Jesus tells us not to hold back these little miracles. Instead, he wants us to encourage them, to spread them. He asks us to go through life, our everyday life, encouraging all these little signs of love as signs of his own living and active presence in our world.
So we might ask ourselves here today at the end of this festival: How are we trying to live this way in our homes, in our societies? What kind of world do we want to leave to our children (cf. Laudato Si’, 160)? We cannot answer these questions alone, by ourselves. It is the Spirit who challenges us to respond as part of the great human family. Our common house can no longer tolerate sterile divisions. The urgent challenge of protecting our home includes the effort to bring the entire human family together in the pursuit of a sustainable and integral development, for we know that things can change (cf. ibid., 13). May our children find in us models and incentives to communion! Not of divisions. May our children find in us men and women capable of joining others in bringing to full flower all the good seeds which the Father has sown!
Pointedly, yet affectionately, Jesus tells us: “If you, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Lk 11:13). How much wisdom there is in these few words! It is true that, as far as goodness and purity of heart are concerned, we human beings don’t have much to show! But Jesus knows that, where children are concerned, we are capable of boundless generosity. So he reassures us: if only we have faith, the Father will give us his Spirit.
We Christians, the Lord’s disciples, ask the families of the world to help us! How many of us are here at this celebration! This is itself something prophetic, a kind of miracle in today’s world, which is tired of entering into new divisions, new breaches, our disasters. Would that we could all be prophets! Would that all of us could be open to miracles of love for the sake of their own family and of all the families of the world, and I’m talking about the miracle of love. And, in that manner they can overcome the scandal of a narrow, petty love, closed in on itself, impatient of others!
I say to you. As a question, so everyone can respond. In my house, do you shout? Or, do you speak with love and tenderness? It’s a good way of measuring our love. And how beautiful it would be if everywhere, even beyond our borders, we could appreciate and encourage this prophecy and this miracle! We renew our faith in the word of the Lord which invites faithful families to this openness. It invites all those who want to share the prophecy of the covenant of man and woman, which generates life and reveals God! Which helps us participate in the prophecy of peace. Of tenderness. Of family love. With tenderness, with patience and with love for our children and for our grandparents.
Anyone who wants to bring into this world a family which teaches children to be excited by every gesture aimed at overcoming evil – a family which shows that the Spirit is alive and at work – will encounter our gratitude and our appreciation. Whatever the family, people, religion, or region to which they belong! May God grant all of us to become prophets of the joy of the gospel, of the gospel of the family, of the family’s love. To be prophets as the Lord’s disciples, the grace to be worthy of this purity of heart which is not scandalized by the Gospel! Let it be so.
This morning I learned something about the history of this beautiful
Cathedral: the story behind its high walls and windows. I would like to
think, though, that the history of the Church in this city and state is
really a story not about building walls, but about breaking them down.
It is a story about generation after generation of committed Catholics
going out to the peripheries, and building communities of worship,
education, charity and service to the larger society.
That story is seen in the many shrines which dot this city, and the many
parish churches whose towers and steeples speak of God's presence in
the midst of our communities. It is seen in the efforts of all those
dedicated priests, religious and laity who for over two centuries have
ministered to the spiritual needs of the poor, the immigrant, the sick
and those in prison. And it is seen in the hundreds of schools where
religious brothers and sisters trained children to read and write, to
love God and neighbor, and to contribute as good citizens to the life of
American society. All of this is a great legacy which you have
received, and which you have been called to enrich and pass on.
Most of you know the story of Saint Katharine Drexel, one of the
great saints raised up by this local Church. When she spoke to Pope Leo
XIII of the needs of the missions, the Pope - he was a very wise Pope! -
asked her pointedly: "What about you? What are you going to do?". Those
words changed Katharine's life, because they reminded her that, in the
end, every Christian man and woman, by virtue of baptism, has received a
mission. Each one of us has to respond, as best we can, to the Lord's
call to build up his Body, the Church.
"What about you?" I would
like to dwell on two aspects of these words in the context of our
particular mission to transmit the joy of the Gospel and to build up the
Church, whether as priests, deacons, or members of institutes of
consecrated life.
First, those words - "What about you?" - were addressed to a young
person, a young woman with high ideals, and they changed her life. They
made her think of the immense work that had to be done, and to realize
that she was being called to do her part. How many young people in our
parishes and schools have the same high ideals, generosity of spirit,
and love for Christ and the Church! Do we challenge them? Do we make
space for them and help them to do their part? To find ways of sharing
their enthusiasm and gifts with our communities, above all in works of
mercy
and concern for others? Do we share our own joy and enthusiasm in serving the Lord?
