Pope calls for a less ideological UN

 

 

“The Pope warned about violations of freedom of conscience and speech of Christians in the West who are restricted in “proclaim[ing] the truths of the

Gospel for political or ideological reasons, especially when they defend the dignity of the weakest, the unborn, refugees and migrants, or promote the family”.”

Iulia-Elena Cazan

 

 

By Iulia-Elena Cazan

VATICAN CITY, January 16 (C-Fam) In his annual address to the diplomatic corps, Pope Leo XIV called for a more “focused and efficient” UN that prioritizes “the unity of the human family” over ideologies. The Roman Pontiff condemned ongoing wars, persecution of Christians, censorship in the name of “inclusivity”, and practices that reject the dignity of human life, including abortion, euthanasia, and surrogacy.

 

Reflecting on the decline of multilateralism, Pope Leo XIV noted with regret that “[a] diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties” is being replaced with “a diplomacy based on force, by either individuals or groups of allies.”

 

Pope Leo pointed to military aggression as an example of coercive diplomacy.

 

He then described subliminal pressures that undermine multilateral dialogue, such as the aggressive imposition of progressive norms and values as universal.

“A new Orwellian-style language is developing which, in an attempt to be increasingly inclusive, ends up excluding those who do not conform to the ideologies that are fueling it,” the Pope explained. In this context, the Pope said, “[r]ediscovering the meaning of words is perhaps one of the primary challenges of our time.”

 

At the UN, the imposition of several controversial terms is so fierce that, in a dramatic move last month, Sweden withdrew a UN resolution on humanitarian assistance due to concerns that a commitment to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) would not be included in the final text.

 

While the UN system and several powerful governments define SRH as including a right to abortion and other controversial services, over forty UN member and observer states, including the Holy See, make interventions at the General Assembly to dissociate from SRH and to clarify that they do not support abortion.

 

The same principle applies to UN language about “gender” or “sexual orientation and gender identity,” which always results in dissociations by the Holy See and governments from the Global South clarifying their opposition to gender ideology.

 

In his address, Pope Leo called the persecution of Christians “one of the most widespread human rights crises today” and insisted that “[w]e must not forget a subtle form of religious discrimination against Christians.”

 

The Pope warned about violations of freedom of conscience and speech of Christians in the West who are restricted in “proclaim[ing] the truths of the Gospel for political or ideological reasons, especially when they defend the dignity of the weakest, the unborn, refugees and migrants, or promote the family.”

 

“The right to freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, religious freedom and even the right to life are being restricted in the name of other so-called new rights, with the result that the very framework of human rights is losing its vitality and creating space for force and oppression,” the Pope continued.

 

The Pope … “considers it deplorable that public resources are allocated to suppress life, rather than being invested to support mothers and families” and that the Holy See “categorically reject[s] any practice that denies or exploits the origin of life and its development,” including abortion and surrogacy.

 

The Pope also talked about a “double attack” on the family, including by the international system, which tends to “neglect and underestimate its fundamental social role, leading to its progressive institutional marginalization.”

 

Pope Leo XIV built his “State of the World Address” around Saint Augustine’s The City of God and reiterated Saint Augustine’s call for Christians to “dwell in the earthly city with their hearts and minds turned towards the heavenly city” and show love of others by fostering peace and caring for the most vulnerable among us, including the unborn, sick, elderly, isolated, and those who flee their homes as refugees.