URI AFFIRMS POPE FRANCIS FOR USHERING IN NEW ERA OF INTERFAITH COOPERATION AND GLOBAL CULTURE OF PEACE

URI AFFIRMS POPE FRANCIS FOR USHERING IN NEW ERA OF INTERFAITH COOPERATION AND GLOBAL CULTURE OF PEACE

Pope Francis is welcomed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and receives flower bouquets from children of UN staff members at the start of his visit to UN Headquarters. UN Photo/Mark Garten.

United Nations, NY:  Pope Francis delivered a stirring address for the opening of the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit, in which he called on world leaders to "set aside partisan and ideological interests, and sincerely strive to serve the common good." 

Pope Francis emphasized that, "The ecological crisis, and the large-scale destruction of biodiversity, can threaten the very existence of the human species." He said that a "right of the environment" exists because human beings are part of our environment and because every living creature has an intrinsic value. He also highlighted the misuse of the environment as a cause of economic and social exclusion, "a complete denial of human fraternity and a grave offense against human rights" in today's "culture of waste."

The United Religions Initiative (URI), the world's largest grass-roots interfaith organization, working in 91 countries with over 600,000 members, is a Non-Governmental Organization at the United Nations. URI Executive Director Victor Kazanjian was present at the UN on September 24 for a religious leaders' meeting on the Moral Imperative to End Extreme Poverty to support the Sustainable Development Summit. URI strongly supports the Pope's call for peace and environmental protection: "War is the negation of all rights and a dramatic assault on the environment. If we want true integral human development for all, we must work tirelessly to avoid war between nations and between peoples."

Especially important to note today, the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, His Holiness strongly endorsed nuclear abolition. "An ethics and a law based on the threat of mutual destruction - and possibly the destruction of all mankind - are self-contradictory and an affront to the entire framework of the United Nations, which would end up as nations united by fear and distrust. There is urgent need to work for a world free of nuclear weapons, in full application of the Non-proliferation Treaty, in letter and spirit, with the goal of a complete prohibition of these weapons." URI is also a strong voice against nuclear weapons. URI President and Founder The Right Rev. William E. Swing works with Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons (one of URI's grassroots groups), and has spoken at the United Nations Headquarters on the topic, as well as popularized a "Prayer for Those Whose Hearts Carry the Weight of Nuclear Weapons."

We affirm Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's welcome to the Pope when he greeted the UN staff members: "Regardless of faith, we draw inspiration from your humility and humanity - and from your global call for action on social justice, climate change and ensuring a life of dignity for all."  The Secretary-General referred to the General Assembly hall, saying, "This chamber is sacred space." This reflects the URI's purpose in bringing diverse voices of faith from around the world to the United Nations where countries gather in the pursuit of peace and the common good and for sharing the agenda of the UN with our members.

Two specific UN Resolutions observed annually by URI members with programs and actions are the International Day of Peace (September 21) and World Interfaith Harmony Week (February 1-7).  URI looks forward to supporting the Sustainable Development Goals that were adopted today by the world's leaders at the United Nations following the Pope's address.  

We also applaud the organizers of the inspiring interfaith service at the site known to New Yorkers as "ground zero" since the tragic events of September 11, 2001. It was heartwarming to see the eyes of the world on this deeply moving gathering of faith and hope.

The healing of the wounds of September 11th combined with the UN's inauguration of the Sustainable Development Goals are signs that Pope Francis - a towering yet humble religious leader - is helping the world to usher in a new era of interfaith cooperation and a global culture of peace.

May peace prevail on Earth.

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