One
of the great challenges facing the Church in this generation is to
foster in all the faithful a sense of personal responsibility for the
Church's mission, and to enable them to fulfill that responsibility as
missionary disciples, as a leaven of the Gospel in our world. This will
require creativity in adapting to changed situations, carrying forward
the legacy of the past not primarily by maintaining our structures and
institutions, which have served us well, but above all by being open to
the possibilities which the Spirit opens up to us and communicating the
joy of the Gospel, daily and in every season of our life.
"What about you?" It is significant that those words of the elderly Pope
were also addressed to a lay woman. We know that the future of the
Church in a rapidly changing society will call, and even now calls, for a
much more active engagement on the part of the laity. The Church in the
United States has always devoted immense effort to the work of
catechesis and education. Our challenge today is to build on those solid
foundations and to foster a sense of collaboration and shared
responsibility in planning for the future of our parishes and
institutions. This does not mean relinquishing the spiritual authority
with which we have been entrusted; rather, it means discerning and
employing wisely the manifold gifts which the Spirit pours out upon the
Church. In a particular way, it means valuing the immense contribution
which women, lay and religious, have made and continue to make, to the
life of our communities.
Dear brothers and sisters, I thank you for the way in which each of you
has answered Jesus' question which inspired your own vocation: "What
about you?". I encourage you to be renewed in the joy of that first
encounter with Jesus and to draw from that joy renewed fidelity and
strength. I look forward to being with you in these days and I ask you
to bring my affectionate greetings to those who could not be with us,
especially the many elderly priests and religious who join us in spirit.
During these days of the World Meeting of Families, I would ask you
in a particular way to reflect on our ministry to families, to couples
preparing for marriage, and to our young people. I know how much is
being done in your local Churches to respond to the needs of families
and to support them in their journey of faith. I ask you to pray
fervently for them, and for the deliberations of the forthcoming Synod
on the Family.
Now, with gratitude for all we have received, and
with confident assurance in all our needs, let us turn to Mary, our
Blessed Mother. With a mother's love, may she intercede for the growth
of the Church in America in prophetic witness to the power of her Son's
Cross to bring joy, hope and strength into our world. I pray for each of
you, and I ask you, please, to pray for me.
Thank you for your kind words. Once again, following a tradition by which I feel honored, the Secretary General of the United Nations has invited the Pope to address this distinguished assembly of nations. In my own name, and that of the entire Catholic community, I wish to express to you, Mr Ban Ki-moon, my heartfelt gratitude. I greet the Heads of State and Heads of Government present, as well as the ambassadors, diplomats and political and technical officials accompanying them, the personnel of the United Nations engaged in this 70th Session of the General Assembly, the personnel of the various programs and agencies of the United Nations family, and all those who, in one way or another, take part in this meeting. Through you, I also greet the citizens of all the nations represented in this hall. I thank you, each and all, for your efforts in the service of mankind.
This is the fifth time that a Pope has visited the United Nations. I follow in the footsteps of my predecessors Paul VI, in1965, John Paul II, in 1979 and 1995, and my most recent predecessor, now Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, in 2008. All of them expressed their great esteem for the Organization, which they considered the appropriate juridical and political response to this present moment of history, marked by our technical ability to overcome distances and frontiers and, apparently, to overcome all natural limits to the exercise of power. An essential response, inasmuch as technological power, in the hands of nationalistic or falsely universalist ideologies, is capable of perpetrating tremendous atrocities. I can only reiterate the appreciation expressed by my predecessors, in reaffirming the importance which the Catholic Church attaches to this Institution and the hope which she places in its activities.
The United Nations is presently celebrating its seventieth anniversary. The history of this organized community of states is one of important common achievements over a period of unusually fast- paced changes. Without claiming to be exhaustive, we can mention the codification and development of international law, the establishment of international norms regarding human rights, advances in humanitarian law, the resolution of numerous conflicts, operations of peace-keeping and reconciliation, and any number of other accomplishments in every area of international activity and endeavour. All these achievements are lights which help to dispel the darkness of the disorder caused by unrestrained ambitions and collective forms of selfishness. Certainly, many grave problems remain to be resolved, yet it is clear that, without all those interventions on the international level, mankind would not have been able to survive the unchecked use of its own possibilities. Every one of these political, juridical and technical advances is a path towards attaining the ideal of human fraternity and a means for its greater realization.
For this reason I pay homage to all those men and women whose loyalty and self-sacrifice have benefitted humanity as a whole in these past seventy years. In particular, I would recall today those who gave their lives for peace and reconciliation among peoples, from Dag Hammarskjöld to the many United Nations officials at every level who have been killed in the course of humanitarian missions, and missions of peace and reconciliation.
