(Vatican Radio) The Vatican on Friday told the United Nations Security Council that Christians are facing an “existential fear” in the Middle East.
The Security Council was hosting an open debate on “The victims of attacks and abuses on ethnic or religious grounds in the Middle East”.
Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN, said urged the international community to do all it can to prevent further victims of attacks and abuses for ethnic and/or religious grounds.
“Faced with the unbearable situation of living in a conflict zone controlled by terrorist and extremist organizations who constantly threaten them with death, and with a deep sense of feeling abandoned to their fate, by the legitimate authorities and the International Community, entire communities of Christians, especially from Northern Iraq, have been brutally forced to flee their homes and they have sought refuge in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and in the neighbouring countries of the region,” said Archbishop Auza.
He called on all “leaders and people of goodwill in the region and throughout the world to act before it’s too late” to prevent genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing and their incitement.
Archbishop Auza reminded the Security Council “when a State is unable or unwilling to uphold this primary responsibility [to protect its population from these crimes], the International Community must be prepared to take action to protect populations in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.”
The full text of the intervention by Archbishop Auza is below
Intervention of H.E. Archbishop Bernardito Auza,
Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN
United Nations Security Council Open Debate on
“The victims of attacks and abuses on ethnic or religious grounds in the Middle East”
New York, 27 March 2015
Mr. President,
At the very outset, the Holy See wishes to express its sincere gratitude to your Presidency for having convened today’s Open Debate on “the victims of attacks and abuses on ethnic or religious ground in the Middle East”. This debate is not only timely but it is most urgent, especially when we call to mind those who have already lost their lives, for whom this Open Debate has come too late. Their fate urges us to do all that we can to prevent further victims of attacks and abuses for ethnic and/or religious grounds. Christians and other religious minorities of the Middle East seek to be heard by this Council and other International fora, not in some abstract form, but in a manner that is truly conscious of their pain and suffering and their existential fear for their survival in the Middle East and beyond.
We must acknowledge that the problem exists and that the hour is grave. Ethnic and religious communities — including Turkmen, Shabaks, Yazidi, Sabaeans, Kaka’e, Faili Kurds, Shi’ite Arabs and even Sunni Arabs and Kurds — face extreme pressures, abuses of human rights, torture, killing and all forms of persecution purely for the faith they profess or for the ethnic group to which they belong.
The Christians in the Middle East have been specifically targeted, killed or forced to flee from their homes and countries. We have helplessly watched Assyrian Christians kidnapped in Iraq by the so-called “Islamic State” group, Egyptian Coptic Christians beheaded by ISIL-affiliated organizations in Libya, and the near elimination of Christians in Mosul. Only 25 years ago, there were nearly two million Christians living in Iraq; while the most recent estimates are less than a quarter of this figure. Faced with the unbearable situation of living in a conflict zone controlled by terrorist and extremist organizations who constantly threaten them with death, and with a deep sense of feeling abandoned to their fate, by the legitimate authorities and the International Community, entire communities of Christians, especially from Northern Iraq, have been brutally forced to flee their homes and they have sought refuge in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and in the neighbouring countries of the region.
The Holy See expresses profound gratitude to countries and leaders in the region who openly defend the Christians as an integral part of the religious, historical and cultural fabric of the region. For 2,000 years, Christians have called the Middle East ho me; indeed, as we all know, the Middle East is the cradle of Christianity.
Thus, it pains us so deeply that these ancient Christian communities in the region — many of whom still speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ — are among those threatened with extinction. Their uninterrupted existence in the region is testimony of many centuries of coexistence, side by side, with Muslims and other religious and ethnic communities. These communities are an integral part of the cultural religious identity of the Middle East, thus their disappearance from the Middle East would not only be a religious tragedy but a loss of a rich cultural-religious patrimony that contributes so much to the societies to which they belong, and which the whole world has much interest to preserve.
The Holy See, therefore, calls on all the leaders and people of goodwill in the region and throughout the world to act before it’s too late. In 2005, at the United Nations World Summit, the entire International Community agreed that every State has the primary responsibility to protect its populations from genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing and their incitement. Moreover, the International Community recognizes its responsibility to assist States in fulfilling their primary responsibility. However, when a State is unable or unwilling to uphold this primary responsibility, the International Community must be prepared to take action to protect populations in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.
