(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday morning visited Kangemi slum in Nairobi and was welcomed with cheers by the residents there. During a speech he called for adequate and dignified housing and basic but vital services, especially for the most marginalized. See below the Pope’s address Address of His Holiness Pope Francis Visit to Kangemi Friday, 27 November 2015 Thank you for welcoming me to your neighbourhood. I thank Archbishop Kivuva and Father Pascal for their kind words. I feel very much at home sharing these moments with brothers and sisters who, and I am not ashamed to say this, have a special place in my life and my decisions. I am here because I want you to know that your joys and hopes, your troubles and your sorrows, are not indifferent to me. I realize the difficulties which you experience daily! How can I not denounce the injustices which you suffer? First of all, though, I would like to speak about something which the language of exclusion often disregards or seems to ignore. It is the wisdom found in poor neighbourhoods. A wisdom which is born of the “stubborn resistance” of that which is authentic” (cf. Laudato Si’, 112), from Gospel values which an opulent society, anaesthetized by unbridled consumption, would seem to have forgotten. You are able “to weave bonds of belonging and togetherness which convert overcrowding into an experience of community in which the walls of the ego are torn down and the barriers of selfishness overcome” (ibid., 149). The culture of poor neighbourhoods, steeped in this particular wisdom, “has very positive traits, which can offer something to these times in which we live; it is expressed in values such as solidarity, giving one’s life for others, preferring birth to death, providing Christian burial to one’s dead; finding a place for the sick in one’s home, sharing bread with the hungry (for ‘there is always room for one more seat at the table’), showing patience and strength when faced with great adversity, and so on” (Equipo de Sacerdotes para las Villas de Emergencia, Argentina, Reflexiones sobre urbanización y la cultura villera, 2010). Values grounded in the fact each human being is more important than the god of money. Thank you for reminding us that another type of culture is possible. I want in first place to uphold these values which you practice, values which are not quoted in the stock exchange, are not subject to speculation, and have no market price. I congratulate you, I accompany you and I want you to know that the Lord never forgets you. The path of Jesus began on the peripheries, it goes from the poor and with the poor, towards others. To see these signs of good living that increase daily in your midst in no way entails a disregard for the dreadful injustice of urban exclusion. These are wounds inflicted by minorities who cling to power and wealth, who selfishly squander while a growing majority is forced to flee to abandoned, filthy and run-down peripheries. This becomes even worse when we see the unjust distribution of land (if not in this neighbourhood, certainly in others) which leads in many cases to entire families having to pay excessive and unfair rents for utterly unfit housing. I am also aware of the serious problem posed by faceless “private developers” who hoard areas of land and even attempt to appropriate the playgrounds of your children’s schools. This is what happens when we forget that “God gave the earth to the whole human race for the sustenance of all its members, without excluding or favouring anyone” (Centesimus Annus, 31). One very serious problem in this regard is the lack of access to infrastructures and basic services. By this I mean toilets, sewers, drains, refuse collection, electricity, roads, as well as schools, hospitals, recreational and sport centres, studios and workshops for artists and craftsmen. I refer in particular to access to drinking water. “Access to safe drinkable water is a basic and universal human right, since it is essential to human survival and, as such, is a condition for the exercise of other human rights. Our world has a grave social debt towards the poor who lack access to drinking water, because they are denied the right to a life consistent with their inalienable dignity” (Laudato Si’, 30). To deny a family water, under any bureaucratic pretext whatsoever, is a great injustice, especially when one profits from this need. This situation of indifference and hostility experienced by poor neighbourhoods is aggravated when violence spreads and criminal organizations, serving economic or political interests, use children and young people as “canon fodder” for their ruthless business affairs. I also appreciate the struggles of those women who fight heroically to protect their sons and daughters from these dangers. I ask God that that the authorities may embark, together with