'Good politics is at the service of peace', says Pope Francis

Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, established by Pope Francis, highlights pressing concerns that plague our world

The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development was established by Pope Francis on August 17, 2016. It was formed following the merger of four other Dicasteries - the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, and the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers.

A Dicastery is part of the Roman Curia and includes the administrative departments of the Holy See including the Secretariat of State, Congregations, Tribunals, Councils and other offices. The Roman Curia includes all the administrative institutions of the Holy See, which is recognised by international law as a sovereign entity headquartered in Vatican City.

The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development has been seen as the outcome of Pope Francis' reform of the Roman Curia to overhaul and streamline the central administration of the Catholic Church in the Vatican.

The current Dicastery includes the Commission for Charity, the Commission for Ecology and the Commission for Health Care Workers, each operating according to its norms. These institutions are also active in promoting specific causes or highlighting deficiencies around the globe. Last month, for instance, the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development released two documents on the issue of human trafficking and the care of its victims.

Human trafficking is modern slavery

Describing human trafficking as modern slavery, it called for international collaboration and mobilisation to go to the roots of the problem, which is economic exploitation.
According to the document released by the Dicastery, "The exploitation of others has perversely but quietly been accepted as a means to achieve one's own pleasure and gain."

It points out that increasingly competitive markets compel firms to cut labour costs and access raw materials at the lowest possible price. "Frequently, workers have no choice but to sign contracts with exploitative conditions," adds the document.

Considering the different areas in which victims of human trafficking work or operate -- including agriculture, domestic work, prostitution and so on, consumers who constitute a huge mass and seem largely "unaware of the exploitation of persons who are trafficked, continue to enjoy the benefits and services they provide".

It calls upon society to change and "people will need to simplify their needs, control their habits and rein in their appetites". The economic, social and cultural phenomena that are shaping modern societies need to be subjected to profound ethical assessment.

Vital to safeguard the dignity of humans

"It is vital to safeguard the dignity of the human person, in particular by offering everyone real opportunities for integral human development and by implementing economic policies that favour the family," added the document.

Indeed, Pope Francis has also been focusing on these issues in his speeches. In his message on the 52nd World Day of Peace on January 1 - Good politics is at the service of peace - he pointed out that politics also has its share of vices.

"Clearly, these vices detract from the credibility of political life overall, as well as the authority, decisions and actions of those engaged in it," said the Pope. "These vices, which undermine the ideal of an authentic democracy, bring disgrace to public life and threaten social harmony."

He said corruption is seen in different forms: the misappropriation of public resources, the exploitation of individuals, the denial of rights, the flouting of community rules, dishonest gain, the justification of power by force or the arbitrary appeal to raison d'état and the refusal to relinquish power.

"To which we can add xenophobia, racism, lack of concern for the natural environment, the plundering of natural resources for the sake of quick profit and contempt for those forced into exile," added the Pope.

The Dicastery, in fulfilling its mission and activities, also has the Commission for Charity, the Commission for Ecology and the Commission for Health Care Workers.

Promoting integral human development

While promoting integral human development, the Dicastery gives particular attention towards the "fringes of humanity." This basically refers to the condition of lives affected by marginalisation, abandonment, pain, deprivation, the loss of sense and hope.

The poor, ill, marginalised, itinerants, circus performers, the displaced, gypsies, prisoners, the lonely and people who live and work at sea or on the road are those who benefit from the initiatives of assistance, care and human, social and spiritual promotion, according to the Dicastery.

It has also been actively involved in various other activities. Late in 2018, in collaboration with the Embassies of France, Italy, Monaco and the US, the Holy See promoted an international conference on 'The management of common good: access to drinkable water for all,' at the Pontifical Urbaniana University.

Access to safe drinkable water: basic human right

"Access to safe drinkable water is a basic and universal human right," said the Pope.
The theme was considered from the point of view of international law, pollution, and implications in the healthcare field and for healthcare structures in developing countries.
For Pope Francis, human rights is one of the key elements in his talks. "Human rights must be at the centre of all policies, even when it means going against the grain," he had declared in December.

Serious injustices occur when fundamental rights are violated or when one privileges some to the detriment of others, or when they are guaranteed only to certain groups, he emphasised. These in turn fuel conflicts "with serious consequences within the nations or in their relations with each other."

He also invited the international community to make "a renewed commitment to the defence of human dignity, with special attention to the most vulnerable members of the community."

"I would like to encourage everyone to engage in constructive forms of communication that reject prejudice towards others and foster a culture of encounter, helping all of us to view the world around us with realism and trust." - Pope Francis, Message for the 51st World Communications Day

- nithin@khaleejtimes.com

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