{UAH} Pope Francis a superb world leader at the United Nations!

The Pope has very brilliantly shone at the UN much with his very great brilliant personality

as with his very great historical speech which was interrupted over twenty times with applauses

and standing ovations. From the time he arrived at the UN Building up to his exit the great pontiff

proved to be a very outstanding personality in full command of world events. Before his speech to

the General Assembly where 151 heads of state and government and 193 delegations had gathered

to listen to him, the Pope, accompanied by the UN Secretary General moved to many places within he

great building and was frantically cheered wherever he appeared. Many were the occasions for group photos

with UN dignitaries whose entire staff he addressed in a vast hall before addressing the UN. He also had private

talks with some of them like the Secretary General and the UN President General for the 70th Assembly.

when he was introduced in the vast UN Assembly Hall to deliver his speech he was given deafening cheers

mingled with ululation and applauses! He was indeed liked to an extra-terrestrial personality entering the hall.

After being eulogized by both the UN President and the Secretary General the Pope won the applauses of the noble

audience then eager to listen to him.

The Pope beginning his speech, in Spanish, paid tribute, on behalf of the Catholic Church, to the UN Secretary General

for having invited him to address the Assembly. He then greeted all heads of state, heads of government, diplomats, foreign

delegations, etc present in the Assembly. He reminded that it was the 5th time a Pope addressed the UN. and, like his predecessors,

he affirmed his attachment to the institution. He paid tribute to all those who have laboured for peace and reconciliation in the past

70 years of the institution's existence. Axing most of his speech on social justice and climate the Pope appealed to international organizations

to contribute much to permanent and lasting development in poor countries. He described justice as a condition to attain development .

He made it clear that nobody should consider himself a powerful person who stands above all others.

He considered environment as something we live in communion with and as something that stood for a fundamental good that couldn't

be suffocated which was something sinful. He attacked the spirit of egoism and qualified it as something that exploited all and excluded

the weak. He added that the world   was earnestly looking for measures to protect invironment.

He appealed to the institutions to act more efficiently against all calamities that finally bring about organized international crime, exploitation,

the oppression of the poor. He warned on the efficiency of political and economic action that in order to be correct had to put into account real

justice, in absence of which there would be injustice especially against the weak and the poor.

He outlined the need for education for all including females who often are denied the chance in some countries. He recommended family structure

as being the basic unit for ideal development that encompasses religious training, education, etc..

He touched on the ecological crisis which he described as something that could endanger human life.

He also demonstrated his regard for the respect of life at all and in all stages of human development that shouldn't be compromised in any case.

He condemned any ideological coloinization that brings about conflicts and proposed that environment should be shielded from the dangers of

war which destoy everything. Referring to the preamble of the UN act and stated that the proliferation of nuclear weapons contradicted very strongly with

the act. He encouraged the populations to aspire for a society without nuclear weapons. At this juncture he expressed his thankful appreiation to

the agreements on nuclear weapons now in full gear in the Middle East and in Asia and expressd his best wishes for their success.

He further spoke about the quasi-devastating interreligious conflicts in the Middle East and Africa and asked for action to put an end to them.

Equally, he reminded of the bloody conflicts in Libya, South sudan, the Great Lakes region, and appealed to the UN and other international organizations

to do all that was necessary for the minorities and to protect the populations. He also demanded measures against dirty money, arms trafficking, the exploitation of children, etc..

Having referred to a text by Pope Paul VI which stated that true peril comes from man who has the key to everything, the Pope pointed out that wisdom at superior level was a relevance to many things. He further observed that any future required action against exclusion, and that international laws should be

the surety for future action.

The Pope concluded by reiterating his full support for the UN and by assuring the institution of the prayers of the entire Roman Catholic community.

Throughout his speech the Pope was interrupted very many times by cheers, applauses from the audience ( a record in the organization's history )and at the end of this great speech the entire UN Assembly rose to give a very long standing ovation to the Pontiff. The ovation only came to an end when the UN Secretary General advised the Pope to take his seat. Eventually both leaders left the Assembly Hall and in one of the spots next door the Pope was entertained to short musical spectacle before he was engaged in a series of group pictures.

When he left theUN he was driven to the Memorial Grand Zero for an interreligious prayer service. The motorcade passed through streets packed by capacity crowds who for hours had waited to have a glimpse of the great Pontiff. And the Memorial Grand Zero was filled to full capacity by the people who wanted to see the Pope present for the occasion. The arrival was marked with great cheers of very deep emotion. The Pope was accompanied by the

Cardinal Archbishop of New York. The US Vice President was also around. Each of the various religious leaders was given a chance to recite a prayer

and the Pope asked for eternal peace for all those who perished in that fateful incident. And he requested the vast audience to pray in silence for peace.

And in a brief speech he requested that man frees himself from feelings of hatred and instead turns to reconciliation.

Later, passing through cheering streets with record crowds, the Pope visited a parish school in the Harlem district of NY. This is a special school catering for the poor of the migrant classes. Accompainied by the Cardinal Archbishop of NY he arrived at the school to deafening cheers. The kids sang for him. And he recited a Hail Mary with them. He was guided around the classroom by the Headmistress. He chatted with the pupils most of whom originated

from Latin America and Africa. The pupils showed him their computer experiment on environment. Impressive work! He also greeted the members of the board of governors. And lastly he was led to an assembly hall where he addressed parents, teachers, and several other people among whom some American League Football players who donated to him a jersey. Then there was a brief speech by the chairman of board who expressed gratefulness to the Pope for the visit. In reply the Pope thanked the whole assembly for their presence. He compared a school to a big family where everyone feels free. After giving his blessing the Pope was driven to Madison Square for Mass celebrated for justice and peace. Throughout the avenues he traversed countless thousands of people were present to give him a rousing welcome. As he entered Madison Square he was very madly cheered by the more than

20,000 faithful who had been very lucky to get a ticket to acceed the place which was packed to full capacity. The ceremony was touching and the Pope in his sermon delivered in Spanish continued to develop those themes now dear to him on family, etc.. At the end of Mass the Cardinal Archbishop of NY gave a very moving speech to thank the Pope for having accepted the invitation to visit NY. He was madly cheered in a very long standing ovation when he told the Pope that  the assembly in Madison Square was a family and they were all his kids and he was their beloved father.

The Pope presented to the Archbishop a chalice as a gift to the Archdiocese. Gave a final blessing in English and requested the crowds to pray for him.

With that the long hectic day for Pope Francis in New York ended!

 

Dr G.H. Kkolokolo  ( Paris / France )