Beyond these achievements, the experience of the past seventy years has made it clear that reform and adaptation to the times is always necessary in the pursuit of the ultimate goal of granting all countries, without exception, a share in, and a genuine and equitable influence on, decision-making processes. The need for greater equity is especially true in the case of those bodies with effective executive capability, such as the Security Council, the Financial Agencies and the groups or mechanisms specifically created to deal with economic crises. This will help limit every kind of abuse or usury, especially where developing countries are concerned. The International Financial Agencies are should care for the sustainable development of countries and should ensure that they are not subjected to oppressive lending systems which, far from promoting progress, subject people to mechanisms which generate greater poverty, exclusion and dependence.
The work of the United Nations, according to the principles set forth in the Preamble and the first Articles of its founding Charter, can be seen as the development and promotion of the rule of law, based on the realization that justice is an essential condition for achieving the ideal of universal fraternity. In this context, it is helpful to recall that the limitation of power is an idea implicit in the concept of law itself. To give to each his own, to cite the classic definition of justice, means that no human individual or group can consider itself absolute, permitted to bypass the dignity and the rights of other individuals or their social groupings. The effective distribution of power (political, economic, defense-related, technological, etc.) among a plurality of subjects, and the creation of a juridical system for regulating claims and interests, are one concrete way of limiting power. Yet today’s world presents us with many false rights and – at the same time – broad sectors which are vulnerable, victims of power badly exercised: for example, the natural environment and the vast ranks of the excluded. These sectors are closely interconnected and made increasingly fragile by dominant political and economic relationships. That is why their rights must be forcefully affirmed, by working to protect the environment and by putting an end to exclusion.
First, it must be stated that a true “right of the environment” does exist, for two reasons. First, because we human beings are part of the environment. We live in communion with it, since the environment itself entails ethical limits which human activity must acknowledge and respect. Man, for all his remarkable gifts, which “are signs of a uniqueness which transcends the spheres of physics and biology” (Laudato Si’, 81), is at the same time a part of these spheres. He possesses a body shaped by physical, chemical and biological elements, and can only survive and develop if the ecological environment is favourable. Any harm done to the environment, therefore, is harm done to humanity. Second, because every creature, particularly a living creature, has an intrinsic value, in its existence, its life, its beauty and its interdependence with other creatures. We Christians, together with the other monotheistic religions, believe that the universe is the fruit of a loving decision by the Creator, who permits man respectfully to use creation for the good of his fellow men and for the glory of the Creator; he is not authorized to abuse it, much less to destroy it. In all religions, the environment is a fundamental good (cf. ibid.).The ecological crisis, and the large-scale destruction of biodiversity, can threaten the very existence of the human species. The baneful consequences of an irresponsible mismanagement of the global economy, guided only by ambition for wealth and power, must serve as a summons to a forthright reflection on man: “man is not only a freedom which he creates for himself. Man does not create himself. He is spirit and will, but also nature” (BENEDICT XVI, Address to the Bundestag, 22 September 2011, cited in Laudato Si’, 6). Creation is compromised “where we ourselves have the final word… The misuse of creation begins when we no longer recognize any instance above ourselves, when we see nothing else but ourselves” (ID. Address to the Clergy of the Diocese of Bolzano-Bressanone, 6 August 2008, cited ibid.). Consequently, the defence of the environment and the fight against exclusion demand that we recognize a moral law written into human nature itself, one which includes the natural difference between man and woman (cf. Laudato Si’, 155), and absolute respect for life in all its stages and dimensions (cf. ibid., 123, 136).
The misuse and destruction of the environment are also accompanied by a relentless process of exclusion. In effect, a selfish and boundless thirst for power and material prosperity leads both to the misuse of available natural resources and to the exclusion of the weak and disadvantaged, either because they are differently abled (handicapped), or because they lack adequate information and technical expertise, or are incapable of decisive political action. Economic and social exclusion is a complete denial of human fraternity and a grave offense against human rights and the environment. The poorest are those who suffer most from such offenses, for three serious reasons: they are cast off by society, forced to live off what is discarded and suffer unjustly from the abuse of the environment. They are part of today’s widespread and quietly growing “culture of waste”.
The dramatic reality this whole situation of exclusion and inequality, with its evident effects, has led me, in union with the entire Christian people and many others, to take stock of my grave responsibility in this regard and to speak out, together with all those who are seeking urgently-needed and effective solutions. The adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the World Summit, which opens today, is an important sign of hope. I am similarly confident that the Paris Conference on Climatic Change will secure fundamental and effective agreements.
Solemn commitments, however, are not enough, even though they are a necessary step toward solutions. The classic definition of justice which I mentioned earlier contains as one of its essential elements a constant and perpetual will: Iustitia est constans et perpetua voluntas ius sum cuique tribuendi. Our world demands of all government leaders a will which is effective, practical and constant, concrete steps and immediate measures for preserving and improving the natural environment and thus putting an end as quickly as possible to the phenomenon of social and economic exclusion, with its baneful consequences: human trafficking, the marketing of human organs and tissues, the sexual exploitation of boys and girls, slave labour, including prostitution, the drug and weapons trade, terrorism and international organized crime. Such is the magnitude of these situations and their toll in innocent lives, that we must avoid every temptation to fall into a declarationist nominalism which would assuage our consciences. We need to ensure that our institutions are truly effective in the struggle against all these scourges.
