(Vatican Radio) The Holy See delegation to the United Nations on Monday spoke about safeguarding the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples.
“The Holy See firmly believes that no discrimination based on race, sex, religion or ethnicity should be tolerated,” said Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations.
Fostering indigenous specificity and cultures does not necessarily mean going back to the past,” he said. “Indeed, it entails the right of indigenous peoples to go forward, guided by their time-honored collective values, such as respect for human life and dignity, representative decision-making processes and preservation of community rituals. In the face of globalization, industrialization and urbanization these values must not be simply put aside.”
The full text of the statement by Archbishop Auza is below
Statement by H.E. Archbishop Bernardito Auza
Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations
at the 69th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
Third Committee
Agenda Item 65: Rights of indigenous peoples
New York, 20 October 2014
Madam Chair,
The Holy See welcomes the recently concluded World Conference on Indigenous Peoples and takes due note of its outcome document, which will help in the promotion and protection of the rights of the Indigenous Peoples.
Moreover, my delegation is pleased to observe in the Report of the Secretary General the achievements with regard to the goals and objectives of the Second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.
However, much still needs to be done to safeguard the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples in many parts of the world, and greater efforts are still to be made – at international, national and local levels – in setting development policies that truly involve the indigenous peoples themselves and respect their specific identity and cultures.
The Holy See firmly believes that no discrimination based on race, sex, religion or ethnicity should be tolerated. Thus, my delegation welcomes the efforts made in several countries to eliminate all discrimination against indigenous peoples and to promote their full and effective participation the decision-making process, especially on issues that directly or indirectly affect them.
Madam Chair,
Fostering indigenous specificity and cultures does not necessarily mean going back to the past; indeed, it entails the right of indigenous peoples to go forward, guided by their time-honored collective values, such as respect for human life and dignity, representative decision-making processes and preservation of community rituals. In the face of globalization, industrialization and urbanization these values must not be simply put aside.
In this context, my delegation wishes to underline the following principles:
– The world’s indigenous peoples have the same claim as every person, people or nation to their fundamental human rights to development;
– The realization of their right to development must be as much as possible coherent and harmonious with their specific identity and values;
– The indigenous peoples themselves must have a say on their own development.
In this sense, one should refrain from implementing criteria or setting policies alien or unacceptable to those concerned. Policies formulated for indigenous peoples without their active participation in the decision-making process could do more harm than good, especially if they do not reflect or respect their identity and value system. The temptation to refer to them merely or primarily for folkloric effect must be resisted. Their input in the decision-making process is vital, because the very survival of their identity and heritage could be at stake.
While international efforts towards the development of standards concerning the human rights of indigenous peoples are important, in many respects national and local policies are even more decisive in respecting the specific identity and culture of indigenous peoples and in the protection of their rights. In this context, my delegation wishes to highlight the importance of just laws to regulate the relationship between indigenous peoples and extractive industries operating in ancestral lands: lands that, in many cases, are also of great cultural and environmental significance.
Madam Chair,
As the Secretary General underlined in his Report, the Post-2015 agenda will provide an opportunity to provide initiatives that address the need of indigenous peoples. Additionally, the Holy See suggests that agreed Post-2015 outcome documents must also pay due attention to the situation of indigenous peoples, and that all eventual initiatives concerning them should be inspired and guided by the principle of respect for their identity and cultures, including specific traditions, religious beliefs, and ability to decide their own development in cooperation with their respective national governments and the relevant international bodies.
In conclusion, Madam Chair, my delegation wishes to reiterate the long-standing commitment of the Holy See towards the promotion of the integral development of the world’s more than 370 million indigenous in some 90 countries, in all regions of the world.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The Holy See delegation to the United Nations on Monday spoke about safeguarding the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples. “The Holy See firmly believes that no discrimination based on race, sex, religion or ethnicity should be tolerated,” said Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the…
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(Vatican Radio) The Holy See delegation to the United Nations on Monday spoke about safeguarding the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples. “The Holy See firmly believes that no discrimination based on race, sex, religion or ethnicity should be tolerated,” said Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the…
Read more
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Tuesday said “a Christian is a person who knows how to wait for Jesus cultivating a solid hope in Salvation.”
