Holy See, 2004

The Holy See is

honoured to take part in the general debate of the

General Assembly of the United Nations for the first

time since the Assembly adopted resolution 58/314 on

1 July 2004, which formalized and specified the rights

and prerogatives of its status as a Permanent Observer,

a status which the Holy See has enjoyed since 1964.

It is therefore my pleasant duty to express sincere

gratitude to all the Member States. In approving the

aforesaid resolution, they signalled once again the

particular bond of cooperation between the Apostolic

See and the United Nations, already underlined by

Pope John Paul II on his first visit to this Assembly

exactly 25 years ago. In this significant circumstance, I

am honoured to convey to you, Sir, and to all of you

gathered here to represent your noble countries, the

respectful and cordial greetings of Pope John Paul II. I

bring a special greeting to the Secretary-General of the

United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan, and also to his

worthy assistants. Their work, as recorded in the

annual report of the Secretary General (A/59/1) with

reference, above all, to conflict prevention and

peacekeeping in the world, deserves the appreciation

and gratitude of us all.

Several of the themes included in the agenda of

the General Assembly may be considered essential for

attaining the supreme objective of peace and for the

future of humanity. To quote only a few: the United

Nations and a new global human order; pursuit of the

Millennium Goals; total and general disarmament;

globalization and interdependence; international

migration and development; human rights; and human

cloning. I shall limit myself to a brief presentation of

the Holy See’s position regarding some of those issues.

Among the Millennium Goals, pride of place

goes to the theme of poverty and development. I say

pride of place, because it concerns the right to

subsistence of hundreds of millions of human beings,

surviving — as best they can — below the threshold of

what is necessary, as well as tens of millions of

undernourished children unjustly deprived of the right

to live.

In order to find a lasting solution to those

inhumane conditions, it is necessary to progress, under

the aegis of the United Nations, towards a more

flexible and more just international trade system.

Furthermore, financial structures are needed which

favour development and the cancellation of foreign

debt for the poorest countries. Likewise, the results of

scientific research and technology must be generously

shared, especially in the field of health.

On that matter I need say no more, since the Holy

See’s position has already been presented once again

by the Cardinal Secretary of State, at the conference on

hunger and poverty held in New York on

20 September. I repeat only this: the urgency of the

situation cannot tolerate delay. It is a question of

justice.

Of immediate relevance to the supreme good of

peace is the theme of total and general disarmament. If

it is true that the production and sale of arms to other

countries endangers peace, it follows that severe and

effective international controls are needed. The

commitment of the United Nations in that area is

attested to by the various conventions it has supported

with reference to weapons of mass destruction as well

as conventional weapons. But we are only at the

beginning of a long process, with huge economic

interests as obstacles along our path towards peace.

The problem of weapons of mass destruction is

clearly to be distinguished from that of conventional

weapons; but the latter have a terrible and unending

contemporary relevance in the numerous armed

conflicts that stain the world with blood, and also in

terrorism.

Regional armed conflicts are so numerous that

there is no time to list them all. However, there are

some that I cannot omit to mention. Above all there is

the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. That conflict is not

simply contained within the narrow territorial

boundaries of the region itself. Those directly involved

are the Israeli Government and the Palestinian

Authority, and they have the grave duty to demonstrate

their desire for peace. With this end in view, a road

map has been drawn up and formally accepted by both

parties; may they proceed along it with determination

and courage.

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But that conflict is also followed with intense

interest and often with passion by large sections of

humanity. The Catholic Church, present in Palestine

for 2,000 years, invites all concerned to turn their

backs on any action likely to destroy confidence and to

utter generous words of peace and make bold gestures

of peace. And if peace is the fruit of justice, let it not

be forgotten — as Pope John Paul II has reminded

us — that there can be no justice without forgiveness;

indeed, without mutual forgiveness.

Then there is the Iraqi conflict. The position of

the Holy See concerning the military action of 2002-

2003 is well known. Everyone can see that it did not

lead to a safer world either inside or outside Iraq. The

Holy See believes it is now imperative to support the

present Iraqi Government in its efforts to bring the

country to normality and to a political system that is

substantially democratic and in harmony with the

values of its historic traditions.

The Holy See is gravely concerned about various

African countries scarred by bloodshed arising from

mutual conflicts and even more from internal strife.

