Here's the first half of an article I appreciated... you can find the rest of it here
Pope urges African leaders to help needy citizens
LUANDA (Reuters) – Pope Benedict, at the end of his first trip to Africa as pontiff, urged the leaders of a continent afflicted by poverty and corruption to put the interests of their people first.
Standing beside Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, long-serving leader of one of Africa's richest countries, the pope said: "Our hearts cannot find peace while there are still brothers and sisters who suffer from lack of food, work, shelter or other fundamental goods.
"If I may be permitted to make one last appeal. I would ask that the just realization of the fundamental aspirations of the most needy peoples should be the principal concern of those in public office," he said.
"Since their intention, I am sure, is to carry out the mission they have received not for themselves but for the sake of the common good," he added, before boarding an Alitalia jet back to Rome.
The need to end corruption and share the wealth has been a recurring theme in the pope's trip to Africa, which started last Tuesday in Cameroon and climaxed on Sunday with an open-air mass in the Angolan capital Luanda attended by a million people.
Many African countries, like Angola and Cameroon, are rich in natural resources but the majority of the population lives in poverty. Critics say senior officials use these resources to enrich themselves.
But the pope said the revenues obtained by the sale of these resources should be used to improve the lives of the people instead.
"The first challenge to be overcome is that of building solidarity between generations ... which should lead to an ever more equitable sharing of earth's resources among people."
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I am very frustrated with the leaders of Congo- it was even difficult for me to feel sympathy for or mourn in anyway the death of the daughter of the pres. I could go on (and with more emotion), but it probably isn't helpful...righteous anger? I hope so. I also hope that somehow someone (the Pope?) can encourage/force the needed changes in attitude.
1 comment:
Thanks for sharing. I'm curious what you think he means by the last part you quoted, though--the generational solidarity. Is he just saying that the older generation needs to care for the environment for the sake of the younger? Or that the younger is often less responsible and further from the the healthy-earth-dependence of their subsistence/hunter-gatherer ancestors? How did you read that?
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