Pope Francis appealed to UN executives to work in favour of “a true, worldwide ethical mobilisation” to help the poor and preserve human dignity. He urged them to promote human development by challenging injustice and resisting the “economy of exclusion”, the “throwaway culture” and the “culture of death which nowadays sadly risk becoming passively accepted”.
The Pope said the belief that life is sacred and inviolable from conception to natural death “must lead us to share with complete freedom the goods which God’s providence has placed in our hands”. He added that voluntary charity is still important “above and beyond economic and social systems and theories”.
‘Russian propaganda war’ against Ukraine
Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, commented on “the reality of Russian aggression in Crimea, and the West’s inability to respond to this most dangerous development since World War II”.
He said the Maidan protests started as a show of support for the EU Association Agreement but “turned into a national movement to restore human dignity in a society brutalised by a corrupt system. We believers cannot look at the denial of human dignity without reacting. If it is all about loving God and loving neighbour, human dignity takes on an importance that is central.”
The archbishop added that the Russian aggression in Crimea and the “propaganda war unleashed by Russia is the most twisted informational assault since Goebbels pontificated that if you brashly lie long enough, loudly enough, some will inevitably believe you”.
Cardinal denounces racial discrimination
Fides news agency reported that in the run-up to the recently held elections in South Africa, Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban cautioned against support for a new sort of racial discrimination.
The cardinal said that after years of progress following the fall of the country’s apartheid regime, he was distressed to see new policies that would classify the people of South Africa according to their race. The cardinal referred to “affirmative action” and “black economic empowerment” programmes.
The cardinal also criticised the abolition of the Scorpion special team of police that had carried out important investigations against corruption, and the approval of safety laws (under the pretext of fighting terrorism) that are reminiscent of those in force at the time of apartheid. Some of these laws limit the freedom of the press to publish embarrassing revelations about the latest government scandals.
Brazilian bishops call for ‘conscious’ voting
At a press conference entitled ‘Thinking of Brazil: Challenges before the 2014 elections’, Cardinal Raymundo Damasceno Assis, Archbishop of Aparecida and president of the Conference of Brazilian Bishops (CNBB), said: “With this text we appeal to Brazilians so they express their right to vote in a conscious way”. The cardinal said the document “contains important insights for Christians and for the whole society” that this year will have to elect the president, governors, senators, MPs, at a federal and state level.
He highlighted three key points: conscious participation in the elections; the need to know who the candidates are, their history, what principles and values they practise and defend; the search for candidates committed to the many reforms necessary for the country, in particular with the political reform.
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)