The number and complexity of the problems require that we possess technical instruments of verification. But this involves two risks. We can rest content with the bureaucratic exercise of drawing up long lists of good proposals – goals, objectives and statistical indicators – or we can think that a single theoretical and aprioristic solution will provide an answer to all the challenges. It must never be forgotten that political and economic activity is only effective when it is understood as a prudential activity, guided by a perennial concept of justice and constantly conscious of the fact that, above and beyond our plans and programmes, we are dealing with real men and women who live, struggle and suffer, and are often forced to live in great poverty, deprived of all rights.
To enable these real men and women to escape from extreme poverty, we must allow them to be dignified agents of their own destiny. Integral human development and the full exercise of human dignity cannot be imposed. They must be built up and allowed to unfold for each individual, for every family, in communion with others, and in a right relationship with all those areas in which human social life develops – friends, communities, towns and cities, schools, businesses and unions, provinces, nations, etc. This presupposes and requires the right to education – also for girls (excluded in certain places) – which is ensured first and foremost by respecting and reinforcing the primary right of the family to educate its children, as well as the right of churches and social groups to support and assist families in the education of their children. Education conceived in this way is the basis for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and for reclaiming the environment.
At the same time, government leaders must do everything possible to ensure that all can have the minimum spiritual and material means needed to live in dignity and to create and support a family, which is the primary cell of any social development. In practical terms, this absolute minimum has three names: lodging, labour, and land; and one spiritual name: spiritual freedom, which includes religious freedom, the right to education and other civil rights.
For all this, the simplest and best measure and indicator of the implementation of the new Agenda for development will be effective, practical and immediate access, on the part of all, to essential material and spiritual goods: housing, dignified and properly remunerated employment, adequate food and drinking water; religious freedom and, more generally, spiritual freedom and education. These pillars of integral human development have a common foundation, which is the right to life and, more generally, what we could call the right to existence of human nature itself.
Without the recognition of certain incontestable natural ethical limits and without the immediate implementation of those pillars of integral human development, the ideal of “saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war” (Charter of the United Nations, Preamble), and “promoting social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom” (ibid.), risks becoming an unattainable illusion, or, even worse, idle chatter which serves as a cover for all kinds of abuse and corruption, or for carrying out an ideological colonization by the imposition of anomalous models and lifestyles which are alien to people’s identity and, in the end, irresponsible.
War is the negation of all rights and a dramatic assault on the environment. If we want true integral human development for all, we must work tirelessly to avoid war between nations and between peoples.
To this end, there is a need to ensure the uncontested rule of law and tireless recourse to negotiation, mediation and arbitration, as proposed by the Charter of the United Nations, which constitutes truly a fundamental juridical norm. The experience of these seventy years since the founding of the United Nations in general, and in particular the experience of these first fifteen years of the third millennium, reveal both the effectiveness of the full application of international norms and the ineffectiveness of their lack of enforcement.
When the Charter of the United Nations is respected and applied with transparency and sincerity, and without ulterior motives, as an obligatory reference point of justice and not as a means of masking spurious intentions, peaceful results will be obtained. When, on the other hand, the norm is considered simply as an instrument to be used whenever it proves favourable, and to be avoided when it is not, a true Pandora’s box is opened, releasing uncontrollable forces which gravely harm defenseless populations, the cultural milieu and even the biological environment.
The Preamble and the first Article of the Charter of the United Nations set forth the foundations of the international juridical framework: peace, the pacific solution of disputes and the development of friendly relations between the nations. Strongly opposed to such statements, and in practice denying them, is the constant tendency to the proliferation of arms, especially weapons of mass distraction, such as nuclear weapons. An ethics and a law based on the threat of mutual destruction – and possibly the destruction of all mankind – are self-contradictory and an affront to the entire framework of the United Nations, which would end up as “nations united by fear and distrust”. There is urgent need to work for a world free of nuclear weapons, in full application of the non-proliferation Treaty, in letter and spirit, with the goal of a complete prohibition of these weapons.
The recent agreement reached on the nuclear question in a sensitive region of Asia and the Middle East is proof of the potential of political good will and of law, exercised with sincerity, patience and constancy. I express my hope that this agreement will be lasting and efficacious, and bring forth the desired fruits with the cooperation of all the parties involved.
