Insisting
that “each and every young person should be able to... grow and
learn... free from all violence and discord... in a family environment,
in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding”, the Holy See
took the floor of the General Assembly Hall on the final day of the
United Nations High-level Meeting on Youth.
Archbishop Francis
Chullikatt, The Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United
Nations, reminded delegates that a family is “founded on the marriage
between one man and one woman” and that the General Assembly declares
that it is “the natural and fundamental group unit of society and must
be guaranteed protection by society and the State” (Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, Art. 16,3).
He commended to their attention
the deep desire of many youth for “personal relationships marked by
truth and solidarity” and for a “family that will remain united”.
“Young
people are the future of humanity and they have a crucial role to play
in its future as they enter into adulthood,” he said.
“To do so
responsibly, they need a proper education that enables them to
distinguish between right and wrong, virtue and vice”.
Noting that
the outcome document of the High-level Meeting addresses eliminating
violence against youth, promoting their health and well-being,
protecting the rights of young immigrants, improving the quality of and
assuring universal access to education for all youth, Archbishop
Chullikatt stressed that “the rights of children and young people must
be safeguarded and upheld in full conformity with the norms of the
natural moral order”.
He observed that the “mentality of relativism,
which holds that everything is equally valid, that truth and absolute
points of reference do not exist... does not lead to authentic freedom,
but rather to instability, confusion and blind conformity to the fads of
the moment with which certain cultures around the world tempt our
youth”.
World Youth Day 2011, to be convened by Pope Benedict
XVI in Madrid next month, will afford young people “an opportunity... to
celebrate and foster the importance of the spiritual dimension of their
lives rooted in the truth of the human person”. Over a million youth
are expected to participate in the thirteenth World Youth Day.
Below the full text :
Mr. President,
Fifty years ago the United Nations first recognized the specific
contribution of young people when it adopted the Declaration on the
Promotion of Youth of the Ideals of Peace, Mutual Respect and
Understanding between Peoples (A/RES/20/2037), in which the General
Assembly affirmed important principles to help guide the work of
Governments, non-governmental organizations and youth movements to this
very day. The Declaration affirmed that all young people should be
brought up in the spirit of peace, justice, freedom, mutual respect and
understanding in order to promote equal rights for all persons and all
nations, economic and social progress, disarmament and the maintenance
of international peace and security. Young people are the future of
humanity and they have a crucial role to play in its future as they
enter into adulthood. To do so responsibly, they need a proper education
that enables them to distinguish between right and wrong, virtue and
vice.
Mr. President,
Last year, the General Assembly,
in having declared the present International Year of Youth,
insightfully drew attention to two important elements for the
advancement of peace, namely, dialogue and mutual understanding
(A/RES/64/134). This theme has been an invitation to listen to the
aspirations and interests of young people, to engage in a mutual
exchange with them and to translate these exchanges into a real sharing
of wisdom for the common good. The pursuit of the common good helps the
human family to live in a virtuous manner.
Many young people
experience a deep desire for personal relationships marked by truth and
solidarity. Many of the young yearn to build authentic friendships, to
know true love, to start a family that will remain united and to achieve
personal fulfillment and real security, all of which promise a serene
and happy future. The Member States of the United Nations have the
responsibility to help young people in this regard by upholding in
principle and in fact the Charter of this Organization.
Mr. President,
Each and every young person should be able to be brought up in an
environment in which he or she is able to grow and learn, that is, in a
community and society characterized by peace and harmony, free from all
violence and discord. Each and every child, for the full and harmonious
development of his or her personality, should grow up in a family
environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding (cf.,
Convention on the Rights of the Child, Preamble). It is precisely this
environment which will promote good and responsible citizenship that is
essential to the common good of humanity.
The family is
where young people first learn moral responsibility and respect for
others. The family has an important role to play in educating children
to develop all their faculties and in training them to acquire ethical
and spiritual values and to be deeply attached to peace, liberty and the
dignity and equality of all men and women. The family, founded on the
marriage between one man and one woman, is the natural and fundamental
group unit of society and must be guaranteed protection by society and
the State (cf., Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Art. 16,3;
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Art. 23,1).
Mr. President,
Parents – mother and father together – have the primary
responsibility for the upbringing and development of their children to
help them become virtuous citizens and leaders. Parents cannot withdraw
from this essential role. States are called, in conformity with
international instruments, to respect the responsibilities, rights and
duties of parents in this regard (cf., CRC, Articles 5 and 18,1). Youth
policies, programmes, action plans and commitments approved by Member
States must respect fully the role of parents regarding their children’s
welfare and education, including in the area of human sexuality and
so-called “sexual and reproductive health” that should not include
abortion.
Mr. President,
The outcome document of this
High-level Plenary Meeting gives attention to the elimination of all
forms of violence against youth, to promoting their health and
well-being, to protecting the rights of all young migrants, to improving
the quality of education and ensuring universal access to education for
all youth, and to addressing the importance of decent work for young
people. Member States have an important responsibility to help
facilitate integral human development so that children and young people
everywhere will be provided with the opportunity to realize their great
potential which includes their personal prosperity and that of all with
whom they share this planet. For this to happen, the rights of children
and young people must be safeguarded and upheld in full conformity with
the norms of the natural moral order.
Mr. President,
Many people in the world today do not have stable points of reference on
which to build their lives and so they end up being deeply insecure.
There is a growing mentality of relativism, which holds that everything
is equally valid, that truth and absolute points of reference do not
exist. Such a way of thinking does not lead to authentic freedom, but
rather to instability, confusion and blind conformity to the fads of the
moment with which certain cultures around the world tempt our youth.
Young people are entitled to receive from previous generations solid
points of reference to help them make choices on which to build their
lives. The Madrid World Youth Day 2011, convening in just a few weeks
and bringing together the largest gathering of young people from around
the world, will provide an opportunity for them to celebrate and foster
the importance of the spiritual dimension of their lives rooted in the
truth of the human person (cf., Message of Pope Benedict XVI for the
Twenty-Sixth World Youth Day 2011).
Member States and this
organization can make positive contributions in this regard and so must
be willing to recommit continually to upholding and implementing the
principles enshrined in the Charter and the internationally agreed
foundational human rights instruments. The more they are able to do
this, the more our youth will be able to help advance the cause of
peace, supported by their families, and build societies based on respect
for spiritual and ethical values and directed to the common good of
all.
Thank you, Mr. President.