and migrants, especially children and women, are often
victims of trafficking.
Environment
Arch. Auza pointed out that population growth is often
wrongfully blamed for environmental problems. Rather, it is wasteful
patterns of consumption, growing inequalities, the unsustainable exploitation
of natural resources and the absence of restrictions or safeguards in
industries that endanger the natural environment.
In this regard, he pointed to stark inequalities in
consumptions in the world. The 20% of the world’s highest-income people
account for 86% of total consumption, while the poorest 20% consume a mere
1.3%.
In the face of such inequalities, Arch. Auza offered the
“ecological conversion” of Pope Francis as a solution, that calls for a change
to a more modest lifestyle and responsible consumption, and for greater
awareness of the universal destination of the world’s resources.
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