In his new book, Pope Francis slammed the United Nations, saying it is more than clear that huge reforms are needed after the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war exposed the limits to the international organization.
The Pope stated that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February underscored the necessity for the current international organization, particularly the UN Security Council, to discover “more nimble and effective ways of settling conflicts.”
“In times of war, it is vital to emphasize that we need more multilateralism and better multilateralism,” he said, adding that the UN is no longer effective for new realities facing the world today.
The United Nations was formed after the disbandment of the League of Nations to prevent the atrocities of two World Wars from reoccurring.
But while the threat represented by previous conflicts remained, “today’s world is no longer the same,” according to Pope Francis.
“The necessity of these adjustments have become more than clear following the pandemic,” he noted, as the United Nations “showed all its limitations.”
The unequal distribution of vaccines, according to Pope Francis, is a “glaring illustration” of the world order of the stronger nations prevailing over solidarity.
Pope Calls for Organic Reforms
The 85-year-old pontiff argued for “organic reforms” that would allow the United Nations to regain its fundamental goal of “helping the human family,” and he stated that international institutions must be the outcome of the “widest possible consensus.”
The Pope also urged that the United Nations base its choices on food, health, economic, and social rights.
On Sunday, Pope Francis called the treatment of migrants coming into Europe “disgusting, immoral, and criminal.”
The pope’s remark came during the canonization of a bishop known as “the father of migrants” at the Vatican, just days after Italy elected a right-wing government based on migration concerns.
According to The Associated Press, the pope stated, “Indeed, the position of migrants is atrocious.”
“They are left to die in front of us, making the Mediterranean the world’s largest cemetery,” he added. “The immigration situation is revolting, sinful, and criminal.” Closing the doors to those in need is unholy. We exclude them and transport them to lager, where they are exploited and sold as slaves.”
Pope Francis, the son of Italian immigrants, has frequently addressed migration issues during his pontificate.
Crossing the Mediterranian Sea
According to The Associated Press, he explained how some migrants are killed while crossing the Mediterranean Sea or are returned to Libya and placed in centres he likened to Nazi concentration camps on Sunday.
“Do we accept them as brothers or exploit them?” During the ceremony, the Pope said
Giorgia Meloni, who appears to be on track to become Italy’s next prime minister, has called on the Navy to prevent migrant boats from North African coasts from entering.
Lega, an anti-immigrant party that received 9% of the vote in the previous national elections, is also part of Meloni’s center-right alliance.
Francis made the remarks on Sunday at the Vatican, bordered by Italy, when canonizing Giovanni Battista Scalabrini, a 19th-century bishop recognized for his work favouring migrant rights.
During the ceremony, the pope also canonized a 20th-century man who tended to the ill in Argentina.
According to the Associated Press, the pope reminded the thousands of attendees that the two people “remind us of the value of walking together.”