In this sense, hard evidence is not lacking of the negative effects of military and political interventions which are not coordinated between members of the international community. For this reason, while regretting to have to do so, I must renew my repeated appeals regarding to the painful situation of the entire Middle East, North Africa and other African countries, where Christians, together with other cultural or ethnic groups, and even members of the majority religion who have no desire to be caught up in hatred and folly, have been forced to witness the destruction of their places of worship, their cultural and religious heritage, their houses and property, and have faced the alternative either of fleeing or of paying for their adhesion to good and to peace by their own lives, or by enslavement.
These realities should serve as a grave summons to an examination of conscience on the part of those charged with the conduct of international affairs. Not only in cases of religious or cultural persecution, but in every situation of conflict, as in Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Libya, South Sudan and the Great Lakes region, real human beings take precedence over partisan interests, however legitimate the latter may be. In wars and conflicts there are individual persons, our brothers and sisters, men and women, young and old, boys and girls who weep, suffer and die. Human beings who are easily discarded when our only response is to draw up lists of problems, strategies and disagreements.
As I wrote in my letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations on 9 August 2014, “the most basic understanding of human dignity compels the international community, particularly through the norms and mechanisms of international law, to do all that it can to stop and to prevent further systematic violence against ethnic and religious minorities” and to protect innocent peoples.
Along the same lines I would mention another kind of conflict which is not always so open, yet is silently killing millions of people. Another kind of war experienced by many of our societies as a result of the narcotics trade. A war which is taken for granted and poorly fought. Drug trafficking is by its very nature accompanied by trafficking in persons, money laundering, the arms trade, child exploitation and other forms of corruption. A corruption which has penetrated to different levels of social, political, military, artistic and religious life, and, in many cases, has given rise to a parallel structure which threatens the credibility of our institutions.
I began this speech recalling the visits of my predecessors. I would hope that my words will be taken above all as a continuation of the final words of the address of Pope Paul VI; although spoken almost exactly fifty years ago, they remain ever timely. “The hour has come when a pause, a moment of recollection, reflection, even of prayer, is absolutely needed so that we may think back over our common origin, our history, our common destiny. The appeal to the moral conscience of man has never been as necessary as it is today… For the danger comes neither from progress nor from science; if these are used well, they can help to solve a great number of the serious problems besetting mankind (Address to the United Nations Organization, 4 October 1965). Among other things, human genius, well applied, will surely help to meet the grave challenges of ecological deterioration and of exclusion. As Paul VI said: “The real danger comes from man, who has at his disposal ever more powerful instruments that are as well fitted to bring about ruin as they are to achieve lofty conquests” (ibid.).
The common home of all men and women must continue to rise on the foundations of a right understanding of universal fraternity and respect for the sacredness of every human life, of every man and every woman, the poor, the elderly, children, the infirm, the unborn, the unemployed, the abandoned, those considered disposable because they are only considered as part of a statistic. This common home of all men and women must also be built on the understanding of a certain sacredness of created nature.
Such understanding and respect call for a higher degree of wisdom, one which accepts transcendence, rejects the creation of an all-powerful élite, and recognizes that the full meaning of individual and collective life is found in selfless service to others and in the sage and respectful use of creation for the common good. To repeat the words of Paul VI, “the edifice of modern civilization has to be built on spiritual principles, for they are the only ones capable not only of supporting it, but of shedding light on it” (ibid.).
El Gaucho Martín Fierro, a classic of literature in my native land, says: “Brothers should stand by each other, because this is the first law; keep a true bond between you always, at every time – because if you fight among yourselves, you’ll be devoured by those outside”.
The contemporary world, so apparently connected, is experiencing a growing and steady social fragmentation, which places at risk “the foundations of social life” and consequently leads to “battles over conflicting interests” (Laudato Si’, 229).
The present time invites us to give priority to actions which generate new processes in society, so as to bear fruit in significant and positive historical events (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 223). We cannot permit ourselves to postpone “certain agendas” for the future. The future demands of us critical and global decisions in the face of world-wide conflicts which increase the number of the excluded and those in need.
The praiseworthy international juridical framework of the United Nations Organization and of all its activities, like any other human endeavour, can be improved, yet it remains necessary; at the same time it can be the pledge of a secure and happy future for future generations. And so it will, if the representatives of the States can set aside partisan and ideological interests, and sincerely strive to serve the common good. I pray to Almighty God that this will be the case, and I assure you of my support and my prayers, and the support and prayers of all the faithful of the Catholic Church, that this Institution, all its member States, and each of its officials, will always render an effective service to mankind, a service respectful of diversity and capable of bringing out, for sake of the common good, the best in each people and in every individual.
Upon all of you, and the peoples you represent, I invoke the blessing of the Most High, and all peace and prosperity. Thank you.
I am most grateful for your invitation to address this Joint Session
of Congress in “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” I would
like to think that the reason for this is that I too am a son of this
great continent, from which we have all received so much and toward
which we share a common responsibility.
