To combat terrorism, reject ‘unfettered pursuit of profit,’ Vatican envoy tells UN

February 13, 2017

Addressing a UN session on terrorist attacks on societal infrastructure, the Vatican’s representative called for international action to protect civilians from the deadly consequences.

Archbishop Bernardito Auza explained the problem posed by new terrorist strikes:

The intentional destruction of the infrastructure critical to the survival of these communities — such as schools, hospitals, water supplies and places of worship — has become a strategy to annihilate them collectively, immiserating and eradicating them by attacking the structures that give them a modicum of communal existence.

To combat such attacks, the Vatican envoy called for efforts to “heighten public awareness” and “public preparedness.” He went on to say that the most effective way to stop terrorist attacks would be to “reject the unfettered pursuit of profit and narrow geopolitical interests, even at the cost of the destruction of critical civil infrastructure.” He called to restriction on the production and sale of weapons to countries where terrorist activity is prevalent.

 

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Further information:

• Intervention of H.E. Archbishop Bernardito Auza (Holy See Mission)