In the meeting with the diplomatic corps, Francis condemned the executions in Iran and asked that the dignity of women be respected. He also called for peace for Myanmar, Jerusalem and the South Caucasus, and for the concord agreement on the Korean peninsula not to be broken. “That the provisional agreement with Beijing can be developed in favor of the life of the Church in China.”
Vatican City () – “The weakening, in many parts of the world, of democracy and the possibility of freedom that it allows, even with all the limits of a human system, is worrying,” Pope Francis said this morning, receiving the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See in the Hall of Blessings on the occasion of the traditional meeting at the beginning of the year.He accompanied these words with an extensive review of the wounds of today’s world in which – among the examples of disrespect to life – spoke about the practice of the death penalty “as is happening these days in Iran, after the recent demonstrations calling for greater respect for the dignity of women.” On Saturday, January 7, Tehran executed Mohammad Mahdi Karami and Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini, bringing to four the number of young people sentenced to death for acts related to the wave of protests.
The common thread of Pope Francis’ speech was the reference to the 60th anniversary of Pacem in Terris, the encyclical in which John XXIII pointed out truth, justice, solidarity and freedom as the four essential pillars to truly build peace. The pontiff recalled the Cuban missile crisis of those years and again referred to the conflict in Ukraine as the “third world war of a globalized world”, whose consequences “affect large regions, even outside Europe, due to its repercussions on the energy field and in food production”.
He made it clear that the nuclear threat is still being used today “plunging the world into fear and anguish. I must reiterate in this venue that the possession of atomic weapons is immoral because under the threat of nuclear weapons we are all losers. In this sense, he expressed his concern about the stagnation of the negotiations regarding the Agreement on the Iranian nuclear program, and asked that they be resumed as soon as possible.
For the Pope, “the current conflict in Ukraine has made the crisis that has affected the multilateral system for a long time more evident.” Today he – he added – “is not about building blocks of alliances, but about creating opportunities for everyone to dialogue.” But what makes all this more difficult are “the attempts to impose a single thought, which prevents dialogue and marginalizes those who think differently. There is a risk of a drift, which increasingly assumes the face of ideological totalitarianism, which promotes intolerance towards those who do not adhere to supposed positions of “progress”, which in reality seem to lead rather to a general setback of humanity. by violating freedom of thought and conscience”.
In this sense, Francis recalled that “peace demands that life be defended above all, a good that today is endangered not only by conflicts, hunger and disease, but too often even from the womb, affirming a presumed “right to abortion”. No one can arrogate the right over the life of another human being, especially if he is unprotected and therefore deprived of any possibility of defense.
When reviewing the open wounds of the world today, Pope Francis underlined in his long speech several that affect the Middle East and Asia. On Syria, he said that “the revival of the country must go through the necessary reforms, including constitutional ones, in an attempt to give hope to the Syrian people, afflicted by increasing poverty, avoiding that the international sanctions imposed have repercussions on the daily life of a population that has already suffered too much”. The pontiff stigmatized the increase in violence between Palestinians and Israelis, and asked that Jerusalem “can find again that vocation of being a place and symbol of peaceful coexistence and encounter” and that “the authorities of the State of Israel and the State of Palestine can rediscover the courage and determination to speak directly”.
In the southern Caucasus – where the blockade of the Lachin corridor reignited the confrontation between Azerbaijan and Armenia – the Pope invited the parties to “respect the ceasefire”, and called for the release of military and civilian prisoners, which It would be “an important step in the direction of the desired peace agreement.” In Yemen, on the other hand, the truce has been in force since October “but many civilians continue to die from land mines.”
The Pope then returned to express his concern about the conflict in Myanmar, which has been going on for two years. “I invite the international community – he said – to work to concretize the reconciliation processes and I urge all parties involved to resume the path of dialogue to restore hope to the population of that beloved land.” And also in view of the renewed tensions between the two Koreas, he asked that “goodwill and commitment to harmony not be lacking, in order to build the much-desired peace and prosperity for all the Korean people.”
Among the diplomatic initiatives of the Holy See in the last year, the pontiff mentioned the renewal of the provisional agreement on the appointment of bishops that was stipulated with the People’s Republic of China in Beijing in 2018. “I hope that this collaborative relationship – he commented – can develop in favor of the life of the Catholic Church and the good of the Chinese people”. In the speech, however, he recalled that “peace also requires universal recognition of religious freedom. It is worrying that there are people persecuted just because they publicly profess their faith and that in many countries religious freedom is limited. Approximately one third of the world’s population lives in this condition.”