Each son or daughter of a given country has a mission, a personal and
social responsibility. Your own responsibility as members of Congress
is to enable this country, by your legislative activity, to grow as a
nation. You are the face of its people, their representatives. You are
called to defend and preserve the dignity of your fellow citizens in the
tireless and demanding pursuit of the common good, for this is the
chief aim of all politics. A political society endures when it seeks, as
a vocation, to satisfy common needs by stimulating the growth of all
its members, especially those in situations of greater vulnerability or
risk. Legislative activity is always based on care for the people. To
this you have been invited, called and convened by those who elected
you.
Yours is a work which makes me reflect in two ways on the figure of
Moses. On the one hand, the patriarch and lawgiver of the people of
Israel symbolizes the need of peoples to keep alive their sense of unity
by means of just legislation. On the other, the figure of Moses leads
us directly to God and thus to the transcendent dignity of the human
being. Moses provides us with a good synthesis of your work: you are
asked to protect, by means of the law, the image and likeness fashioned
by God on every human face.
Today I would like not only to address you, but through you the
entire people of the United States. Here, together with their
representatives, I would like to take this opportunity to dialogue with
the many thousands of men and women who strive each day to do an honest
day’s work, to bring home their daily bread, to save money and—one step
at a time—to build a better life for their families. These are men and
women who are not concerned simply with paying their taxes, but in their
own quiet way sustain the life of society. They generate solidarity by
their actions, and they create organizations which offer a helping hand
to those most in need.
I would also like to enter into dialogue with the many elderly
persons who are a storehouse of wisdom forged by experience, and who
seek in many ways, especially through volunteer work, to share their
stories and their insights. I know that many of them are retired, but
still active; they keep working to build up this land. I also want to
dialogue with all those young people who are working to realize their
great and noble aspirations, who are not led astray by facile proposals,
and who face difficult situations, often as a result of immaturity on
the part of many adults. I wish to dialogue with all of you, and I would
like to do so through the historical memory of your people.
My visit takes place at a time when men and women of good will are
marking the anniversaries of several great Americans. The complexities
of history and the reality of human weakness notwithstanding, these men
and women, for all their many differences and limitations, were able by
hard work and self-sacrifice—some at the cost of their lives—to build a
better future. They shaped fundamental values which will endure forever
in the spirit of the American people. A people with this spirit can live
through many crises, tensions and conflicts, while always finding the
resources to move forward, and to do so with dignity. These men and
women offer us a way of seeing and interpreting reality. In honoring
their memory, we are inspired, even amid conflicts, and in the here and
now of each day, to draw upon our deepest cultural reserves.
I would like to mention four of these Americans: Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton.
This year marks the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the
assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, the guardian of liberty, who
labored tirelessly that “this nation, under God, [might] have a new
birth of freedom.” Building a future of freedom requires love of the
common good and cooperation in a spirit of subsidiarity and solidarity.
All of us are quite aware of, and deeply worried by, the disturbing
social and political situation of the world today. Our world is
increasingly a place of violent conflict, hatred and brutal atrocities,
committed even in the name of God and of religion. We know that no
religion is immune from forms of individual delusion or ideological
extremism. This means that we must be especially attentive to every type
of fundamentalism, whether religious or of any other kind. A delicate
balance is required to combat violence perpetrated in the name of a
religion, an ideology or an economic system, while also safeguarding
religious freedom, intellectual freedom and individual freedoms. But
there is another temptation which we must especially guard against: the
simplistic reductionism which sees only good or evil; or, if you will,
the righteous and sinners. The contemporary world, with its open wounds
which affect so many of our brothers and sisters, demands that we
confront every form of polarization which would divide it into these two
camps. We know that in the attempt to be freed of the enemy without, we
can be tempted to feed the enemy within. To imitate the hatred and
violence of tyrants and murderers is the best way to take their place.
That is something which you, as a people, reject.
Our response must instead be one of hope and healing, of peace and
justice. We are asked to summon the courage and the intelligence to
resolve today’s many geopolitical and economic crises. Even in the
developed world, the effects of unjust structures and actions are all
too apparent. Our efforts must aim at restoring hope, righting wrongs,
maintaining commitments, and thus promoting the well-being of
individuals and of peoples. We must move forward together, as one, in a
renewed spirit of fraternity and solidarity, cooperating generously for
the common good.
The challenges facing us today call for a renewal of that spirit of
cooperation, which has accomplished so much good throughout the history
of the United States. The complexity, the gravity and the urgency of
these challenges demand that we pool our resources and talents, and
resolve to support one another, with respect for our differences and our
convictions of conscience.
In this land, the various religious denominations have greatly
contributed to building and strengthening society. It is important that
today, as in the past, the voice of faith continue to be heard, for it
is a voice of fraternity and love, which tries to bring out the best in
each person and in each society. Such cooperation is a powerful resource
in the battle to eliminate new global forms of slavery, born of grave
injustices which can be overcome only through new policies and new forms
of social consensus.
