Talking about human development means including everyone - not just the few - and to the whole human person, not just its material dimension. "We should all commit ourselves to promoting and implementing the development goals that are supported by our deepest religious and ethical values,” the pontiff said.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Projects for integral development also need religions because development cannot be seen in economic terms alone, said Pope Francis during a meeting with participants at an international conference on Religions and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Listening to the cry of the earth and of the poor, promoted by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, which ends today in the Vatican.
The Pope first said that different religious traditions, including Catholicism, share the objectives of the 2030 Agenda, adopted by over 190 countries in September 2015.
in his view, “proposing a dialogue on inclusive and sustainable development also requires acknowledging that ‘development’ is a complex concept, which is often manipulated. When we speak of development we must always ask: Development of what? Development for whom? For too long the conventional idea of development has been almost entirely limited to economic growth.”
“As my predecessor Saint Paul VI rightly highlighted, to speak about human development means referring to all people – not just a few – and to the whole person – not just the material dimension (cf. Populorum Progressio, 14).”
In light of this, “We should all commit ourselves to promoting and implementing the development goals that are supported by our deepest religious and ethical values. Human development is not only an economic issue or one that concerns experts alone; it is ultimately a vocation, a call that requires a free and responsible answer (cf. Benedict XVI. Caritas in veritate, 16-17)”.