As Pope Benedict XVI underlined in his Address to the United Nations General Assembly in 2008, this responsibility to protect is not a novel creation in international law, but rather is rooted in the ancient ius gentium as the foundation of every action taken by those in government with regard to the governed.
Building on this ancient tradition and its reiterations in the international humanitarian law and in today’s United Nations fora, Pope Francis has repeatedly called upon the International Community “to do all that it can to stop and to prevent further systematic violence against ethnic and religious minorities.”
The Holy See avails of this opportunity to convey its deep appreciation to countries in the region and to all those who work tirelessly, even risking their lives, to provide assistance to some two and a half million internally displaced persons in Iraq, to 12 million Syrians in need of humanitarian assistance, of which four million are living as refugees and seven and a half million are internally displaced. Let us help these neighbourly countries as they care for and welcome the refugees.
Mr. President,
Delay in action will only mean more people will die, be displaced or persecuted. Pope Francis exhorts us all to join our efforts to support a Middle East that will continue to be a welcoming home for all its ethnic and religious groups.
Thank you, Mr. President.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The Vatican on Friday told the United Nations Security Council that Christians are facing an “existential fear” in the Middle East. The Security Council was hosting an open debate on “The victims of attacks and abuses on ethnic or religious grounds in the Middle East”. Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Permanent Observer of the…
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(Vatican Radio) The Holy See delegation at the United Nations on Friday co-sponsored a panel on “The Relevance of Interreligious and Inter-Civilizational Dialogue to the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals.”
During the discussion, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, spoke about the role of religions and faith-based play in the eradication of poverty.
“Though primarily inspired by a spiritual and moral mission, religions and faith-based organizations care for the flourishing of the entire human person,” Archbishop Auza said.
“Because human progress is an integral part of their vision and mission, besides places of worship they also construct community-building centers, hospitals, schools and universities. Locally rooted, they have first-hand knowledge of the many forms of poverty and inequalities,” he continued.
Archbishop Auza said religious organizations have both “grassroots-level credibility” and the advantage of being “universally networked.”
In working to lift peoples out of poverty, religions and faith -based organizations fight to remedy the structural causes of poverty, injustice and exclusion,” the Archbishop said. “To cite just one example, Pope Francis exhorts us to say no to a financial system that rules rather than serves, a system that produces inequalities rather than shared prosperity.”
The full intervention by Archbishop Auza is below
Remarks of H.E. Archbishop Bernardito Auza
Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations
at the Consultation on
“The Relevance of Interreligious and Inter-Civilizational Dialogue
to the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals”
United Nations, New York, March 27, 2015
Excellencies, Distinguished Panelists, Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to join the organizers of this Consultation and our fellow co-sponsors in thanking you for your attendance today, as we consider the importance of interreligious, intercultural and inter-civilizational dialogue in fostering human and social development. I would like to focus my remarks on the theme in connection with the first and the sixteenth sustainable development goals. Thus:
First, I would talk on the role of religions and faith-based organizations in the achievement of the first and overarching goal of the eradication of poverty; and, then, I would comment on the nexus between interreligious, intercultural and intercivilizational dialogue and development in the promotion of just and peaceful societies, without which sustainable development will not be able to be achieved. I was recently invited to two speak on two events that had religion and sustainable developments goals in their titles.
The first was the Special Event of the General Assembly entitled “World Interfaith Harmony: Multi-religious Partnership for Sustainable Development,” which was held on February 6 at the Economic and Social Council Chamber.
The second was a roundtable on the role of religions and faith-based organizations in the eradication of extreme poverty, organized by the World Bank Group on February 18 at its headquarters in Washington, D.C.
I was wondering why a huge financial institution like the World Bank, or a huge international organization like the United Nations, would turn to religions and their organizations to better assure the realization of sustainable development goals. I would daringly suppose that these conferences were a recognition of the contributions of religions and their organizations to the life of individuals and of societies, in particular the help they provide those who are trying to emancipate themselves from various forms of extreme poverty.