They need active international solidarity: more

specifically, and connaturally, the African Union needs

to intervene authoritatively so as to bring all legitimate

interested parties around a negotiating table. The

African Union has already demonstrated its ability to

act successfully in some cases: it deserves recognition

and support.

I have mentioned the theme of terrorism, an

aberrant phenomenon, utterly unworthy of man, which

has already assumed global dimensions: today no State

can presume to be safe from it. Hence, it seems

obvious that terrorists can be effectively challenged

only through a concerted, multilateral approach,

respecting the ius gentium, and not through a policy of

unilateralism. No one is in any doubt that the fight

against terrorism means, first and foremost,

neutralizing its active breeding grounds. But the

underlying causes are many and complex: political,

social, cultural, religious; for this reason, what is still

more important is long-term action, directed, with

foresight and patience, at its roots, designed to stop its

spreading further and to extinguish its deadly

contagious effects.

The Holy See, and the entire Catholic Church, is

actively involved in this work. It is involved through

its educational and charitable institutions, which,

wherever they are, are committed to raising the cultural

and social levels of the populations, without any

discrimination, especially on religious grounds; it is

involved through interreligious dialogue, which has

grown in intensity ever since the Second Vatican

Ecumenical Council. The Holy See will always be

grateful to the authorities of other religions that

demonstrate openness to such dialogue, and also to the

civil authorities that encourage it, without any political

interference, respecting the distinction between the

religious and the civil sphere and the fundamental

human right to freedom of religion.

The right to freedom of religion is sanctioned,

together with other fundamental rights, in the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by

the General Assembly of the United Nations on

10 December 1948. Such fundamental human rights

stand or fall together. And man stands or falls with

them.

For this reason, every effort has to be made to

defend them in all fields. For this to happen, one

particular danger must be avoided, which is found

today in various countries and social settings. It is the

idea that these fundamental human rights, as

sanctioned by the Universal Declaration, are

expressions of a particular culture and are therefore

highly relative. No, at heart, they are expressions of the

human being as such, even if the fact remains that, at

different times and in different cultures, they may have

been and may still be differently applied, in more or

less adequate and acceptable ways.

Among the fundamental rights, or rather foremost

among them, as the Universal Declaration explicitly

states, is the right to life of every individual. The Holy

See could say a great deal about the right to life of

every individual, because the essence of its message is

the gospel of life.

The question of human cloning comes under the

same broad heading. In a few weeks, this General

Assembly will resume its debate on human cloning. In

this respect, the Holy See is pleased to reaffirm its

commitment to support the advancement of medical

science, conducted always in a manner that respects

human dignity, because it offers healing and cures for

various diseases. With this end in view, the Holy See

reiterates its support for the procurement and use of

adult stem cells and believes that the way forward is to

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draw up and implement a clear convention that will

result in a comprehensive ban on human cloning.

“Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and

of the equal and inalienable rights of all members

of the human family is the foundation of freedom,

justice and peace in the world,”

So begins the preamble to the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights. It is one of the many undeniable merits

of the United Nations to have proposed to the

conscience of all humanity, more than 50 years ago,

these secure principles for progress towards peace.

Over the years, however, the United Nations has

needed to adapt its procedures to take account of

developments on the world political scene so that its

work for the promotion of peace can become more

effective. The first results of the high-level commission

set up for this purpose by Secretary-General Kofi

Annan were published last June. The Holy See will be

able to offer some explicit evaluation on the occasion

of the debate on the subject to be held next week.

For now, I should simply like to recall Pope John

Paul II’s words for this year’s International Day of

Peace. He reminded us that humanity today is in a new

and more difficult phase of its genuine development,

and he called for a greater degree of international

ordering. This could be brought about by giving

organizations like the United Nations special

prerogatives to facilitate action to prevent conflicts at

times of international crisis, and also, when absolutely

necessary, humanitarian intervention — that is, action

aimed at disarming the aggressor.

Yet, the greater degree of international ordering

could be achieved still more effectively if the United

Nations were to rise to the status of a moral centre,

where all nations of the world feel at home and

develop a shared awareness of being, as it were, a

family of nations.

Now and in the future, the United Nations can

count on the Holy See to be not only an attentive

Permanent Observer, but also a travelling companion,

ever ready to support its complex and difficult activity,

and also to collaborate in a spirit of freedom and

friendship with all the Member States.