Pope says world's future depends on ethical solutions to poverty, war

By John Thavis
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Saying the future of the world was at stake, Pope Benedict XVI called for major new efforts to reduce global poverty, end regional conflicts and restore ethics to global financial systems.

In an annual address to the diplomatic corps at the Vatican Jan. 8, the pope also appealed on behalf of Christian minorities in places like Iraq and India, urging governments to respond firmly to a recent increase in anti-Christian violence and discrimination.

After delivering his speech in the ornate Sala Regia, the 81-year-old pontiff greeted the diplomats one by one and posed for group photos. Among the representatives was the U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, Mary Ann Glendon, who was leaving her post Jan. 19.

The pope's speech, sometimes called his "state of the world" address, reviewed developments on several continents, from the refugee crisis in central Africa to the recent military offensive in the Gaza Strip. The pope decried terrorist attacks that have "sown death and destruction" in countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Algeria, but also found hopeful signs in places like the Philippines, where the government and rebels have opened new negotiations.

Taking up the theme of his recent World Peace Day message, he told the diplomats that "to build peace we must give new hope to the poor." In the current "sensitive phase of the history of humanity," he said, moral and ethical principles are crucial to improving the condition of millions of people living in precarious situations.  read it all