you, upon the path of social inclusion, education, sport, community action, and the protection of families, for this is the only guarantee of a peace that is just, authentic and enduring. These realities which I have just mentioned are not a random combination of unrelated problems. They are a consequence of new forms of colonialism which would make African countries “parts of a machine, cogs on a gigantic wheel” (Ecclesia in Africa, 52). Indeed, countries are frequently pressured to adopt policies typical of the culture of waste, like those aimed at lowering the birth rate, which seek “to legitimize the present model of distribution, where a minority believes that it has the right to consume in a way which can never be universalized” (Laudato Si’, 50). In this regard, I would propose a renewed attention to the idea of a respectful urban integration, as opposed to elimination, paternalism, indifference or mere containment. We need integrated cities which belong to everyone. We need to go beyond the mere proclamation of rights which are not respected in practice, to implementing concrete and systematic initiatives capable of improving the overall living situation, and planning new urban developments of good quality for housing future generations. The social and environmental debt owed to the poor of cities can be paid by respecting their sacred right to the “three Ls”: Land, Lodging, Labour. This is not a question of philanthropy; rather it is a duty incumbent upon all of us. I wish to call all Christians, and their pastors in particular, to renew their missionary zeal, to take initiative in the face of so many situations of injustice, to be involved in their neighbours’ problems, to accompany them in their struggles, to protect the fruits of their communitarian labour and to celebrate together each victory, large or small. I realize that you are already doing much, but I ask to remember this is not just another task; it may instead be the most important task of all, because “the Gospel is addressed in a special way to the poor” (Benedict XVI, Address to the Bishops of Brazil, 11 May 2007, 3). Dear neighbours, dear brothers and sisters, let us together pray, work and commit ourselves to ensuring that every family has dignified housing, access to drinking water, a toilet, reliable sources of energy for lighting, cooking and improving their homes; that every neighbourhood has streets, squares, schools, hospitals, areas for sport, recreation and art; that basic services are provided to each of you; that your appeals and your pleas for greater opportunity can be heard; that all can enjoy the peace and security which they rightfully deserve on the basis of their infinite human dignity. Mungu awabariki! God bless you! And I ask you, please, do not forget to pray for me. (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis presented the offices of the United Nations in Nairobi, Kenya, with a gift on Thursday: a print showing the raising of the obelisk that stands in the middle of St. Peter’s Square. The Holy Father presented the gift during the course of his visit to the offices on Thursday, November 26, 2015, the first full day of his three-country visit to Africa.
Please find a description of the article, below
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Natale Bonifacio (Sebenico 1538 – 1592) Engraver
Giovanni Guerra (Modena 1540 – 1618) Inventor
Erection of the Vatican Obelisk
Lithograph
1586
Inscriptions: in the lower left : Disegno nel quale si rappresenta l’ordine tenuto in alzar la Guglia il di ultimo d’Aprile MDLXXXVI (…) sopra: DOMENICO FONTANA DA MILI DIOCESI DI COMO ARCHIT. E CONDUTTORE / In Roma Natal Bonifacio de Sebenicco Fece. D’Agosto 1586. In basso al centro: 10 GVERRA MVT. LINEAVIT ET IMPRIMI. CURAVIT.
In the Spring of 1586, Sixtus V taking advantage of the genius and organizational qualities of Domenico Fontana (1543 – 1607) undertook the moving of the Egyptian granite obelisk, that was situated on the southern side of the Basilica, and relocated it to the center of the square in front of the Basilica itself. Among the tallest of the Roman obelisks, second only to that of the Lateran, it was brought from Egypt at the time of the Emperor Caligula and raised in the circus of Caligula and Nero across the Tiber, where St. Peter was martyred. Other pontiffs had yearned to tackle the challenge, but it had never been undertaken because it was thought to be impossible. Sixtus V invited architects, engineers, artists and scientists to present a project, but in the end decided on his own to assign his trusted architect, Domenico Fontana.
The endeavor lasted from Spring to September of that year, and involved the demolition of some apartment buildings for the transport of the monolith from the place where it was to the center of the square, and the implementation of 38 pulleys, 900 men and 75 horses.
