VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 138
DATE 22-07-2015

Summary:
- In the meeting on climate change and modern slavery, the Pope warns against
the idolatry of technocracy
- Other Pontifical Acts

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 In the meeting on climate change and modern slavery, the Pope warns against
the
idolatry of technocracy
 Vatican City, 22 July 2015 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon Pope Francis greeted
the
participants in the meeting "Modern slavery and climate change: the commitment
of cities" and in the Symposium "Prosperity, people and planet: achieving
sustainable development in our cities ", held in the Vatican's Casina Pio IV by
the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, whose chancellor is Bishop Marcelo Sanchez
Sorondo. The events were attended by the mayors of major cities, local
administrators and various representatives of the United Nations.
 The Holy Father gave an impromptu address in which he reiterated that care for
the environment meant, above all, adopting an attitude of human ecology and
that
"Laudato si'" was not simply a "green" but also a social document. He also
considered the theme of the unfettered growth of cities due to the lack of work
for rural populations, and invited the mayors to collaborate with international
bodies in order to face the issues of exploitation and human trafficking caused
by migratory phenomena.
 "I offer you my sincere and heartfelt thanks for what you have done", said the
Pope to the participants in the symposium. "It is true that everything revolves
around ... this culture of care for the environment. But this 'green' culture -
and I say that in a positive sense - is much more than that. Caring for the
environment means an attitude of human ecology. In other words, we cannot say:
the person and Creation, the environment, are two separate entities. Ecology is
total, it is human. This is what I wanted to express in the Encyclical 'Laudato
si'': that you cannot separate humanity from the rest; there is a relationship
of mutual impact, and also the rebound effect when the environment is abused.
Therefore ... I say, 'no, it is not a green encyclical, it is a social
encyclical'. Because we cannot separate care for the environment from the
social
context, the social life of mankind. Furthermore, care for the environment is a
social attitude".
 "It seemed to me to be a very fruitful idea to invite the mayors cities both
large and not so large, because one of the things that is most evident when the
environment, Creation, is not cared for, is the unfettered growth of cities. It
is a worldwide phenomenon ... cities become larger but with growing bands of
poverty and misery, where the people suffer the effects of environmental
neglect. In this respect, the phenomenon of migration is involved. Why do
people
come to large cities, to the outskirts of large cities, to the slums, shanty
towns and favelas? ... It is simply because the rural world does not offer them
opportunities. And one issue mentioned in the Encyclical ... is the idolatry of
technocracy. Technocracy leads to the loss of work, it creates unemployment,
which leads to migration and the need to seek new horizons. The great number of
unemployed is a warning. I do not have the statistics to hand, but in some
countries in Europe, youth unemployment - effecting those aged 25 and younger -
surpasses 40 per cent and in some cases even 50 per cent. ... What prospects
can
the future offer to today's unemployed youth? Addiction, boredom, not knowing
what to do with life - a life without meaning, which is very tough - or indeed
suicide. The statistics on youth suicide are not fully published. Or indeed the
search for other horizons, even in guerrilla projects that present an ideal of
life".
 "Health is also at stake", emphasised the Pope. "The increasing incidence of
'rare' diseases, which often come from elements used to fertilise the fields,
or
... from an excess of technification. One of the most important problems
relates
to oxygen and water. That is, the desertification of large areas as a result of
deforestation. Here beside me is the cardinal archbishop representing the
Brazilian Amazon: he can tell us what deforestation means today in the Amazon,
one of the world's great lungs. The Congo and the Amazon are the world's great
lungs. ... What happens when all these phenomena of excessive technification,
of
environmental neglect, as well as natural phenomena, affect migration? It leads
to unemployment and human trafficking. Illegal work, without contracts, is
increasingly common ... and means that people do not earn enough to live. This
can
give rise to criminal behaviour and other problems typical of large cities as a
result of migration due to technification. I refer in particular to human
trafficking in the mining sector; slavery in mining remains a major issue.
Mining also involves the use of certain elements in the purifying of minerals,
such as arsenic and cyanide, causing diseases in the population. In this we
have
a great responsibility. ... Everything has a rebound effect ... This can
include
human trafficking for the purposes of slave labour or prostitution".
 "Finally, I would say that this requires the involvement of the United
Nations.
I hope that the Paris Summit in November will lead to a basic agreement. I have
high hopes, and believe that the United Nations must take a greater interest in
this phenomenon, especially human trafficking caused by environmental issues,
and the exploitation of people. A couple of months ago I received in audience a
delegation of women from the United Nations, who were occupied with the issue
of
the sexual exploitation of children in countries at war. ... Wars are another
element contributing to environmental imbalance".
 "I wish to end with a reflection that is not mine, but is instead from the
theologian and philosopher Romano Guardini", Francis said. "He speaks about two
forms of ignorance: the ignorance that God gives us to be transformed into
culture, giving us the mandate to care for, nurture and dominate the earth; and
the second form of ignorance, when man does not respect this relationship with
the earth, and does not look after it. .. When he does not care for Creation,
man falls prey to this second type of ignorance and starts to abuse it. ...
Atomic
energy is good and can be helpful, but up to a certain point - think of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Disaster and destruction can be caused. It is the
second
form of ignorance that destroys humanity. A medieval rabbi, from around the
time
of St. Thomas Aquinas ... explained the problem of the tower of Babel to his
faithful in the synagogue, and said that in order to build the tower a good
deal
of time and work was needed, especially in making the bricks. ... Each brick
was
worth a lot. ... When a brick fell it was a very serious matter and the culprit
who neglected it and let it fall was punished. However, when a worker who was
building the tower fell, nothing happened. This is the problem of the second
form of ignorance, of the man as the creator of ignorance and not of culture.
Man as the creator of ignorance because he does not care for the environment".
 "And so, why did the Pontifical Academy of Sciences convoke mayors and city
governors? Because are aware of how to carry out this important and profound
work, from the centre to the periphery, and from the periphery to the centre.
They are aware of the reality of humanity. The Holy See may make a good speech
before the United Nations, but if the work does not come from the periphery to
the centre, it will have no effect; hence the responsibility of mayors and city
governors. I therefore thank you for bringing clarification of the condition of
many peripheries gravely affected by these problems, which you have to govern
and resolve. I thank you and I ask the Lord to grant us the grace of being
aware
of the problem of the destruction that we ourselves have wrought by failing to
care for human ecology, ... so we might transform ignorance into culture, and
not
the contrary".

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 Other Pontifical Acts
 Vatican City, 22 July 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed Fr. Joseph
Kodakallil as eparchial bishop of Satna of the Syro-Malabars (area 45,188,
population 10,459,000, Catholics 220,000, priests 142, religious 276), India.
The bishop-elect was born in Upputhode, India in 19656 and ordained a priest in
1991. He holds a doctorate in liturgy form the Pontifical Oriental Institute,
and has served as parish priest, rector of the St Thomas Minor Seminary, Satna,
professor and vice-rector at St. Ephrem's Theological College, Satna, and
protosyncellus of the eparchy. He is currently parish priest of St. Vincent's
Cathedral.

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