Memorable address

The content of His Holiness Pope Francis’ speech at the UN General Assembly on Friday could not have taken anyone by surprise; after all, the Pope has already established a track record in support of socio-economic goals, and immigrants, protection of the environment and wealth sharing are actual issues of concern to humanity at large.

The speech came at the right time, as the international organisation is about to approve a set of ambitious sustainable development goals that focus not only on combating hunger and poverty, but also on the urgent need to make clean water and energy available to human beings across the globe by 2030.

The protection of the environment figured highly in the Pope’s address and what he said in this vein is most fitting and memorable.

Human beings, said the pontiff, are part of the environment and live in communion with it.

“Any harm done to the environment, therefore, is harm done to humanity. The ecological crisis, and the large-scale destruction of biodiversity, can threaten the very existence of the human species,” said Pope Francis on the eve of a UN conference intended to adopt 17 new goals for a more sustainable model of development as negotiaitons on a deal to address climate change enter the last stretch.

While demanding respect for the environment, the pontiff told the UN General Assembly that our surroundings should enjoy the same rights and protections humanity enjoys, warning against “a selfish and boundless thirst for power and material prosperity”.

“The ecological crisis, and the large-scale destruction of biodiversity, can threaten the very existence of the human species,” he also said, implying that the environment is not merely a necessary tool for human survival, but an element of the same creation and, therefore, having rights.

Ignoring the environment causes injustice as “the misuse and destruction of the environment are also accompanied by a relentless process of exclusion”, the Pope told the UN.

“A selfish and boundless thirst for power and material prosperity leads both to the misuse of available natural resources and to the exclusion of the weak and disadvantaged,” he said.

By drawing attention to the need to protect the environment, the pontiff might succeed where science and doomsday warnings failed.

He might spur humanity into action before it is too late, for, environment is not the pale of Catholics alone. Damage to it is bound to damage the entire humanity.