The enterprise is documented by two large and beautiful prints, including the one under observation, published in August of 1586, when the operations were still underway, and then successively, in 1590, in the volume “ Della Trasportatione dell’Obelisco Vaticano e delle Fabbriche di Nostro Signore Papa Sisto V…(Of the Transportation of the Vatican Obelisk and of the Factories of Our Lord Pope Sixtus V) published by the Vatican Typography directed by Domenico Basa.
The print shows the status of the operations in the month of August but above all, it is an ample representation of the state of the Basilica and of the surrounding areas at that date. The richness of the details and the numerous captions and inscriptions make of it a work of much artistic value but at the same time descriptive and celebratory of the event. The print bears the crest of Sixtus V, the portrait of the author of the famous translation, the architect Domenico Fontana, and many other details.
The authors of the large engraving, in three tables, are Giovanni Guerra, who is responsible for the invention of the composition (as well as for the realization of a fresco on the same theme in the Sistine hall of the Vatican Library) and the engraver Natale Bonifacio. The first is counted among the protagonists of that “Sistine” style that in the years of the pontificate of Pope Peretti decorated the immense architectural works built. Natale Bonifacio instead was a Dalmatian engraver who worked between Venice and Rome, achieving recognition as a vedutista but above all as a cartographer.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday addressed the United Nations family in Nairobi encouraging its staff to pursue its work for human development and protection of the environment for the common good.
He urged them to listen to “the cry rising up from humanity and the earth itself, a cry that needs to be heard by the international community.
In Nairobi, Vatican Radio’s Linda Bordoni reports:
Even before crossing the threshold of the United Nations Office at Nairobi headquarters on Thursday, Pope Francis planted a tree in the UN Compound garden.
A simple, symbolic act, so meaningful in many cultures.
And that’s exactly how the Pope set the tone for his eagerly awaited address to the UN and its Agencies that are entrusted to work for a better human future and to care for the environment.
Singled out as one of the highlights of Pope Francis’ Kenya visit just days before Climate Change talks in Paris, and just as a new report warns that 2015 could be the hottest year on record, those present knew Francis was not going to mince his words.
“In this international context – he said – we are confronted with a choice which cannot be ignored: either to improve or to destroy the environment”.
Quoting frequently from his encyclical “Laudato Sì”. On Care for our Common Home”, Francis immediately shone the light on the need for leaders and policymakers to urgently reach “a global and transformational agreement based on the principles of solidarity, justice, equality and participation”.
“An agreement – he continued – which targets three complex and interdependent goals: lessening the impact of climate change, fighting poverty and ensuring respect for human dignity”.
And in hard hitting words the Pope went on to speak of how economy and politics need to be placed at the service of peoples, not for profit and to the detriment of the poor.
He called for an adoption of a culture of care as opposed to the current “throwaway” culture of waste where – he said – “people use and discard themselves, others and the environment” with far reaching consequences especially on the weakest members of our one human family.
And forgetting nothing and no one Pope Francis reminded his listeners of the rising numbers of migrants fleeing from growing poverty aggravated by environmental degradation.
He spoke of the effects of social breakdown in urban settlements: violence, drug abuse and trafficking, loss of identity.
He shone the light on the exploitation and illegal trade of natural resources – specifically mentioning ivory trafficking and the killing of elephants!
Pope Francis full heartedly decried the fact we are growing accustomed to the suffering of others, and said: “We have no right”.
“We are faced – he said – with a great political and economic obligation to rethink and correct the dysfunctions and distortions of the current model of development”.
But it wasn’t all darkness. “Human beings – the Pope said – while capable of the worst, are also capable of rising above themselves, choosing again what is good and making a new start”.
“May humanity at the dawn of the twenty-first century – Pope Francis appealed – be remembered for having generously shouldered its grave responsibilities.”
And coming back to the tree, as Francis mentioned at the very beginning: it’s a simple gesture and a powerful invitation to continue the battle against deforestation and desertification as well as an incentive to keep trusting, hoping and working to reverse situations of injustice and deterioration”.