He was speaking during his homily at morning Mass in the Casa Santa Marta.
Listen to the report by Linda Bordoni:
Reflecting on the Gospel of Luke and on St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, the Pope said the people of God is united in Christ, thanks to Him has a name, and goes beyond every enmity.
Quoting from Luke, Francis said “blessed are the servants who await their master’s return from a wedding with lighted lamps”. In the scene that follows – he continued – Jesus has the servants recline at table and proceeds to wait on them.
The first service the Master performs for Christians, is to give them an “identity”. Without Christ – the Pope said – we have no identity.
And he reflected on the words of St. Paul in which he tells the pagans to remember that without Christ, they were alienated from the community of Israel.
What Christ came to do – he explained – was to give us citizenship, a belonging to the people, a name and a surname. So from being enemies without peace – he said – Christ has turned us into one by his blood, breaking down the walls that divide.
“We all know that when we are not in peace with others, there is a wall. There is a wall that divides us. But Jesus offers us his service to break down this wall so we can meet. And if we are divided, we are not friends: we are enemies. And he has reconciled us all in God. He has reconciled us as friends, as enemies, as strangers, as sons and daughters.”
From simply being people in the street, people who were not even guests – Pope Francis said – to being “fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God”. This is what God created with his coming. But what are His conditions? – the Pope asked – “they are to await Him, like servants awaiting their master.”
“Waiting for Jesus. He who does not await Jesus, who closes his door to Jesus, does not allow him to go forward with his work of peace, of community, of citizenship. And he does more: he gives us a name. He renders us children of God. We need to adopt an attitude that contains Christian hope. A Christian is a man or a woman of hope. He or she knows the Lord will come. We do not know when, we do not know at what time, but He will come and He must not find us divided. He must find us as He rendered us with His service: friends living in peace.”
At this point – Pope Francis concluded – there is another question a Christian must ask himself: how do I await Jesus? And first: “shall I wait for Him or not?”:
“Do I have faith in this hope that He will come? Is my heart open to hear Him knocking on the door, to hear Him entering the door? A Christian is a man or a woman who knows how to await Jesus. He or she is a person of hope. Instead a pagan –and so often we Christians behave like pagans – forgets Jesus, thinks of himself, does not await Jesus. The selfish pagan behaves if he himself was a god: ‘I make do on my own’. And he does not end up well, he ends up without a name, without closeness, without citizenship”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
Vatican City, 2014 (VIS) – The Holy See Press Office today confirmed that His Holiness Francis, accepting the invitation issued by the civil authorities, His Holiness Bartolomaios I and the bishops, will make an apostolic trip to Turkey from 28 to 30 November 2014, during which he will visit Ankara and Istanbul. The Pope will leave on the morning of Friday 28 from Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, and will arrive at Esenboga Airport, Ankara at approximately 1 pm. He will first visit the Mausoleum of Ataturk, after which he will transfer to the presidential palace where he will be received by the president of the Republic and the authorities, to be followed by a meeting with the Prime Minister. He will subsequently visit the president of Religious Affairs in the Diyanet. On the following day, Saturday 29, the Holy Father will travel by air to Istanbul where he will visit the Hagia Sophia Museum, the Sultan Ahmet Mosque, better known as the Blue Mosque, and the Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, where he will celebrate Mass. Later, in the patriarchal Church of St. George, there will be an ecumenical prayer and a private meeting with His Holiness Bartholomaios I. On Sunday 30 Pope Francis will celebrate Mass privately with the apostolic delegation. In the patriarchal Church of St. George a divine liturgy will take place, followed by an ecumenical blessing and the signing of the Joint Declaration. In the afternoon the Holy Father will return to Istanbul Airport to return to Rome, where he is expected to arrive, at Fiumicino Airport, at 6.40 p.m….