Dear Friends in Christ:
Below is an excerpt from a Catholic News Service report on Bishop Gregory's reflection at the recent Inter-Faith and Ecumenical Prayer Service on the occasion of the opening of the United Nations General Assembly.
In the face of widespread evidence of humanity’s dark side, speakers a prayer service Sept. 13 — on the eve of the opening of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly — identified unmistakable signs of hope.
Bishop Gregory J. Mansour of the Maronite Diocese of St. Maron of Brooklyn said there is a “great and edifying effort” by the United Nations to counter “totalitarian forms of government that trample the rights of the people they are called to serve.”
He also highlighted the “global work to alleviate human trafficking, assist refugees and people on the move, work on nuclear disarmament, combat climate change and so much more.”
The bishop referred to remarks made at the International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington this summer, which stressed that the right to religious freedom “is not conceded to us by any nation or by governments but is innate by virtue of being human.”
“Our relationship to God defines who we are as persons and must be understood and respected as even more important than our allegiance to any worldly power or government,” he told the congregation gathered at the Church of the Holy Family near U.N. headquarters.
The leader of a Maronite Catholic Diocese in New York said that greater protection of religious freedom is a buttress against attacks on the dignity of the human person by overreaching governments, groups and individuals.
He also urged the assembled ambassadors and diplomats to support Lebanon as an ongoing “inspiring sign of interreligious and political harmony.”
Although he said the ongoing pandemic is a deep concern he said it also serves as an invitation from a loving God to greater solidarity among people and has demonstrated the generosity of international humanitarian aid agencies and some developed nations.
Similarly inspiring, he said, is the growing resolve to use international cooperation to remedy human-caused harm to the Earth.
Bishop Mansour said Pope Francis’ recent visit to Iraq, where he met with Shiite and Sunni leaders, holds great promise for the future.
There is increasing respect for the dignity of the human person and his or her inalienable rights in the world today, the bishop said. More people work to honor the truth that human life in “all its stages is a sacred gift.”
“If we do not treat each person as an unrepeatable gift, we risk becoming transactional beings, simply a means to an end for governments or anyone else to use or exploit,” he said.
Religious leaders offer prayers before start of U.N. General Assembly
Bishop Gregory's reflection can be found here.