All over the world we see a shocking accumulation of wealth with one percent of the world’s population controlling almost all financial flows. This is all done at the cost of two forms of injustice: social injustice for millions and millions of poor people, and ecological justice, with the exhaustion of natural assets and services, jeopardizing the sustainability of our common home that is Mother Earth. Faced with this dramatic situation, Pope Francis encouraged the formation of a group to study this contradiction, starting in Argentina and open to all continents.
The Padre Arrupe Observatory of Wealth for a new global financial and communication system was created. The initial group started in Argentina with notable figures such as Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Raúl Zaffaroni, and others. Now we invite people from all levels to support this initiative which will be accompanied personally by the Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis. Support can be made by writing to the following email: observatoriopadrearrupe@gmail.com
Leonardo Boff
Letter to Pope Francis to convene a universal assembly of churches, religions and spiritual paths for a new global ethical-spiritual order
Dear Pope Francis, our Elder Brother
Impelled by your pronouncements, especially in the encyclical Laudato Si’ on Care for our Common Home, by your impressive speech to the United Nations in 2015, and by the three messages and popular world movements, we are writing you this letter which contains a suggestion than has been worked on in many groups in all the continents. We think that it is a step forward and complements the documents referred to above.
We start from the statement, present in your encyclical, that the Earth system and the life system are facing major threats. As the Earth Charter says, “The choice is ours: form a global partnership to care for Earth and one another or risk the destruction of ourselves and the diversity of life” (Preamble).
Churches, religions and spiritual paths, particularly the Catholic Church, all carry spiritual and ethical messages. They have a fundamental responsibility to advance the conscience of mankind and the people’s political leaders in the sense of pledging efforts to guarantee a good future for life, for Mother Earth and for the future of our civilization.
We know, dear Pope Francis, Elder Brother, that you deeply share this concern with the spirit of hope in the power of the creativity of human beings and more than anything in the life force of the Creative Spirit, “sovereign lover of life” (Book of Knowledge 11, 26).
Because of all this, we dare to make a proposal to you because we think that you have attained a spiritual, moral, ecumenical and political authority to bring this process in the name of all of mankind, as you did before with the encyclical Laudato si’.
Our proposal is simple to request, and may the Spirit enlighten you, that you convene a Universal Assembly of Churches, Religions and Spiritual Paths to reconcile and explore issues that concern the future of our species and of the diversity of the life in the only Common Home we have.
We thus imagine the embodiment of your inspiration and enlightenment.
The general theme could be formulated like this:
A new ethical-spiritual order in the economy, politics, society and in the habits of each person.
- We think as a mere suggestion that certain topics are essential:
Spirituality as an anthropological process working in every human being; - Water as a natural, essential, common and irreplaceable asset;
- The sustainability of all beings, especially of nature and of life.
- Hunger in the world and the right to a healthy diet and enough for everyone;
- The rights of Mother Earth and of nature;
- The rights of the peoples and their sovereignty and the right to respect for their cultures and traditions;
- Individual and social human rights;
- Condemn all forms of war, especially pre-emptive wars, and put together peace proposals;
- The right to a full development of the conscience;
- The caring economy of assets common to Mother Earth and Mankind;
The urgency of a plural governance for planet Earth, to fulfil what was said in the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in the document Humanity and sustainable nature: our responsibility: “A fair redistribution of wealth is far from being unattainable when the technological and operational bases of sustainable development are already available or easy to access.”
These are just some suggestions.
Evidently each invited group will try to bring in their body of specialists and experts in these matters. Other people of knowledge and good faith, regardless of their religious or spiritual beliefs, should be invited.
Dear Pope Francis, it was with great reflection and prayer that this proposal came to us, one that you will surely value. We request that the Spirit enlighten you with its inspiration and lead this proposal to its urgent realization, especially for the sake of the most vulnerable. The invitation will be open and without an end date.
With our hopes and prayers, expressing our admiration and total support for your universal, humanitarian, valiant and evangelical initiatives.
Promoted by the Padre Arrupe Observatory of Wealth for a New Financial and Communication Order, Guillermo Robledo – coordinator.
Send support to observatoriopadrearrupe@gmail.com.
