It is customary for the Pope to meet with ambassadors accredited to the Holy See in January. It's a meeting in which the Pope outlines his geopolitical priorities for the new year.
Pope Francis began his address by speaking about the pandemic and Covid-19 vaccines.
He spoke in favor of vaccination, saying that caring for our health and the health of others is a moral obligation.
POPE FRANCIS
Health care is a moral obligation.
It is appropriate that institutions such as the World Trade Organization and the World Intellectual Property Organization adapt their legal instruments so that monopolistic rules do not create more obstacles to production and to an organized and consistent access to healthcare on a global level.
He spent a lot of time on the migration crisis, calling for solidarity and denouncing the use of migrants as political weapons.
POPE FRANCIS
Unfortunately, we must also note that migrants are themselves often turned into a weapon of political blackmail, becoming a sort of “bargaining commodity” that deprives them of their dignity.
The Pope also expressed concern for rising polarization within society, which he described as the “cancel culture.”
POPE FRANCIS
Under the guise of defending diversity, it ends up canceling all sense of identity, with the risk of silencing positions that defend a respectful and balanced understanding of various sensibilities. This is developing a kind of “one-track,” dangerous thinking, one constrained to deny history or, worse yet, to rewrite it in terms of present-day categories.
He then explained that there are permanent values which are valid in every circumstance.
POPE FRANCIS
We should never forget the existence of permanent values.
Those fundamental values transcend consensus. I would like to mention in particular the right to life, from conception to its natural end, and the right to religious freedom.
Lastly, the Pope spoke out against indifference toward ongoing wars, like those in Syria and Yemen. He also mentioned other critical situations, including those in Lebanon, Israel, Palestine and Ukraine.
POPE FRANCIS
Those who possess weapons will eventually use them, because, as St. Paul VI said, “A person cannot love with offensive weapons in his hands.”
Pope Francis also talked about the climate challenge; the crisis of abuse within the Church; and the fight against poverty.
The Holy See holds diplomatic relations with 183 countries, more than most states.
JRB
TR: CT
