Pope John Paul II has urged delegates to the World Summit on Sustainable Development to pursue environmentally and socially friendly development. In comments to tourists and the faithful at his summer residence southeast of Rome, the pope said God had put humans on Earth to be his administrators of the land, "to cultivate it and take care of it".
"In a world ever more interdependent, peace, justice and the safekeeping of creation cannot but be the fruit of a joint commitment of all in pursuing the common good," John Paul said. The 82-year-old pope appeared in fine form, speaking strongly and clearly and bantering in Polish with the crowd for a good 10 minutes in the middle of his prepared remarks.
He returned from a four-day visit to his beloved Poland on Monday, and off-the cuff comments were directed to a group of Polish pilgrims in the crowd, who delighted in the extra attention. He told them he would make a "spiritual" pilgrimage back to Poland tomorrow to celebrate a day of prayer at a popular shrine in the southern city of Czestochowa. At one point, when the crowd had trailed off in singing a favourite Polish religious song, John Paul stated it up again himself, tapping his hand in tune on the arm of his white chair.
The thrust of his comments, though, were directed to the WSSD, which opens tomorrow in Johannesburg, as a follow-up meeting to the Earth Summit held 10 years ago in Brazil. Few of the Earth Summit goals to curb global warming, species extinction and a host of environmental woes have been met - a point underscored by the pontiff in his message to the meeting.
"We hope that the numerous heads of state present, and the other participants, are able to find efficient ways for an integral human development, which takes into account the economic, social and environmental dimensions," the pontiff said. He said man's "ecological vocation" to care for the Earth has become "ever more urgent in our time".