Pope Decries Destruction of Worship Centres in Nigeria

POPE FRANCIS DELIVERS SPEECH AT THE 70TH UN GENERAL ASSEMBLEY SESSION IN NEW YORK.

The leader of the 1.2 billion Catholics around the world, His Holiness, Pope Francis I, on Friday at his celebrated address at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, New York, USA decried the incessant cases of destruction of worship centres in Nigeria and the rest of Africa where Boko Haram and other terrorist groups continue to pound on Christian and Islamic worship centres.

He also took a swipe at capitalism, Corporations and their agents over the increasing spate of poverty, inequality and environmental degradation.

The Catholic Pontiff who arrived the UN headquarters at about 2.30pm Nigerian time spoke vehemently against the depraving forces of capitalism to humanity.

While commending the UN Secretary General, Mr Ban Ki-moon for the honour, Pope Francis said: "The need for greater equity is especially true in the case of those bodies with effective executive capability, such as the Security Council, the Financial Agencies and the groups or mechanisms specifically created to deal with economic crises. This will help limit every kind of abuse or usury, especially where developing countries are concerned.

“The International Financial Agencies should care for the sustainable development of countries and should ensure that they are not subjected to oppressive lending systems which, far from promoting progress, subject people to mechanisms which generate greater poverty, exclusion and dependence.”

He said the misuse and destruction of the environment are also accompanied by a relentless process of exclusion.

“In effect, a selfish and boundless thirst for power and material prosperity leads both to the misuse of available natural resources and to the exclusion of the weak and disadvantaged, either because they are differently abled (handicapped), or because they lack adequate information and technical expertise, or are incapable of decisive political action,” said the Pope.

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari who also attended the Pope's address is expected to hold several bilateral talks with nations interested in investing in Nigeria.

At a briefing at the Nigerian Mission House to the UN, officials informed journalists that the president would meet with the Chinese President Hu Xi Jinping and leaders from Jordan.

The talks with China will focus on economic investment and opportunities and specific interests of Chinese companies and infrastructure development of key sectors of the Nigerian economy.

The president is also expected to attend the South Sudan Security meeting aimed at formulating modalities for lasting peace solution.

The bilateral talks continue tomorrow as President Buhari is expected to meet with foreign investors and captain of industries.

World Leaders Adopt New Agenda for Global Sustainable Devt…
Also, world leaders, heads of global financial institutions and other dignitaries unanimously adopted a bold new global agenda to end poverty by 2030 and pursue a sustainable future for all the people of the world.

The historic adoption of the new Sustainable Development Agenda, with 17 global goals at its core, by the 193 Member States of the United Nations at the start of a three-day summit was met with a thunderous standing ovation from delegations that included many of the more than 150 world leaders who will be addressing the summit.

The long-awaited framework, tagged Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, consists of 17 goals and 169 targets to wipe out poverty, fight inequality and tackle climate over the next 15 years, aims to end poverty and build a life of dignity for all, leaving no one behind.

The epochal event, which was heralded as the biggest development stride as a follow-up to the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals in 2000, also saw the attendance and active participation of Buhari, alongside several other African leaders.

In his welcome remarks to declare the three-day summit open, UN Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon called for a narrowing of the gap between "the world we live in and the world we want".

Ban Ki-Moon also advocated for the poor peoples of the world to be primary decision makers at every stage. He said the people should be able to hold their governments accountable for their action in individual mechanisms, adding that inequality is largely the direct result of discrimination and gender imbalance.

Also addressing the General Assembly at the UN Headquarters, Pope Francis spoke at length on a variety of global issues and urged leaders to make decisions in the face of conflict and environmental mismanagement.

The MDGs grew out of the 1992 UN Conference on Environmental and Development better known as the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where the concept of sustainable development began to gain momentum.