Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Pope Leo XIV on Friday urged the United States to recommit itself to its founding ideals of protecting life and human dignity, as he joined remotely an event ahead of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
In a live video appearance at the National Constitution Centre in Philadelphia, the first US-born pope recalled America’s tradition of welcoming migrants and promoting religious freedom. The centre awarded him its annual Liberty Medal, given each year to someone “of courage and conviction” who promotes liberty around the world.
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The centre said it was honouring Leo for his “lifelong work promoting religious liberty and freedom of conscience and expression around the world – ideals enshrined by America’s founders in the First Amendment”. Wearing the medal around his neck, Leo spoke from Rome on the eve of the anniversary.
He was due to spend July 4 at Lampedusa in Sicily, an island that has become a destination for hundreds of thousands of migrants fleeing conflict, hardship and poverty. The visit carries symbolic weight at a time when the Trump administration has cracked down on migrants. Trump and Leo have clashed over the pope’s insistence that migrants should be treated with dignity, welcomed and accompanied, in line with the Gospel call to “welcome the stranger”.
Leo referred to America’s foundation by “courageous men and women who dreamed of liberty and of a better life for themselves and for their children”, and who asserted that all men and women are created equal and have certain unalienable rights, including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Recalling migrants, he spoke of the “noble vision” of the Founding Fathers that made America “a byword for freedom, as the country opened its doors to successive waves of immigrants, enabling them and their children to play their part in shaping the future of the nation”.
He also referred to the right to life set out in the Declaration of Independence, saying every man and woman has human dignity and must be protected from conception until natural death. “The moral greatness of a nation is manifested, above all, in its capacity to support, protect and cherish the lives of all, especially the most vulnerable and those whose worth is questioned,” he said.
The Chicago-born pope said he hoped the ideals on which America was founded — shared human dignity, equality and fundamental rights — would remain a “guiding light” now and in the future. He added that this year’s 250th anniversary should “be the occasion of a solemn recommitment to these ideals that have made America a country that values peace and prosperity, a country characterised by generosity and nobility of heart”. Past Liberty Medal recipients include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and US Representative John Lewis. In his remarks, Leo linked America’s founding principles with the need to protect life, uphold dignity and remain open to those seeking a better future.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