In Nairobi with Pope Francis, I’m Linda Bordoni
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday afternoon spoke about the importance of safeguarding the environment and ensuring a just distribution of the earth’s wealth as he address directors and staff of the United Nations Offices in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
The Pope said Africa offers the world a beauty and natural richness which inspire praise of the Creator. This patrimony of Africa and of all mankind, he said “is constantly exposed to the risk of destruction caused by human selfishness of every type and by the abuse of situations of poverty and exclusion”.
In the context of economic relationships between States and between peoples, he continued “we cannot be silent about forms of illegal trafficking which arise in situations of poverty and in turn lead to greater poverty and exclusion. Illegal trade in diamonds and precious stones, rare metals or those of great strategic value, wood, biological material and animal products, such as ivory trafficking and the relative killing of elephants, fuels political instability, organized crime and terrorism”. This situation, Pope Francis said, “is a cry rising up from humanity and the earth itself, one which needs to be heard by the international community”.
On his way to the meeting, the Pope symbolically planted a tree, which he described as “an invitation to continue the battle against phenomena like deforestation and desertification” in order to safeguard the future of humanity. He also highlighted the importance of the upcoming international conference in Paris on climate change which he said is “one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day”.
Please find below the full text of Pope Francis’ address to the United Nations Office at Nairobi
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I would like to thank Madame Sahle-Work Zewde, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi, for her kind invitation and words of welcome, as well as Mr Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, and Mr. Joan Clos, Executive Director of UN-Habitat. I take this occasion to greet the personnel and all those associated with the institutions who are here present.
On my way to this hall, I was asked to plant a tree in the park of the United Nations Centre. I was happy to carry out this simple symbolic act, which is so meaningful in many cultures.
Planting a tree is first and foremost an invitation to continue the battle against phenomena like deforestation and desertification. It reminds us of the importance of safeguarding and responsibly administering those “richly biodiverse lungs of our planet”, which include, on this continent, “the Congo basins”, a place essential “for the entire earth and for the future of humanity”. It also points to the need to appreciate and encourage “the commitment of international agencies and civil society organizations which draw public attention to these issues and offer critical cooperation, employing legitimate means of pressure, to ensure that each government carries out its proper and inalienable responsibility to preserve its country’s environment and natural resources, without capitulating to spurious local or international interests” (Laudato Si’, 38).
Planting a tree is also an incentive to keep trusting, hoping, and above all working in practice to reverse all those situations of injustice and deterioration which we currently experience.
In a few days an important meeting on climate change will be held in Paris, where the international community as such will once again confront these issues. It would be sad, and I dare say even catastrophic, were particular interests to prevail over the common good and lead to manipulating information in order to protect their own plans and projects.
In this international context, we are confronted with a choice which cannot be ignored: either to improve or to destroy the environment. Every step we take, whether large or small, individual or collective, in caring for creation opens a sure path for that “generous and worthy creativity which brings out the best in human beings” (ibid., 211).
“The climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all”; “climate change is a global problem with grave implications: environmental, social, economic, political and for the distribution of goods; it represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day” (ibid., 23 and 25). Our response to this challenge “needs to incorporate a social perspective which takes into account the fundamental rights of the poor and the underprivileged” (ibid., 93). For “the misuse and destruction of the environment are also accompanied by a relentless process of exclusion” (Address to the United Nations, 25 September 2015).
COP21 represents an important stage in the process of developing a new energy system which depends on a minimal use of fossil fuels, aims at energy efficiency and makes use of energy sources with little or no carbon content. We are faced with a great political and economic obligation to rethink and correct the dysfunctions and distortions of the current model of development.
