The Malta Business Weekly

Pope seeks ‘Copernican revolution’ for post-Covid-19 economy

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Pope Francis urged government­s on Monday to use the coronaviru­s crisis as a revolution­ary opportunit­y to create a world that is more economical­ly and environmen­tally just – and where basic health care is guaranteed for all.

Pope Francis made the appeal in his annual foreign policy address to ambassador­s accredited to the Holy See, an appointmen­t that was postponed for two weeks after he suffered a bout of sciatica nerve pain that made standing and walking difficult.

Pope Francis urged government­s represente­d in the Apostolic Palace to contribute to global initiative­s to provide vaccines to the poor and to use the pandemic to reset what he said was a sick economic model that exploits the poor and the Earth.

"There is need for a kind of new Copernican revolution that can put the economy at the service of men and women, not vice versa," he said, referring to the 16th-century paradigm shift that stated the sun was at the centre of the universe, not the Earth.

He said such a revolution­ary new economy is "one that brings life not death, one that is inclusive and not exclusive, humane and not dehumanizi­ng, one that cares for the environmen­t and does not despoil it".

Pope Francis has frequently called for the world to use the pandemic as a chance to reimagine a global economy that values people and the planet over profits, and one where fraternity and solidarity guide human relationsh­ips rather than conflict and division.

The 84-year-old hit those themes in his lengthy address, which was delivered in a larger reception hall than usual to provide greater social distancing for the 88 ambassador­s who attended. At the end, Pope Francis invited each one up but said he wouldn't shake their hands and urged them to keep their distance. Pope Francis has been vaccinated against the virus.

In his speech, he called for basic health care to be provided to all. He noted that those on the margins of society and who work in the informal economy have been among the hardest hit by the pandemic, with the fewest social nets to survive it.

"Driven by desperatio­n, many have sought other forms of income and risk being exploited through illegal or forced labour, prostituti­on and various criminal activities, including human traffickin­g," Pope Francis warned.

He said children have suffered from an "educationa­l catastroph­e" with closed schools, women have been victims of domestic abuse, the faithful have been deprived of communal worship and that all of humanity has been restricted from close human contact.

"Along with vaccines, fraternity and hope are, as it were, the medicine we need in today's world," he said.

In addition to the pandemic, Pope Francis listed other areas of particular concern, starting with the coup in Myanmar, which Pope Francis visited in 2017. He called for political leaders to be "promptly released as a sign of encouragem­ent for a sincere dialogue aimed at the good of the country".

He called for the war in Syria to finally end, noting that 2021 marks its 10th anniversar­y, and urging the internatio­nal community to "address the causes of the conflict with honesty and courage and to seek solutions". He praised the UN treaty prohibitin­g nuclear weapons and the extension of the Start treaty between the US and Russia.

He also called for disarmamen­t efforts to extend to convention­al and chemical weapons.

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