On Friday, in his address to the UN, he said: "The
environment itself has rights, and mankind has no authority to abuse
them". Pope Francis hopes to spur concrete commitments at the
upcoming climate-change negotiations in Paris. He
demanded immediate access for the world's poor to adequate food, water
and housing, saying they have the right to lodging, labor and land. Francis'
speech, delivered in his native Spanish, received repeated rounds of
applause from an audience that included German Chancellor Angela Merkel,
Bill and Melinda Gates, and Nobel peace laureate Malala Yousefzai, the
young Pakistani activist shot and gravely wounded by the Taliban. The
ovations contrasted sharply with the moment of silent prayer during the
pope's visit later in the day to ground zero for an interfaith tribute
to the Sept. 11 victims. After
praying before the waterfall pools that mark the spot where the twin
towers once stood, Francis met with relatives of the 3,000 victims whose
names are inscribed on the waters' edge. Moving
into the underground memorial museum, he joined a rabbi, an imam and
other faith leaders to pray for peace, standing in front of the
floodwall that became a symbol of New York's resilience when it held
fast after the attacks.
Read source: http://news.yahoo.com/pope-francis-set-bring-message-world-leaders-un-051955450.html#
