Nations must promote humane economy, fight fundamentalism, Pope tells new ambassadors

May 18, 2017

Speaking on May 18 to a group of new ambassadors to the Holy See, Pope Francis said that government leaders should build a more humane economic system, fight against fundamentalist approaches to religious faith, and resolve conflicts by dialogue rather than the use of force.

In greeting ambassadors from Kazakhstan, Mauritania, Nepal, Niger, Sudan, and Trinidad and Tobago, the Holy Father said that national leaders should work to “isolate those who foment religious fundamentalism.” He also suggested: “Men and women, not money, must once more become the goal of the economy.”

The Pope remarked to the new ambassadors that the international scene today is “marked by great complexity, nor is it free of dark clouds.” He said:

We also see a greater readiness to have recourse to force, not as a last resort but practically as one means among many, ready to be used without a full consideration of its consequences. Yet another factor exacerbating conflicts is fundamentalism, the abuse of religion to justify a thirst for power, the manipulation of God’s holy name to advance by any means possible one’s own plans to gain power.

As he accepted the diplomatic credentials of the new envoy the Pope sent his greetings to the Catholics of their respective countries.

 

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Further information:

• Pope: peace built in dialogue, putting man at the center of the economy and isolating fundamentalists (AsiaNews)
• Credential Letters of the Ambassadors of Mauritania, Nepal, Trinidad and Tobago, Sudan, Kazakhstan and Niger at the Holy See (Vatican press office)