The Paris Agreement can give a clear signal in this direction, provided that, as I stated before the UN General Assembly, we avoid “every temptation to fall into a declarationist nominalism which would assuage our consciences. We need to ensure that our institutions are truly effective” (ibid.). For this reason, I express my hope that COP21 will achieve a global and “transformational” agreement based on the principles of solidarity, justice, equality and participation; an agreement which targets three complex and interdependent goals: lessening the impact of climate change, fighting poverty and ensuring respect for human dignity.
For all the difficulties involved, there is a growing “conviction that our planet is a homeland and that humanity is one people living in a common home” (Laudato Si’, 164). No country “can act independently of a common responsibility. If we truly desire positive change, we have to humbly accept our interdependence” (Address to Popular Movements, 9 July 2015). The problem arises whenever we think of interdependence as a synonym for domination, or the subjection of some to the interests of others, of the powerless to the powerful.
What is needed is sincere and open dialogue, with responsible cooperation on the part of all: political authorities, the scientific community, the business world and civil society. Positive examples are not lacking; they demonstrate that a genuine cooperation between politics, science and business can achieve significant results.
At the same time we believe that “human beings, while capable of the worst, are also capable of rising above themselves, choosing again what is good and making a new start” (Laudato Si’, 205). This conviction leads us to hope that, whereas the post-industrial period may well be remembered as one of the most irresponsible in history, “humanity at the dawn of the twenty-first century will be remembered for having generously shouldered its grave responsibilities” (ibid., 165). If this is to happen, the economy and politics need to be placed at the service of peoples, with the result that “human beings, in harmony with nature, structure the entire system of production and distribution in such a way that the abilities and needs of each individual find suitable expression in social life”. Far from an idealistic utopia, this is a realistic prospect which makes the human person and human dignity the point of departure and the goal of everything (cf. Address to Popular Movements, 9 July 2015).
This much-needed change of course cannot take place without a substantial commitment to education and training. Nothing will happen unless political and technical solutions are accompanied by a process of education which proposes new ways of living. A new culture. This calls for an educational process which fosters in boys and girls, women and men, young people and adults, the adoption of a culture of care – care for oneself, care for others, care for the environment – in place of a culture of waste, a “throw-away culture” where people use and discard themselves, others and the environment. By promoting an “awareness of our common origin, of our mutual belonging, and of the future to be shared with everyone”, we will favour the development of new convictions, attitudes and lifestyles. “A great cultural, spiritual and educational challenge stands before us, and it will demand that we set out on the long path of renewal” (Laudato Si’, 202). We still have time.
Many are the faces, the stories and the evident effects on the lives of thousands of persons whom the culture of deterioration and waste has allowed to be sacrificed before the idols of profits and consumption. We need to be alert to one sad sign of the “globalization of indifference”: the fact that we are gradually growing accustomed to the suffering of others, as if it were something normal (cf. Message for World Food Day, 16 October 2013, 2), or even worse, becoming resigned to such extreme and scandalous kinds of “using and discarding” and social exclusion as new forms of slavery, human trafficking, forced labour, prostitution and trafficking in organs. “There has been a tragic rise in the number of migrants seeking to flee from the growing poverty aggravated by environmental degradation. They are not recognized by international conventions as refugees; they bear the loss of the lives they have left behind without enjoying any legal protection whatsoever” (Laudato Si’, 25). Many lives, many stories, many dreams have been shipwrecked in our day. We cannot remain indifferent in the face of this. We have no right.
Together with neglect of the environment, we have witnessed for some time now a rapid process of urbanization, which in many cases has unfortunately led to a “disproportionate and unruly growth of many cities which have become unhealthy to live in [and] inefficient” (ibid., 44). There we increasingly see the troubling symptoms of a social breakdown which spawns “increased violence and a rise in new forms of social aggression, drug trafficking, growing drug use by young people, loss of identity” (ibid., 46), a lack of rootedness and social anonymity (cf. ibid., 149).
