I apologize for the rather longish post but it’s really worth the read. A couple of weeks ago, Benedict XVI lead World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney, Australia. This is not from Benedict but from his predecessor, John Paul II, who came to the Philippines several times to visit this “only Christian country in Asia”. I read this many years ago, but I think the late Pope’s message is still very relevant until now. He was dead-on in his assessment.

In 2002, Pope John Paul II gave a speech to UN ambassadors. Reflecting on the world scene, with all its hopes and horrors, John Paul’s message is that nations and leaders must face eight great challenges if a more-just world is to be achieved.

Here are the 8 Great Challenges of the World:

1) Protection of human life “in all circumstances”

According to John Paul II, the first challenge facing the world is “the defense of the sacredness of human life in all circumstances, especially in relation to the challenges posed by genetic manipulation.”

His emphasis on “all circumstances” is a good reminder to all Catholics. Some pro-life groups were anti-abortion, but wondered if they should struggle with the same effort against the death penalty. Some of them even favored capital punishment outright. Others who opposed it didn’t push the issue, sensing that capital punishment enjoyed wide public support.

In a mass in Jan. 27, 1999, John Paul II made himself clear on the issue. “The new evangelization calls for followers of Christ who are unconditionally pro-life: who will proclaim, celebrate and serve the Gospel of life in every situation.”

“A sign of hope is the increasing recognition that the dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil,” he added. “Modern society has the means of protecting itself, without definitively denying criminals the chance to reform. I renew the appeal I made most recently at Christmas for a consensus to end the death penalty, which is both cruel and unnecessary.”

The Holy Father went even further. The previous day, at a St. Louis airport, in the presence of President Bill Clinton, he explained: “To choose life involves rejecting every form of violence: the violence of poverty and hunger, which oppresses so many human beings; the violence of armed conflict, which does not resolve but only increases divisions and tensions; the violence of particularly abhorrent weapons, such as antipersonnel mines; the violence of drug trafficking; the violence of racism; and the violence of mindless damage to the natural environment.”

John Paul II believes it would be a great error to reduce the “culture of life” to the defense of the rights of the unborn. Rather, it has to extend to the whole of life, from conception until its natural end, in order to be credible.

2) Promotion of the family

The second challenge is “the promotion of the family, the basic unit of society.”

In the face of a globalized society that at times reduces people to the level of mere statistics, the family is the first place where “purely functional relationships” are overcome. In the family, the man, woman and child are not consumers but persons with first and last names.

In an address to the Roman Rota, the Pope warned about “the pervasive culture of individualism, which tends to limit and restrict marriage and the family to the private sphere.”

3) Elimination of poverty

The third challenge for John Paul II is “the elimination of poverty, through efforts to promote development, the reduction of debt, and the opening up of international trade.”

Poverty “today must be defined not simply in terms of a lack of economic means, but more in terms of an inability to realize fully that God-given human potential, with which each person, man or woman, is endowed. Fighting poverty, which has now been recognized as an essential overarching dimension of all developmental policy, must therefore be about enabling people to realize their God-given potential.”

Facing this challenge, the Pope makes two specific requests. First, he calls for debt reduction for developing countries. Studies by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund show that heavy debt reduces the public money available for education and health.

The Pope’s second request is for the opening up of international trade, since a country’s access to world markets has direct bearing on the economic well-being of its citizens.

4) Human rights

As the fourth challenge, the Holy Father to “respect for human rights in all situations, with especial concern for the most vulnerable: children, women and refugees.”

5) Disarmament

A fifth priority is “disarmament, the reduction of arms sales to poor countries, and the consolidation of peace after the end of conflicts.”

John Paul II committed himself personally, especially in 1999, to encouraging the international community to adopt the Ottawa Convention against the production, storage and commerce of anti-personnel mines — “cold and blind instruments planned, constructed and used to wound or kill one or more persons,” the Vatican told a summit held in Nicaragua.

Light weapons also concern the Pope. He has asked for commitment to struggle against this death trade.

6) Medicine for all

The sixth challenge is “the fight against the major diseases, and access by the poor to basic care and medicines.” In a letter written to a conference on ethics, science and medicine, the Pontiff said that some developing countries lack access to basic medicines because their economies are not financially attractive to the pharmaceutical industry.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, the Vatican representative to the UN (as permanent observer), pointed out that, “It is not possible ethically to justify a rationale of fixing the highest possible prices in order to attract investors and to maintain and strengthen research, while leaving aside consideration of fundamental social factors.”

In this connection, the Church proposes that a full “and efficient universal access to basic medicines will most likely require the enactment of an innovative differential pricing system, which can still preserve the incentive for future research and development.”

“Luxury and non-essential pharmaceutical products, for example, cosmetics, could well share a part of the burden of research and development of essential medicines,” the archbishop suggested.

7) Conservation of the environment

The seventh challenge is “the protection of the environment and the prevention of natural disasters.” John Paul II called for an “ecological conversion.” And this was seconded by Benedict XVI in the last World Youth Day.

“Man, especially in our time, has without hesitation devastated wooded plains and valleys, polluted waters, disfigured the earth’s habitat, made the air unbreathable, disturbed the hydrogeological and atmospheric systems, turned luxuriant areas into deserts, and undertaken forms of unrestricted industrialization, degrading that ‘flowerbed’ — to use an image from Dante Alighieri — which is the earth, our dwelling place,” the late Pope said.

People, he insisted, must “encourage and support the ‘ecological conversion’ which in recent decades has made humanity more sensitive to the catastrophe to which it has been heading.”

“At stake, then, is not only a ‘physical’ ecology that is concerned to safeguard the habitat of the various living beings, but also a ‘human’ ecology which makes the existence of creatures more dignified, by protecting the fundamental good of life in all its manifestations, and by preparing for future generations an environment more in conformity with the Creator’s plan,” he stressed.

8. Application of law

The eight and last challenge is “the rigorous application of international law and conventions.”

Though the Catholic Church has criticized the Malthusian or relativist policies of certain U.N. agencies, it is at the same time one of the most committed allies of this institution. The Church sees the United Nations as a forum for promoting dialogue between nations and development, and for safeguarding international law.

“Of course,” the Pope told the ambassadors when he ended his list of challenges, “many other demands could also be mentioned.” He added: “But if these priorities became the central concerns of political leaders; if people of good will made them part of their daily endeavors; if religious believers included them in their teaching, the world would be a radically different place.”