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25 September 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n As prepared<\/em><\/p>\n Excellencies, <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Ladies and Gentlemen, <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Let me start by extending my most sincere thanks to this congregation for their kind invitation to say a few words today.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n I am honored to have assumed office as President of the General Assembly, and I take great pride in <\/span><\/span>spiritually <\/span><\/span>inaugurating my Presidency <\/span><\/span>together wit<\/span><\/span>h you. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n My dear friends, <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Let me begin by stating the obvious.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Our world is submerged by a wave of interlocking crises \u2013 from the still ongoing Covid-19 pandemic to <\/span><\/span>devastating <\/span><\/span>climate change, through <\/span><\/span>widespread<\/span><\/span> violence, worsening conflicts, and inequalities of a magnitude we have not seen in decades.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n H<\/span><\/span>ow we choose to address <\/span><\/span>all these <\/span><\/span>challenges<\/span><\/span>, will be <\/span><\/span>the greatest test of <\/span><\/span>our <\/span><\/span>abilities<\/span><\/span>, our <\/span><\/span>knowledge and our <\/span><\/span>resolve<\/span><\/span> \u2013 a<\/span><\/span>s well a <\/span><\/span>test of our<\/span><\/span> institutions\u2019<\/span><\/span> capacity to achieve their missions.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ was founded with the intention of bringing humanity together, of building bridges and fostering peace<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n For our purposes today, I venture to reprise the words of our former Secretary-General, the late Dag Hammarskj\u00f6ld who once said: \u201cThe Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ was not created <\/span><\/span>in order to bring us <\/span><\/span>to <\/span><\/span>heaven, <\/span><\/span>but<\/span><\/span> in order<\/span><\/span> to save <\/span><\/span>us<\/span><\/span> from hell<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n This<\/span><\/span>, I believe, is the link between our universal <\/span><\/span>organizations<\/span><\/span>: the United Nations and the <\/span><\/span>communities of believers all over the world. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The <\/span><\/span>Scriptures <\/span><\/span>teach us <\/span><\/span>to care for<\/span><\/span> all that with which we have been blessed \u2013 earth and people alike. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The <\/span><\/span>Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ\u2019s <\/span><\/span>function echoes these teachings. <\/span><\/span>To all intents and purposes, i<\/span><\/span>ts role is to ensure that our 8 billion constituents are <\/span><\/span>cared for<\/span><\/span> and that all their rights are <\/span><\/span>protected<\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n And that our fragile planet <\/span><\/span>is cared for and protected, too.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Ladies and Gentlemen,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n I am saddened to admit that we, the human community, have not been doing our fair share of caring <\/span><\/span>\u2013<\/span><\/span> neither for our earth, nor for our peers in humanity. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n As I entered my tenure as President of the 77<\/span><\/span>th<\/span><\/span> session of the General Assembly, I pledged to do my best to foster <\/span><\/span>trust<\/span><\/span> and integrity \u2013 values intrinsic to both <\/span><\/span>the <\/span><\/span>churches <\/span><\/span>of the world <\/span><\/span>and the United Nations.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The crises we face are multifaceted and require multidimensional solutions. Solutions which, I believe, should be built on scientific evidence and supported by the pillars of our human existence: <\/span><\/span>morality, <\/span><\/span>respect, understanding, solidarity and, for so many among us, faith.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Speaking with you today let me emphasize my conviction in that both faith and science are incredibly powerful, creative forces. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Harnessed together, they hold the keys to building a peaceful and sustainable future.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Ladies and Gentlemen,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n We find ourselves in the <\/span><\/span>era of the <\/span><\/span>Anthropocene \u2013 an e<\/span><\/span>poch<\/span><\/span>when <\/span><\/span>we <\/span><\/span>human<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span> started to have a significant impact on the planet\u2019s natural systems.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n It is an epoch <\/span><\/span>in which<\/span><\/span> our <\/span><\/span>activity is of such a scale that we are rapidly destroying our environment, depleting the earth of its resources, and through this, deeply hurting each other.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n By harming the earth \u2013 we ultimately harm ourselves.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n It is our <\/span><\/span>duty<\/span><\/span>\u00a0to curtail th<\/span><\/span>is d<\/span><\/span>e<\/span><\/span>struction<\/span><\/span>. And we must <\/span><\/span>put a check on <\/span><\/span>the<\/span><\/span> devastating effects of climate change \u2013 for the planet, for ourselves, and for future generations.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n