In fact, according to the World Bank President, Dr. Jim Kim, even with the rosy growth forecasts for the next 15 years, with growths like those between 2000 and pre-crisis 2008, still the world could not eradicate extreme poverty. From the present 14.5% of the world’s population extremely poor, the number could only be reduced to 7% by 2030. However, with the collaboration of faith-based and other civic organizations, we can bring down that number down to just 3% by 2030. In real numbers, that is a significant contribution.
In spite of their contributions, religions and faith-based organizations do not pretend to be what they are not. From the Catholic perspective, religions and faith-based organizations are not economic or political entities; they are neither a parallel World Bank nor a parallel United Nations, nor identical with non-faith-based NGOs. Their strength does not lie in material resources or scientific expertise — which are, indeed, very useful in the fight to eradicate extreme poverty — but in their being a spiritual force and a moral compass, in their being “enablers” of individuals and societies to recognize and respect the inherent dignity of each and every human person.
Though primarily inspired by a spiritual and moral mission, religions and faith-based organizations care for the flourishing of the entire human person. Because human progress is an integral part of their vision and mission, besides places of worship they also construct community-building centers, hospitals, schools and universities. Locally rooted, they have first-hand knowledge of the many forms of poverty and inequalities. They have grassroots-level credibility and evidence-based expertise. Their local presence favors dialogue among grassroots groups. Universally networked, they are effective advocates for causes like the eradication of extreme poverty and the promotion of just and peaceful societies.
In working to lift peoples out of poverty, religions and faith -based organizations fight to remedy the structural causes of poverty, injustice and exclusion. To cite just one example, Pope Francis exhorts us to say no to a financial system that rules rather than serves, a system that produces inequalities rather than shared prosperity.
Dear friends,
The nexus between interreligious dialogue and the fostering of peaceful and just institutions and societies reminds me of a book entitled Religion, The Missing Dimension of Statecraft. It attempts to restore religion to its rightful place in the conduct of international diplomacy, in particular in resolving conflicts. I won’t give you more details about the book lest you accuse me of marketeering… especially considering that I won’t get a percentage in advertising it! But I do urge you to read it. And, albeit taking the opposite side of the argument, who would not remember today Samuel Huntington’s The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of the World Order?
We are here, because we believe in “dialogue” and not in “clash”. The good news that it describes is that religious leaders and believers play leading roles in the fight for peace and justice; in defending human rights; in welcoming the marginalized; in ending various forms of exploitation, trafficking and violence; and in building ways to achieve stable situations crucial for long-term development.
The bad news is that there are glaring exceptions. Sadly we continue to witness violent cases that demonstrate the dark side of religious passion divorced from reason, of zeal for one’s belief at the expense of fundamental human rights. The thesis of my remark is simple: namely, development can only thrive in the context of peaceful societies. The evaluations on the Millennium Development Goals clearly demonstrate the direct relation between the two: Countries in conflict have lagged far behind in the realization of the MDGs; indeed, many have suffered regressions.
I believe that fostering the action of religious bodies and the fruitful cooperation among religions is essential to forming and consolidating peaceful, just, accountable and inclusive societies, without which the sustainable development goals cannot be achieved. The strength of religions and their cooperation to foster peaceful and inclusive societies essential for development rests on their capacity to raise and nurture prophets and builders who are able to inspire concrete action, develop rapport of immediacy with individuals and communities, and rally people to work together for something greater than themselves.
The work of building the types of societies and institutions needed for sustainable development requires patience and perseverance. The construction takes place through thousands of daily actions that are building blocks of just and peaceful societies. It’s expedited when people are able to transcend selfishness, a spirit of vengeance, and the phobia that if others are helped to advance, you lose rather than win. In bringing about these factors key to genuine development, the contributions of religious believers working together cannot be overstated.
Pope Francis has emphasized that true interreligious dialogue is not so much a conversation but a mutual journey. It’s about building bridges rather than walls. It begins with a conviction that others have something good and valuable to say, with a focus on what one has in common rather than with differences, with embracing rather than excluding. It doesn’t ignore differences, because differences matter; but it seeks to understand those differences and treat the persons who hold them with respect.
Interreligious dialogue is a dialogue of life in which different parties have the courage to encounter others as they are, recognize the values they have in common and begin to work together to have those shared values reflected in society. Among those values are the conviction that religious faith is a good for society, that it should be part of the solution and not of the problem, a deep respect for human dignity and religious freedom, a commitment to peaceful coexistence and, most of all, love for others based on love for God.
