From the Website of Vatican
links: http://www.news.va/en/news/in-the-meeting-on-climate-change-and-modern-slaver
In the meeting on climate change and modern slavery, the Pope warns against the idolatry of technocracy
Vatican City, 22 July 2015 (VIS) –
Yesterday afternoon Pope Francis greeted the participants in the meeting
“Modern slavery and climate change: the commitment of cities” and in
the Symposium “Prosperity, people and planet: achieving sustainable
development in our cities ”, held in the Vatican's Casina Pio IV by the
Pontifical Academy of Sciences, whose chancellor is Bishop Marcelo
Sanchez Sorondo. The events were attended by the mayors of major cities,
local administrators and various representatives of the United Nations.
The
Holy Father gave an impromptu address in which he reiterated that care
for the environment meant, above all, adopting an attitude of human
ecology and that “Laudato si'” was not simply a “green” but also a
social document. He also considered the theme of the unfettered growth
of cities due to the lack of work for rural populations, and invited the
mayors to collaborate with international bodies in order to face the
issues of exploitation and human trafficking caused by migratory
phenomena.
“I offer you my sincere and
heartfelt thanks for what you have done”, said the Pope to the
participants in the symposium. “It is true that everything revolves
around … this culture of care for the environment. But this 'green'
culture – and I say that in a positive sense – is much more than that.
Caring for the environment means an attitude of human ecology. In other
words, we cannot say: the person and Creation, the environment, are two
separate entities. Ecology is total, it is human. This is what I wanted
to express in the Encyclical 'Laudato si'': that you cannot separate
humanity from the rest; there is a relationship of mutual impact, and
also the rebound effect when the environment is abused. Therefore … I
say, 'no, it is not a green encyclical, it is a social encyclical'.
Because we cannot separate care for the environment from the social
context, the social life of mankind. Furthermore, care for the
environment is a social attitude”.
“It
seemed to me to be a very fruitful idea to invite the mayors cities
both large and not so large, because one of the things that is most
evident when the environment, Creation, is not cared for, is the
unfettered growth of cities. It is a worldwide phenomenon … cities
become larger but with growing bands of poverty and misery, where the
people suffer the effects of environmental neglect. In this respect, the
phenomenon of migration is involved. Why do people come to large
cities, to the outskirts of large cities, to the slums, shanty towns and
favelas? … It is simply because the rural world does not offer them
opportunities. And one issue mentioned in the Encyclical ... is the
idolatry of technocracy. Technocracy leads to the loss of work, it
creates unemployment, which leads to migration and the need to seek new
horizons. The great number of unemployed is a warning. I do not have the
statistics to hand, but in some countries in Europe, youth unemployment
– effecting those aged 25 and younger – surpasses 40 per cent and in
some cases even 50 per cent. … What prospects can the future offer to
today's unemployed youth? Addiction, boredom, not knowing what to do
with life – a life without meaning, which is very tough – or indeed
suicide. The statistics on youth suicide are not fully published. Or
indeed the search for other horizons, even in guerrilla projects that
present an ideal of life”.
“Health is
also at stake”, emphasised the Pope. “The increasing incidence of 'rare'
diseases, which often come from elements used to fertilise the fields,
or … from an excess of technification. One of the most important
problems relates to oxygen and water. That is, the desertification of
large areas as a result of deforestation. Here beside me is the cardinal
archbishop representing the Brazilian Amazon: he can tell us what
deforestation means today in the Amazon, one of the world's great lungs.
The Congo and the Amazon are the world's great lungs. … What happens
when all these phenomena of excessive technification, of environmental
neglect, as well as natural phenomena, affect migration? It leads to
unemployment and human trafficking. Illegal work, without contracts, is
increasingly common … and means that people do not earn enough to live.
This can give rise to criminal behaviour and other problems typical of
large cities as a result of migration due to technification. I refer in
particular to human trafficking in the mining sector; slavery in mining
remains a major issue. Mining also involves the use of certain elements
in the purifying of minerals, such as arsenic and cyanide, causing
diseases in the population. In this we have a great responsibility. …
Everything has a rebound effect ... This can include human trafficking
for the purposes of slave labour or prostitution”.
“Finally,
I would say that this requires the involvement of the United Nations. I
hope that the Paris Summit in November will lead to a basic agreement. I
have high hopes, and believe that the United Nations must take a
greater interest in this phenomenon, especially human trafficking caused
by environmental issues, and the exploitation of people. A couple of
months ago I received in audience a delegation of women from the United
Nations, who were occupied with the issue of the sexual exploitation of
children in countries at war. … Wars are another element contributing to
environmental imbalance”.
“I wish to
end with a reflection that is not mine, but is instead from the
theologian and philosopher Romano Guardini”, Francis said. “He speaks
about two forms of ignorance: the ignorance that God gives us to be
transformed into culture, giving us the mandate to care for, nurture and
dominate the earth; and the second form of ignorance, when man does not
respect this relationship with the earth, and does not look after it.
.. When he does not care for Creation, man falls prey to this second
type of ignorance and starts to abuse it. … Atomic energy is good and
can be helpful, but up to a certain point – think of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. Disaster and destruction can be caused. It is the second form
of ignorance that destroys humanity. A medieval rabbi, from around the
time of St. Thomas Aquinas … explained the problem of the tower of Babel
to his faithful in the synagogue, and said that in order to build the
tower a good deal of time and work was needed, especially in making the
bricks. … Each brick was worth a lot. … When a brick fell it was a very
serious matter and the culprit who neglected it and let it fall was
punished. However, when a worker who was building the tower fell,
nothing happened. This is the problem of the second form of ignorance,
of the man as the creator of ignorance and not of culture. Man as the
creator of ignorance because he does not care for the environment”.
“And
so, why did the Pontifical Academy of Sciences convoke mayors and city
governors? Because are aware of how to carry out this important and
profound work, from the centre to the periphery, and from the periphery
to the centre. They are aware of the reality of humanity. The Holy See
may make a good speech before the United Nations, but if the work does
not come from the periphery to the centre, it will have no effect; hence
the responsibility of mayors and city governors. I therefore thank you
for bringing clarification of the condition of many peripheries gravely
affected by these problems, which you have to govern and resolve. I
thank you and I ask the Lord to grant us the grace of being aware of the
problem of the destruction that we ourselves have wrought by failing to
care for human ecology, … so we might transform ignorance into culture,
and not the contrary”.
Vatican Website
http://w2.vatican.va/content/vatican/en.html
http://www.news.va/en
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http://www.news.va/en/news/in-the-meeting-on-climate-change-and-modern-slaver
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