Pope Benedict's Address to the United Nations

What's Happening Today: Friday, April 18
10:00 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. - Address to the United Nations
NOTE: This post will be updated as more information becomes available on this topic.

During his scheduled three-hour visit to UN Headquarters, the Pope will also meet with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim and Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo of South Africa, which holds the rotating Security Council presidency this month. The visit will fall on the first anniversary of Mr. Ban’s visit to the Vatican, when the Secretary-General then invited the Pope to come to the UN. It is the fourth papal visit to the UN, following those of Paul VI in 1965 and John Paul II in 1979 and 1995.

Pope Benedict XVI's Address to the U.N. General Assembly (USCCB Papal Visit blog):

The Holy Father began his address in French before switching to English. He noted that the founding principles of the United Nations – the desire for peace, a sense of justice, respect for the dignity of the human person, and cooperation and humanitarian assistance — are just aspirations of the human spirit. The Holy See shares an interest in these principles.

Questions of security, development, reducing inequality, and care of the environment require collective action in good faith for the common good. While scientific and technological advances can be of great help, some can rob the human person and the family of their identity. He called on the international community to act with juridical means when needed to safeguard human rights.

The Holy Father spoke of the critical importance of protecting human rights, noting the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Promoting human rights is the most effective strategy for reducing inequality and increasing security. Human rights are not simply a matter of law, but of justice, based in the natural law written on the human heart.

Once again, the Holy Father spoke of the importance of dialogue between religions as a way of building consensus in service of the common good. He emphasized the importance of freedom of religion in its public as well as its private dimension.

Pope Benedict said that the Catholic Church wishes to offer her proper contribution to international relations, making available her centuries of experience. He concluded his address by greeting the assembly in all the official languages of the United Nations, wishing them peace and prosperity with God’s help.

The assembly responded to his address with a standing ovation.

Courtesy of the New York Times: The text of Pope Benedict XVI’s address to the United Nations General Assembly on April 18, "as supplied by the Vatican and checked against delivery. The remarks were delivered partly in French and partly in English."

Coverage & Commentary

• Carl Olson provides a helpful list of supplementary essays (mostly by the great Fr. James V. Schall), expanding upon the Pope's discussion of human rights grounded in natural law, "valid at all times and for all peoples" in his U.N. address.
• "The pope's impassioned speech on global warming ... that wasn't", by Thomas Peters (American Papist):

  British tabloids and other less-than-reputable news organizations claimed last year, early in the papal visit planning process, that Pope Benedict would use his speech at the United Nations to "deliver a powerful warning over climate change." Now that the speech has been delivered and made available, I went looking for the pope's "centrepiece" to complete the Vatican's "environmental blitz" making it a "moral cause for the Catholic Church." ...

Pope Benedict on the "objectives" of his U.S. visit

On board the plane, Pope Benedict XVI succinctly outlined the objectives of his visit to the United States -- his celebration of the Bicentennial of the Catholic Church in America and the chosen topic for his address to the United Nations:

My trip has basically two objectives. The first is a visit to the church in America, in the United States, and naturally also the entire country. There’s a particular motive, which is that 200 years ago the Archdiocese of Baltimore was elevated as a metropolitan archdiocese, and at the same moment two or three other dioceses were created … Philadelphia, Boston, Louisville. It’s a great jubilee for the church in the United States. It’s a moment of reflection on the past, but also on the future, on how to respond to the great challenges of our time that will present themselves in the future.

Naturally, the inter-religious and ecumenical encounters are an important part of this trip, as is the encounter in the synagogue with our Jewish friends on the vigil of their Passover festival. That’s the religious and pastoral aspect … the church in the United States in this moment of our history, and the encounter with all the others in this common humanity which leads to a common sense of responsibility.

At this point, I want to thank President Bush who is coming to the airport and has devoted considerable time to our meeting, and who is also receiving me on the occasion of my birthday. The second objective is the visit to the United Nations, and also here there’s a particular motive. This is the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It’s an expression of the founding philosophy of the United Nations and the human and spiritual basis upon which it’s constructed. Thus it’s a moment of reflection and to refresh awareness of this important moment in history, that in this declaration of human rights diverse cultures came together. There’s an anthropology that recognizes the human being as a subject of rights prior to all institutions, with a value that must be respected by everyone. This trip, given a moment of a crisis of values, gives us the opportunity to build upon what was begun in this moment and to exploit it for the future.

[Photo Credit: REUTERS/Jim Young (UNITED STATES)]

Twenty Minutes?

United Nations will permit the Pope to speak for twenty minutes, reports Washington Post's PopeWatch:

The pope will address a gathering of diplomats at the U.N. General Assembly for 20 minutes on April 18, from 11:30 a.m. to 11:50 p.m. He will then meet with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon and about 30 to 40 other senior U.N. officials in the Indonesian Lounge, near the General Assembly, the official said. They will set up a reception line for the Pope and officials will line up to greet him. Then he will return to the General Assembly Hall to address U.N. staff members at about 12:30. The secretary-general will deliver opening remarks. The second session, including Ban's remarks, will last 20 minutes.

Even so, PopeWatch remind us "that's about double what world leaders usually get when they speak at the U.N.'s annual debates."

We'll be eagerly hanging on to every word.

Cardinal Egan on Benedict's address to UN, visit to Ground Zero

This past week, New York 1's Roma Torre interviewed Cardinal Edward Egan on the Pope's impending visit, where he spoke of the Holy Father's intentions for speaking to the UN and his request to visit to the site of the former World Trade Center:

The pope's trip to New York was prompted by an invitation from United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. Benedict will arrive in New York on April 18 to address the U.N., where he is expected to discuss among other things, the War in Iraq.

"And if that's the Holy Father's intention, which I suspect it is, to speak in favor of peace, then I would have to say it is worth the trip," said Egan.

On the morning of April 20th, the pope, by his own request, will make a visit to the World Trade Center Site.

"I was delighted, but a little taken back," said Egan. "I didn't think that he would do that, but this is not my idea, nor is it my good friend Mayor Michael Bloomberg's idea. This was his request."

The Holy Father will descend the ramp to a shallow pool of water, where there will be a candle. He will be greeted by both the governor of New York and New Jersey, along with Bloomberg, firefighters, police officers and emergency workers.

"We will have representatives of families who have lost loved ones and we will also have representatives of people who were injured as a result," he said. "They will be waiting for him down in Ground Zero when he comes down this ramp."