Here I think of the political history of the United States, where
democracy is deeply rooted in the mind of the American people. All
political activity must serve and promote the good of the human person
and be based on respect for his or her dignity. “We hold these truths to
be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed
by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (Declaration of
Independence, 4 July 1776). If politics must truly be at the service of
the human person, it follows that it cannot be a slave to the economy
and finance. Politics is, instead, an expression of our compelling need
to live as one, in order to build as one the greatest common good: that
of a community which sacrifices particular interests in order to share,
in justice and peace, its goods, its interests, its social life. I do
not underestimate the difficulty that this involves, but I encourage you
in this effort.
Here too I think of the march which Martin Luther King led from Selma
to Montgomery fifty years ago as part of the campaign to fulfill his
“dream” of full civil and political rights for African Americans. That
dream continues to inspire us all. I am happy that America continues to
be, for many, a land of “dreams.” Dreams which lead to action, to
participation, to commitment. Dreams which awaken what is deepest and
truest in the life of a people.
In recent centuries, millions of people came to this land to pursue
their dream of building a future in freedom. We, the people of this
continent, are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us were once
foreigners. I say this to you as the son of immigrants, knowing that so
many of you are also descended from immigrants. Tragically, the rights
of those who were here long before us were not always respected. For
those peoples and their nations, from the heart of American democracy, I
wish to reaffirm my highest esteem and appreciation. Those first
contacts were often turbulent and violent, but it is difficult to judge
the past by the criteria of the present. Nonetheless, when the stranger
in our midst appeals to us, we must not repeat the sins and the errors
of the past. We must resolve now to live as nobly and as justly as
possible, as we educate new generations not to turn their back on our
“neighbors” and everything around us. Building a nation calls us to
recognize that we must constantly relate to others, rejecting a mindset
of hostility in order to adopt one of reciprocal subsidiarity, in a
constant effort to do our best. I am confident that we can do this.
Our world is facing a refugee crisis of a magnitude not seen since
the Second World War. This presents us with great challenges and many
hard decisions. On this continent, too, thousands of persons are led to
travel north in search of a better life for themselves and for their
loved ones, in search of greater opportunities. Is this not what we want
for our own children? We must not be taken aback by their numbers, but
rather view them as persons, seeing their faces and listening to their
stories, trying to respond as best we can to their situation. To respond
in a way which is always humane, just and fraternal. We need to avoid a
common temptation nowadays: to discard whatever proves troublesome. Let
us remember the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do
unto you” (Mt 7:12).
This Rule points us in a clear direction. Let us treat others with
the same passion and compassion with which we want to be treated. Let us
seek for others the same possibilities which we seek for ourselves. Let
us help others to grow, as we would like to be helped ourselves. In a
word, if we want security, let us give security; if we want life, let us
give life; if we want opportunities, let us provide opportunities. The
yardstick we use for others will be the yardstick which time will use
for us. The Golden Rule also reminds us of our responsibility to protect and defend human life at every stage of its development.
This conviction has led me, from the beginning of my ministry, to
advocate at different levels for the global abolition of the death
penalty. I am convinced that this way is the best, since every life is
sacred, every human person is endowed with an inalienable dignity, and
society can only benefit from the rehabilitation of those convicted of
crimes. Recently my brother bishops here in the United States renewed
their call for the abolition of the death penalty. Not only do I support
them, but I also offer encouragement to all those who are convinced
that a just and necessary punishment must never exclude the dimension of
hope and the goal of rehabilitation.
In these times when social concerns are so important, I cannot fail to mention the Servant of God Dorothy Day, who founded the Catholic Worker Movement.
Her social activism, her passion for justice and for the cause of the
oppressed, were inspired by the Gospel, her faith, and the example of
the saints.
How much progress has been made in this area in so many parts of the
world! How much has been done in these first years of the third
millennium to raise people out of extreme poverty! I know that you share
my conviction that much more still needs to be done, and that in times
of crisis and economic hardship a spirit of global solidarity must not
be lost. At the same time I would encourage you to keep in mind all
those people around us who are trapped in a cycle of poverty. They too
need to be given hope. The fight against poverty and hunger must be
fought constantly and on many fronts, especially in its causes. I know
that many Americans today, as in the past, are working to deal with this
problem.
It goes without saying that part of this great effort is the creation
and distribution of wealth. The right use of natural resources, the
proper application of technology and the harnessing of the spirit of
enterprise are essential elements of an economy which seeks to be
modern, inclusive and sustainable. “Business is a noble vocation,
directed to producing wealth and improving the world. It can be a
fruitful source of prosperity for the area in which it operates,
especially if it sees the creation of jobs as an essential part of its
service to the common good” (Laudato Si’, 129). This common
good also includes the earth, a central theme of the encyclical which I
recently wrote in order to “enter into dialogue with all people about
our common home” (ibid., 3). “We need a conversation which includes
everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its
human roots, concern and affect us all” (ibid., 14).
