Vatican City, 15 July 2015 (VIS) –
This morning in the Holy See Press Office Bishop Marcelo Sanchez
Sorondo, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, presented
the meeting “Modern slavery and climate change: the commitment of
the cities”, and the symposium “Prosperity, people and planet in
the cities”, to be held in the Casina Pio IV (Vatican, 21-22 July).
These events will be attended by the mayors of major cities, local
administrators and various representatives of the United Nations, and
the speakers will include expert communications consultants Michael
Shank and Alessandro Gaetano.
“The Pontifical Academy of Sciences
is in agreement with the Holy Father in perceiving a clear link
between these two emergencies: the crisis of climate change and the
social crisis, both of anthropic origin”, explained the prelate.
Our commitment, following the Encyclical, is to ensuring that all
society is made aware of these phenomena and of the human
responsibilities for these crises, and reacts with firmness, as a new
moral imperative for all humanity in favour of the common good”.
“In this fundamental moral context,
cities and their mayors play a key role”, explained the prelate.
“Currently, most of humanity is concentrated in formal and informal
urban settlements and this trend is set to increase. Each of our
cultural traditions also affirms the inherent dignity and the social
responsibility of each individual in relation to the common good.
They emphasise the importance of living together in the polis for the
fulfilment of the social, cultural and religious identity of every
human being and for the beauty, wonder and inherent goodness of the
world, recognising it as a precious gift that supports life and is
entrusted to our stewardship. It is not a matter of preserving it as
in a museum, but of developing it according to its potential,
following the very laws of nature. Respecting and developing “our
common home” rather than devastating it is a moral imperative”.
Bishop Sanchez Sorondo noted that, as
the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences has remarked, although the
poor and the excluded have the least effect on climate change and
often live on the outskirts of the city, they are the most exposed to
the terrible threat posed by human-induced climate disruption.
However, the world now has within reach the scientific knowledge,
technological tools and financial means to reverse anthropogenic
climate change, while ending extreme poverty at the same time through
solutions that include renewable and low carbon emission energy
sources. “Financing the initiative in favour of this 'integral
ecology', including the decisive containment of human-induced climate
change, could also be based on the relentless pursuit of peace, which
would allow a redistribution of public spending from military
expenditure towards urgent investments for the benefit of social
inclusion and the effective monitoring of carbon emissions,
particularly in the cities”.
With reference to the presence of
mayors at the events on 21 and 22 July, he emphasised that the
intention of the Pontifical Academy was for them “to commit to
promoting the empowerment of the poor and of those who live in
vulnerable conditions in our cities and in our urban settlements,
reducing their exposure to extreme weather events caused by radical
environmental, economic and social instabilities, which create
fertile ground for forced migration and human trafficking”.
“At the same time”, he added, “we
would like the mayors to commit to put an end to abuse, exploitation,
human trafficking and all forms of modern slavery within their
communities. These tragic occurrences, which Pope Benedict and Pope
Francis termed 'crimes against humanity', also include forced labour,
prostitution, organ trafficking and domestic servitude. We would also
like the mayors to commit to developing resettlement and social
integration programmes for the victims, at the national and local
levels, in order to avoid their involuntary repatriation”.
“In short”, he concluded, “we
would like our cities and urban settlements to become more socially
inclusive, safe, resilient and ecologically integrated”.
The studies of the Pontifical Academy
for Social Sciences on the impact of climate change can be consulted
on-line at www.pas.va
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