FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 21, 2016

On April 21, Cardinal Peter K.A. Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, gave the intervention of the Holy See during the High Level Thematic Debate on Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

In his statement, Cardinal Turkson communicated the greetings and prayerful wishes of Pope Francis and reiterated Pope Francis’ assessment, given during his Sept. 25, 2015 Address to the UN General Assembly, that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development an “important sign of hope” that requires an effective, practical and constant will to ensure its implementation. This implementation must involve, he added, not just public financing, but the care and commitment of non-state actors, including faith-based groups. Citing Pope Paul VI’s celebrated phrase, “Development is the new name of peace,” Cardinal Turkson emphasized that peace is the necessary condition for any true and lasting development. For that reason, war and conflict are likely the greatest challenge to the realization of the 2030 Agenda.

His statement can be found here.