Vatican City, 22 July 2015 (VIS) –
Yesterday afternoon Pope Francis greeted the participants in the
meeting “Modern slavery and climate change: the commitment of
cities” and in the Symposium “Prosperity, people and planet:
achieving sustainable development in our cities ”, held in the
Vatican's Casina Pio IV by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, whose
chancellor is Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo. The events were
attended by the mayors of major cities, local administrators and
various representatives of the United Nations.
The Holy Father gave an impromptu
address in which he reiterated that care for the environment meant,
above all, adopting an attitude of human ecology and that “Laudato
si'” was not simply a “green” but also a social document. He
also considered the theme of the unfettered growth of cities due to
the lack of work for rural populations, and invited the mayors to
collaborate with international bodies in order to face the issues of
exploitation and human trafficking caused by migratory phenomena.
“I offer you my sincere and heartfelt
thanks for what you have done”, said the Pope to the participants
in the symposium. “It is true that everything revolves around …
this culture of care for the environment. But this 'green' culture –
and I say that in a positive sense – is much more than that. Caring
for the environment means an attitude of human ecology. In other
words, we cannot say: the person and Creation, the environment, are
two separate entities. Ecology is total, it is human. This is what I
wanted to express in the Encyclical 'Laudato si'': that you cannot
separate humanity from the rest; there is a relationship of mutual
impact, and also the rebound effect when the environment is abused.
Therefore … I say, 'no, it is not a green encyclical, it is a
social encyclical'. Because we cannot separate care for the
environment from the social context, the social life of mankind.
Furthermore, care for the environment is a social attitude”.
“It seemed to me to be a very
fruitful idea to invite the mayors cities both large and not so
large, because one of the things that is most evident when the
environment, Creation, is not cared for, is the unfettered growth of
cities. It is a worldwide phenomenon … cities become larger but
with growing bands of poverty and misery, where the people suffer the
effects of environmental neglect. In this respect, the phenomenon of
migration is involved. Why do people come to large cities, to the
outskirts of large cities, to the slums, shanty towns and favelas? …
It is simply because the rural world does not offer them
opportunities. And one issue mentioned in the Encyclical ... is the
idolatry of technocracy. Technocracy leads to the loss of work, it
creates unemployment, which leads to migration and the need to seek
new horizons. The great number of unemployed is a warning. I do not
have the statistics to hand, but in some countries in Europe, youth
unemployment – effecting those aged 25 and younger – surpasses 40
per cent and in some cases even 50 per cent. … What prospects can
the future offer to today's unemployed youth? Addiction, boredom, not
knowing what to do with life – a life without meaning, which is
very tough – or indeed suicide. The statistics on youth suicide are
not fully published. Or indeed the search for other horizons, even in
guerrilla projects that present an ideal of life”.
“Health is also at stake”,
emphasised the Pope. “The increasing incidence of 'rare' diseases,
which often come from elements used to fertilise the fields, or …
from an excess of technification. One of the most important problems
relates to oxygen and water. That is, the desertification of large
areas as a result of deforestation. Here beside me is the cardinal
archbishop representing the Brazilian Amazon: he can tell us what
deforestation means today in the Amazon, one of the world's great
lungs. The Congo and the Amazon are the world's great lungs. … What
happens when all these phenomena of excessive technification, of
environmental neglect, as well as natural phenomena, affect
migration? It leads to unemployment and human trafficking. Illegal
work, without contracts, is increasingly common … and means that
people do not earn enough to live. This can give rise to criminal
behaviour and other problems typical of large cities as a result of
migration due to technification. I refer in particular to human
trafficking in the mining sector; slavery in mining remains a major
issue. Mining also involves the use of certain elements in the
purifying of minerals, such as arsenic and cyanide, causing diseases
in the population. In this we have a great responsibility. …
Everything has a rebound effect ... This can include human
trafficking for the purposes of slave labour or prostitution”.
“Finally, I would say that this
requires the involvement of the United Nations. I hope that the Paris
Summit in November will lead to a basic agreement. I have high hopes,
and believe that the United Nations must take a greater interest in
this phenomenon, especially human trafficking caused by environmental
issues, and the exploitation of people. A couple of months ago I
received in audience a delegation of women from the United Nations,
who were occupied with the issue of the sexual exploitation of
children in countries at war. … Wars are another element
contributing to environmental imbalance”.
“I wish to end with a reflection that
is not mine, but is instead from the theologian and philosopher
Romano Guardini”, Francis said. “He speaks about two forms of
ignorance: the ignorance that God gives us to be transformed into
culture, giving us the mandate to care for, nurture and dominate the
earth; and the second form of ignorance, when man does not respect
this relationship with the earth, and does not look after it. .. When
he does not care for Creation, man falls prey to this second type of
ignorance and starts to abuse it. … Atomic energy is good and can
be helpful, but up to a certain point – think of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. Disaster and destruction can be caused. It is the second
form of ignorance that destroys humanity. A medieval rabbi, from
around the time of St. Thomas Aquinas … explained the problem of
the tower of Babel to his faithful in the synagogue, and said that in
order to build the tower a good deal of time and work was needed,
especially in making the bricks. … Each brick was worth a lot. …
When a brick fell it was a very serious matter and the culprit who
neglected it and let it fall was punished. However, when a worker who
was building the tower fell, nothing happened. This is the problem of
the second form of ignorance, of the man as the creator of ignorance
and not of culture. Man as the creator of ignorance because he does
not care for the environment”.
“And so, why did the Pontifical
Academy of Sciences convoke mayors and city governors? Because are
aware of how to carry out this important and profound work, from the
centre to the periphery, and from the periphery to the centre. They
are aware of the reality of humanity. The Holy See may make a good
speech before the United Nations, but if the work does not come from
the periphery to the centre, it will have no effect; hence the
responsibility of mayors and city governors. I therefore thank you
for bringing clarification of the condition of many peripheries
gravely affected by these problems, which you have to govern and
resolve. I thank you and I ask the Lord to grant us the grace of
being aware of the problem of the destruction that we ourselves have
wrought by failing to care for human ecology, … so we might
transform ignorance into culture, and not the contrary”.