I would like to conclude my remarks by citing Pope Francis, who affirms that “interreligious dialogue is a necessary condition for peace in the world” and that such “a dialogue that seeks social peace and justice is in itself, beyond all merely practical considerations, an ethical commitment that brings about a new social situation.”
Thank you for the kind attention.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The Holy See delegation at the United Nations on Friday co-sponsored a panel on “The Relevance of Interreligious and Inter-Civilizational Dialogue to the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals.” During the discussion, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, spoke about the role of religions and faith-based play…
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Vatican City, 27 March 2015 (VIS) – On 10 March, Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi, Holy See Permanent Observer to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, spoke at the 28th meeting of the Council for Human Rights. His speech, the majority of which is presented here below, emphasized the fundamental importance of religious freedom as well as the freedom of expression. “ The International Community is now confronted with a delicate, complex, and urgent challenge with regard to respect for religious sensibilities and the need for peaceful coexistence in an ever more pluralistic world: namely, that of establishing a fair relationship between freedom of expression and freedom of religion. The relationship between these fundamental human rights has proven difficult to manage and to address on either a normative or institutional level. On the other hand, it should be recognized ‘that the open, constructive, and respectful debate of ideas, as well as interfaith and intercultural dialogue at the local, national, and international levels, can play a positive role in combating religious hatred, incitement, and violence.’ Failure in this effort is evident when an excessive and irresponsible use of freedom of expression results in intimidation, threats, and verbal abuse and these infringe upon freedom of religion and can sadly lead to intolerance and violence. Likewise, the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion has focused on the violence committed ‘in the name of religion’, and on its root causes.” “ Unfortunately, violence abounds today. If genocide means any act committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group, as such, then the International Community as a whole is certainly witnessing a sort of genocide in some regions of the world, where the enslavement and sale of women and children, the killing of young men, the burning, beheading and the forcing into exile of people continue. In this context, the Delegation of the Holy See would like to submit to the joint reflection of the Human Rights Council that these and other unspeakable crimes are being committed against people belonging to ancient communities simply because their belief, social system, and culture are different from the fundamentalist combatants of the so-called ‘Islamic State’ group. The appeal to religion in order to murder people and destroy the evidence of human creativity developed in the course of history makes the on-going atrocities even more revulsive and damnable. An adequate response from the International Community, which should finally put aside sectarian interests and save lives, is a moral imperative.” “ Violence, however, does not stem from religion but from its false interpretation or its transformation into ideology. In addition, the same violence can derive from the idolatry of State or of the economy, and it can be an effect of secularization. All these phenomena tend to eliminate individual freedom and responsibility towards others. But, violence is always an individual’s act and a decision that implies personal responsibility. It is in fact by adopting an ethics of responsibility that the way toward the future can become fruitful, preventing violence and breaking the impasse between extreme positions: one that upholds any form of freedom of expression and the other that rejects any criticism of a religion. …” “ Freedom of expression that is misused to wound the dignity of persons by offending their deepest convictions sows the seeds of violence. Of course, freedom of expression is a fundamental human right that is always to be upheld and protected; in fact, it also implies the obligation to say in a responsible way what a person thinks in view of the common good. … It does not, however, justify relegating religion to a subculture of insignificant weight or to an acceptable easy target of ridicule and discrimination. Antireligious arguments even in the form of irony can surely be accepted, as it is acceptable to use irony about secularism or atheism. Criticism of religious thinking can even help dismantle various extremisms. But what can justify gratuitous insults and spiteful derision of the religious feelings and convictions of others who are, after all, equal in dignity? Can we make fun of the cultural identity of a person, of the colour of his skin, of the belief of his heart? A ‘right to offend’ does not exist. …” “ Several mutually interdependent issues like freedom of religion, freedom of expression, religious intolerance, and violence in the name of religion come together in the concrete situations the world faces today. The way forward seems to be the adoption of a comprehensive approach that would consider these issues together in domestic legislation and deal with them in such a way that they may facilitate a peaceful coexistence based on the respect of the inherent human dignity and rights of every person. While opting to be on the side of freedom, the consequences of its exercise cannot be ignored and they should respect this dignity and, thus, build a more humane and more brotherly global society.”…