The “seventy elder citizens” remain loyal, indeed very loyal to Pope Francis I. We are here at the Vatican to protest against the domination of the accountancy profession by only four firms. Our petition will come before the forthcoming United Nations General Assembly which is scheduled to hold in New York, United States of America from 16th September to 29th September 2014.
Pope Francis has been a most dependable ally notwithstanding the fact that the Vatican recently engaged the services of KPMG and McKinsey for some consultancy assignments. The Holy Father has assured us that there is plenty of work for other firms. We just have to pray and hope.
For now, the major pre-occupation of the Pontiff is the building of a robust relationship with China and reaching out to Islam (and indeed all other faiths).
Hence, in anticipation of the holy month of Ramadan, the Holy Father is sending out a peace and goodwill message to Muslems to join hands with their Christian brothers and sisters to combat poverty, greed and terrorism. Also, both christians and moslems should make special efforts to learn more about each other’s religion and faith.
Here is an extract from the draft message which was contributed by Basheer Segudawood:
“The distribution of Zakat and Charity is mandatorily (and authentically) performed during the month of Ramadan. Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam. The word Zakat carries a number of literary meanings of which “purified” can be taken as the essence. It also means increase and/or enlarge. This is because of the result – in the purification of the properties and assets from which it is given and that increases through God’s mighty blessings. The Almighty has commanded the payment of Zakat in order to prevent human beings from pride, arrogance and greed.
Charity (Zakat) given with an enthusiastic and generous heart helps to establish a bond of love, devotion and sincerity between the rich and the poor – and above all with our Creator.”
As confirmation of the doggedness and steadfastness of the Pope as well as his determination to get results before it is too late, Vatican Radio/TV as well as CNN, BBC, Reuters, Voice of America, CBC and Bloomberg carried the following report as “BREAKING NEWS”:
Headline: “REDISTRIBUTE WEALTH TO END ECONOMY
OF EXCLUSION” – Pope Francis
Pope Francis has called for a “legitimate redistribution” of wealth when meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, saying governments should work to end the “economy of exclusion” that plagues the poor and the middle class from rising up the economic ladder.
The pope made his comments while meeting with Ban Ki-moon and other United Nations agency heads meeting in Rome this week. He encouraged the United Nations to help the poor around the world by mobilizing a culture of generosity.
“I do not hesitate to state, as did my predecessors, that equitable economic and social progress can only be attained by joining scientific and technical abilities with an unfailing commitment to solidarity accompanied by a generous and disinterested spirit of gratuitousness at every level,” Francis said.
“A contribution to this equitable development will also be made both by international activity aimed at the integral human development of all the world’s peoples and by the legitimate redistribution of economic benefits by the state, as well as indispensable cooperation between the private sector and civil society,” the pontiff continued.
The Pope, who has often reiterated his desire to see the Catholic Church be “a poor Church [….] for the poor,” went on to argue that the only way to overcome poverty is to push forward and progress: “Much more needs to be achieved, since an important part of humanity does not share in the benefits of progress and is in fact relegated to the status of second-class citizens.”
The Pope said the best way for governments to move toward a more equal social structure for all is to resist the “economy of exclusion, the throwaway culture and the culture of death.”
Since becoming Pope in March 2013, Francis has often made media headlines for his focus on social injustices. Francis has also spoken more openly about scandal within the Church, marking a clear change in transparency between him and his predecessors. Shortly after his election, Francis asked reporters to “always try to better understand the true nature of the Church, and even its journey in the world, with its virtues and with its sins.”
Perhaps it was predictable that not everyone would be pleased with the Pope’s open and vigorously outspoken approach to social injustice, especially when discussing the global economy with the United Nations. First off the stumps was John Moody. He tackled the Holy Father directly:
“By appearing to sanction what amounts to forced redistribution, Pope Francis grievously exceeded his authority and became what amounts to a robe-wearing politician. He crossed the line when he stopped asking wealthy communities to voluntarily relieve economic inequality and instead suggested “forced redistribution” from entire governments.”
It may have been entirely co-incidental. The United Nations struck back at the Holy Father with an “IED” [Improvised Explosive Device] which has been given wide coverage by major newspapers – “The Telegraph”; “New York Times”; “Washington Post”; “Der Spiegel”; “El Mondo” etc.
Headline: “UNITED NATIONS WARNS VATICAN TO HANDOVER SEX ABUSE FILES TO POLICE”
“The United Nations anti-torture watchdog has ordered the Vatican to hand over files containing details of clerical sexual abuse allegations to police forces around the world amid concerns over the use of “diplomatic immunity” to hamper investigations.
Members of the UN Committee on Torture also warned the Holy See against effectively allowing suspected peadophiles to seek sanctuary in Rome, after calls for a former Papal ambassador to be extradited to his native Poland to face investigations.
In a highly critical report, published in Geneva, it questioned attempts by the Vatican to claim that its obligations under international law only apply within the tiny city state.
It ordered the Vatican to use its authority over the Roman Catholic Church worldwide to ensure that all allegations of clerical abuse are passed on to the secular authorities and impose “meaningful sanctions” on any Vatican officials who fail to do so.
And it voiced “regret” at a lack of openness by the Vatican about its co-operation with civil authorities in sexual abuse investigations.
The report comes after senior officials sought to distance the Vatican legally from the wider church, which has been rife with allegations of child abuse dating back decades, saying priests were not legally tied to the Vatican but fell under national jurisdictions.
But the committee insisted that officials of the Holy See – including the Pope’s representatives around the world and their aides have a responsibility to monitor the behaviour of all under their “effective control”.
It said it is up to the Vatican itself, rather than simply local dioceses, to ensure suspected abusers are suspended and, specifically, that they are not simply transferred. In making an explicit link between Rome and the wider church, the report is likely to aid victims attempting to bring legal action against the Vatican.
In contrast to a separate report by the UN’s Committee on the Rights of the Child, it praises efforts by Pope Francis to bring the perpetrators of historic abuse to justice, including reforms of the Vatican’s penal code and the establishment of what amounts to a ministry of child protection.
But among areas of concern, it singles out the case of Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, the former Papal Nuncio to the Dominican Republic who was recalled to Rome last year amid claims he sexually abused children in the slums of Santo Domingo.
The report points out that Poland has requested his extradition but the Vatican insists he is now under investigation there.
J.K Randle
