Pope Francis, at U.N., warns of 'boundless thirst for power' - latimes

Pope Francis brought his message of political inclusion, concern for those in flight from poverty and oppression and the need to protect the environment to the United Nations on Friday, becoming the fifth head of the Roman Catholic Church to address the world conclave.

Fresh from a visit to Washington, D.C., and a well-received address to a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday, the pope arrived at the United Nations where the flag of the Vatican flew outside for the first time. He praised the U.N. for its work in helping to fight for peace, but warned the world’s elite that there was much more to be done.

“All these achievements,” the pope said of the U.N.’s peacekeeping efforts, “are lights which help to dispel the darkness of the disorder caused by unrestrained ambitions and collective forms of selfishness. Certainly, many grave problems remain to be resolved, yet it is clear that, without all those interventions on the international level, mankind would not have been able to survive the unchecked use of its own possibilities.”

“The misuse and destruction of the environment are also accompanied by a relentless process of exclusion,” the pope said. “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 .... Economic and social exclusion is a complete denial of human fraternity and a grave offense against human rights and the environment.

“The poorest are those who suffer most from such offenses, for three serious reasons: they are cast off by society, forced to live off what is discarded and suffer unjustly from the consequences of the abuse of the environment. They are part of today’s widespread and quietly growing ‘culture of waste.’” - Read More at latimes

Pope Francis, at U.N., warns of 'boundless thirst for power'

In UN Speech, Pope Francis Blasts “Selfish and Boundless Thirst for Power and Material Prosperity” - More at theTRANSCRIPT