Pope Francis is urging world leaders not to go down the path of nationalism and isolation following the Covid-19 pandemic. In a speech to the United Nations, Pope Francis warned against ideologies which place power before people.
The 83-year-old Roman Pontiff told the UN general assembly that the Coronavirus pandemic was forcing the world to make a choice.
“One path leads to the consolidation of multilateralism as the expression of a renewed sense of global co-responsibility, a solidarity grounded in justice and the attainment of peace and unity within the human family, which is God’s plan for our world,” Francis explained in a televised address broadcast today.
“The other path emphasizes self-sufficiency, nationalism, protectionism, individualism and isolation; it excludes the poor, the vulnerable and those dwelling on the peripheries of life.”
He added: “That path would certainly be detrimental to the whole community, causing self-inflicted wounds on everyone. It must not prevail.”
The Pope called for a “change of direct-ion” as the UN marks its 75th anniversary, and faces huge pressures to the rules-based, international consensus which emerged following the Second World War.
Throughout his pontificate, Francis has become a counter-weight against the rise of nationalist populism sweeping across parts of Europe, arguing that it “is evil and ends badly, as we have seen in the past century.”