Here I would offer a word of encouragement to all those working on the local and international levels to ensure that the process of urbanization becomes an effective means for development and integration. This means working to guarantee for everyone, especially those living in outlying neighbourhoods, the basic rights to dignified living conditions and to land, lodging and labour. There is a need to promote projects of city planning and maintenance of public areas which move in this direction and take into consideration the views of local residents; this will help to eliminate the many instances of inequality and pockets of urban poverty which are not simply economic but also, and above all, social and environmental. The forthcoming Habitat-III Conference, planned for Quito in October 2016, could be a significant occasion for identifying ways of responding to these issues.
In a few days, Nairobi will host the 10th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization. In 1967, my predecessor Pope Paul VI, contemplating an increasingly interdependent world and foreseeing the current reality of globalization, reflected on how commercial relationships between States could prove a fundamental element for the development of peoples or, on the other hand, a cause of extreme poverty and exclusion (Populorum Progressio, 56-62). While recognizing that much has been done in this area, it seems that we have yet to attain an international system of commerce which is equitable and completely at the service of the battle against poverty and exclusion. Commercial relationships between States, as an indispensable part of relations between peoples, can do as much to harm the environment as to renew it and preserve it for future generations.
It is my hope that the deliberations of the forthcoming Nairobi Conference will not be a simple balancing of conflicting interests, but a genuine service to care of our common home and the integral development of persons, especially those in greatest need. I would especially like to echo the concern of all those groups engaged in projects of development and health care – including those religious congregations which serve the poor and those most excluded – with regard to agreements on intellectual property and access to medicines and essential health care. Regional free trade treaties dealing with the protection of intellectual property, particularly in the areas of pharmaceutics and biotechnology, should not only maintain intact the powers already granted to States by multilateral agreements, but should also be a means for ensuring a minimum of health care and access to basic treatment for all. Multilateral discussions, for their part, should allow poorer countries the time, the flexibility and the exceptions needed for them to comply with trade regulations in an orderly and relatively smooth manner. Interdependence and the integration of economies should not bear the least detriment to existing systems of health care and social security; instead, they should promote their creation and good functioning. Certain health issues, like the elimination of malaria and tuberculosis, treatment of so-called orphan diseases, and neglected sectors of tropical medicine, require urgent political attention, above and beyond all other commercial or political interests.
Africa offers the world a beauty and natural richness which inspire praise of the Creator. This patrimony of Africa and of all mankind is constantly exposed to the risk of destruction caused by human selfishness of every type and by the abuse of situations of poverty and exclusion. In the context of economic relationships between States and between peoples, we cannot be silent about forms of illegal trafficking which arise in situations of poverty and in turn lead to greater poverty and exclusion. Illegal trade in diamonds and precious stones, rare metals or those of great strategic value, wood, biological material and animal products, such as ivory trafficking and the relative killing of elephants, fuels political instability, organized crime and terrorism. This situation too is a cry rising up from humanity and the earth itself, one which needs to be heard by the international community.
In my recent visit to the United Nations Headquarters in New York, I expressed the desire and hope that the work of the United Nations and of all its multilateral activities may 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” (Address to the UN, 25 September 2015).
Once again I express the support of the Catholic community, and my own, to continue to pray and work that the fruits of regional cooperation, expressed today in the African Union and the many African agreements on commerce, cooperation and development, may be vigorously pursued and always take into account the common good of the sons and daughters of this land.
May the blessing of the Most High be with each of you and your peoples. Thank you.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis held a special meeting with clergy, religious men and women, and seminarians at St. Mary’s School in Nairobi, Kenya, on Thursday. Putting aside his prepared text, the Holy Father spoke of the joy of a life of radical service to the Gospel and of the radical faithfulness to Christ that is the guarantee of happiness and success in ordained ministry and consecrated discipleship.
An official transcript of the Pope Francis’ extemporaneous remarks is being prepared.
In the meantime, we offer you the integral audio recording of the Holy Father’s address, with side-by-side English translation provided by the Holy Father’s official translator, Msgr. Mark Miles.
Click below to hear the Holy Father’s remarks in Spanish, with side-by-side translation into English by Msgr. Mark Miles
(from Vatican Radio)…