In Laudato Si’, I call for a courageous and responsible
effort to “redirect our steps” (ibid., 61), and to avert the most
serious effects of the environmental deterioration caused by human
activity. I am convinced that we can make a difference and I have no
doubt that the United States – and this Congress – have an important
role to play. Now is the time for courageous actions and strategies,
aimed at implementing a “culture of care” (ibid., 231) and “an
integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the
excluded, and at the same time protecting nature” (ibid., 139). “We have
the freedom needed to limit and direct technology” (ibid., 112); “to
devise intelligent ways of… developing and limiting our power” (ibid.,
78); and to put technology “at the service of another type of progress,
one which is healthier, more human, more social, more integral” (ibid.,
112). In this regard, I am confident that America’s outstanding academic
and research institutions can make a vital contribution in the years
ahead.
A century ago, at the beginning of the Great War, which Pope Benedict
XV termed a “pointless slaughter”, another notable American was born:
the Cistercian monk Thomas Merton. He remains a source of spiritual
inspiration and a guide for many people. In his autobiography he wrote:
“I came into the world. Free by nature, in the image of God, I was
nevertheless the prisoner of my own violence and my own selfishness, in
the image of the world into which I was born. That world was the picture
of Hell, full of men like myself, loving God, and yet hating him; born
to love him, living instead in fear of hopeless self-contradictory
hungers”. Merton was above all a man of prayer, a thinker who challenged
the certitudes of his time and opened new horizons for souls and for
the Church. He was also a man of dialogue, a promoter of peace between
peoples and religions.
From this perspective of dialogue, I would like to recognize the
efforts made in recent months to help overcome historic differences
linked to painful episodes of the past. It is my duty to build bridges
and to help all men and women, in any way possible, to do the same. When
countries which have been at odds resume the path of dialogue – a
dialogue which may have been interrupted for the most legitimate of
reasons – new opportunities open up for all. This has required, and
requires, courage and daring, which is not the same as irresponsibility.
A good political leader is one who, with the interests of all in mind,
seizes the moment in a spirit of openness and pragmatism. A good
political leader always opts to initiate processes rather than
possessing spaces (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 222-223).
Being at the service of dialogue and peace also means being truly
determined to minimize and, in the long term, to end the many armed
conflicts throughout our world. Here we have to ask ourselves: Why are
deadly weapons being sold to those who plan to inflict untold suffering
on individuals and society? Sadly, the answer, as we all know, is simply
for money: money that is drenched in blood, often innocent blood. In
the face of this shameful and culpable silence, it is our duty to
confront the problem and to stop the arms trade.
Three sons and a daughter of this land, four individuals and four
dreams: Lincoln, liberty; Martin Luther King, liberty in plurality and
non-exclusion; Dorothy Day, social justice and the rights of persons;
and Thomas Merton, the capacity for dialogue and openness to God.
Four representatives of the American people.
I will end my visit to your country in Philadelphia, where I will
take part in the World Meeting of Families. It is my wish that
throughout my visit the family should be a recurrent theme. How
essential the family has been to the building of this country! And how
worthy it remains of our support and encouragement! Yet I cannot hide my
concern for the family, which is threatened, perhaps as never before,
from within and without. Fundamental relationships are being called into
question, as is the very basis of marriage and the family. I can only
reiterate the importance and, above all, the richness and the beauty of
family life.
In particular, I would like to call attention to those family members
who are the most vulnerable, the young. For many of them, a future
filled with countless possibilities beckons, yet so many others seem
disoriented and aimless, trapped in a hopeless maze of violence, abuse
and despair. Their problems are our problems. We cannot avoid them. We
need to face them together, to talk about them and to seek effective
solutions rather than getting bogged down in discussions. At the risk of
oversimplifying, we might say that we live in a culture which pressures
young people not to start a family, because they lack possibilities for
the future. Yet this same culture presents others with so many options
that they too are dissuaded from starting a family.
A nation can be considered great when it defends liberty as Lincoln
did, when it fosters a culture which enables people to “dream” of full
rights for all their brothers and sisters, as Martin Luther King sought
to do; when it strives for justice and the cause of the oppressed, as
Dorothy Day did by her tireless work, the fruit of a faith which becomes
dialogue and sows peace in the contemplative style of Thomas Merton.
In these remarks I have sought to present some of the richness of
your cultural heritage, of the spirit of the American people. It is my
desire that this spirit continue to develop and grow, so that as many
young people as possible can inherit and dwell in a land which has
inspired so many people to dream.
God bless America!
