Pope warns in Singapore of threats to international order from wars

Pope Francis warned Thursday that “the international order is threatened by conflicts and bloody wars” during his speech to authorities at the first event of his visit to Singapore.

Francis arrived in Singapore on Wednesday from East Timor and rested for the rest of the day. His first act today was the formal meetings with the President, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and the Prime Minister, Lawrence Wong, at Parliament House, and then he went to the National University for his speech to the authorities.

In this city-state, “a commercial confluence of great importance and a meeting place for different peoples,” as defined by Francis, he called on everyone to “make their own contribution to the common good and prevent extremism and intolerance from gaining strength and endangering social peace.”

Francis told the authorities of Singapore, which has excellent relations with China, that the country has “a specific role to play in the international order, which is threatened by conflicts and bloody wars.”

“I am glad that you have, with great merit, promoted multilateralism and a system based on common rules for all. I encourage you to continue working for the unity and fraternity of the human race, for the common good of all peoples and all nations, in a spirit that is neither exclusive nor focused solely on national interests,” he said.

The President of Singapore also warned the Pope in his speech that “the global order is weakening and conflicts and aggression are not ceasing” and “climate change is accelerating.”

“These are crucial challenges for the world today: The global order is weakening and conflicts and aggression are continuing. There is growing intolerance within societies. At the same time, we are seeing an acceleration of climate change, which makes the world less safe for humanity,” Shanmugaratnam said in the grand auditorium of the national university, sitting alongside the Pope.

He called on “the global community to work with greater determination to address each of these challenges.”

He praised the Pope for being “a passionate global voice against war.” “He constantly invites us to work to promote harmony and dialogue between different groups and religions,” he added.