US:THE POPE has claimed that unilateral military actions by individual countries are undermining the common purpose of the United Nations and weakening the consensus needed to confront global problems.
Addressing the UN General Assembly in New York yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI avoided mentioning any country by name but some diplomats interpreted his remarks as criticism of the United States.
He said that while every state has the right to protect itself, such a right comes with responsibilities.
"What is needed is a deeper search for ways of pre-empting and managing conflicts by exploring every possible diplomatic avenue, and giving attention and encouragement to even the faintest sign of dialogue or desire for reconciliation," he said.
The pope defended multilateral interventions to safeguard human rights, however, if national governments failed to fulfil their obligation to protect their citizens.
"The international community must intervene with the juridical means provided in the UN charter and other international instruments," he said, adding that such intervention should not be construed as an unwarranted invasion of sovereignty.
"The promotion of human rights remains the most effective strategy for eliminating inequalities between countries and social groups, and for increasing security," he said.
The pope said that human rights were based on "the natural law inscribed on human heart" rather than political constructs that can change with political times.
"When presented purely in terms of legality, rights risk becoming weak propositions divorced from the ethical and rational dimension which is their foundation and their goal."
He raised questions about scientific and technological advances, notably in genetic engineering, noting that progress has perils as well as benefits.
"Notwithstanding the enormous benefits humanity can gain, some instances of this represents a clear violation of the order of creation, to the point where not only is the sacred character of life contradicted, but the human person and the family are robbed of their natural identity," he said.
UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon introduced the pontiff, noting that many of those gathered to hear him do not share Benedict's Catholic faith.
"Whether we worship one God, many or not, we at the United Nations have to strengthen our faith every day," Mr Ban said.
Later yesterday, the pope was due to meet Jewish clergy at the Park East Synagogue, a historic Orthodox congregation founded by Austro-Hungarian Jews in 1890 and currently led by a Holocaust survivor. Before he left Washington for New York, the pope held an unprecedented meeting with victims of clerical sex abuse from the Boston area. The pope, who had requested the meeting, prayed and spoke with the victims for about 25 minutes.
He is expected to address the child sex abuse scandal again today when he celebrates Mass at St Patrick's Cathedral in New York.
