Think of people, not capital: Pope

Dubai - The Pope said he was impressed how the desert bloomed and he carried that inspiration on his return to Vatican.

Coming on the heels of his recent historic visit to the UAE, Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, has called on the governments of the world to forge international solidarity and bloom like the UAE desert.
Pope Francis addressed various heads of states, including His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, high-ranking officials, leaders of the business industry and civil society in a four-minute video at the World Government Summit (WGS) in Dubai on Sunday.
The Pope started his message by saying: "Dear friends, Al Salam Alaikum! I carry in my heart the visit I just made to the UAE and the warm welcome I received," the Pope said in Italian.
He continued: "I encountered a modern country looking to the future without forgetting its roots. I saw a country seeking to transform into concrete initiatives the words tolerance, fraternity mutual respect and freedom."
The Pope said he was impressed how the desert bloomed and he carried that inspiration on his return to Vatican with a fervent hope "that many deserts in the world can bloom like this (UAE).
"I believe it is possible (to bloom like the UAE desert) but only if we grow together, alongside one another with openness and respect, willing to take on everyone's problems which are the problems of each person in the global community, he added.
He then made a more pointed remark and asked the government leaders not to oblige in political or economic expediency.
"It is my sincere hope that the question underlying your reflections will not only be what are the best opportunities to take advantage of? But what kind of world do we want to build together?," Pope Francis underlined. "This questions leads us to think of people and persons rather than capital and economic interests.
"It is a question that does not look to tomorrow, but further into the future to the responsibility weighing upon us handing on this world of ours to those who will come after us," he added.
True to his name, which he took after St. Francis of Assisi, known as the patron saint for ecologists, Pope Francis also called for preservation and protection of the environment. He also took a leaf from his second encyclical entitled Laudato si (on the subject of "On care for our common home") when he said: "We cannot really speak of sustainable development without solidarity."
Towards the end of his speech made a rhetorical statement: "We could even say that the good, if it is not the common good, is not actually good.
"Perhaps more than ever thinking and acting require a true dialogue with others because without others there is no future for me (and you)," he advised.
angel@khaleejtimes.com

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