Holy See adheres to ozone protection treaties

Vatican City, May 16, 2008 / 09:08 am

The Holy See has fulfilled its obligation to the Convention of Vienna for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, and to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.

Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations in New York, deposited the document of adherence before the U.N. Secretary General on May 5.

In English-language remarks, Archbishop Migliore explained that with this gesture "the Holy See desires to encourage the entire international community to be resolute in promoting authentic co-operation between politics, science and economics. Such co-operation, as has been shown in the case of the ozone regime, can achieve important outcomes, which make it simultaneously possible to safeguard creation, to promote integral human development and to care for the common good, in a spirit of responsible solidarity and with profound positive repercussions for present and future generations."

"The Holy See, by means of the solemn act of accession, intends to give its own moral support to the commitment of States to the correct and effective implementation of the treaties in question and to the attaining of the mentioned objectives. To this end, it expresses the wish that by recognizing 'the signs of [an economic growth] that has not always been able to protect the delicate balances of nature,' all actors will intensify the aforesaid co- operation and strengthen 'the alliance between man and the environment, which must mirror the creative love of God.'"