Pompeo urges Unity on Fight for Freedom

U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo addressed human dignity and religious freedom at a Vatican meeting on “Human Dignity and Faith in Free Societies.” The New York Analysis of Policy and Government presents key presents key excerpts.

Then-Pope – now Saint – John Paul II and President Ronald Reagan combined the moral authority of the Holy See with the prosperity and example of the United States, the freest nation on earth, to fight the evil empire. [the Soviet Union.] Through patience and unity of purpose, they prevailed.

Their words and deeds helped save – helped leave the Soviet leviathan on that ash heap of history.

Think of the millions of believers who can live with dignity and purpose, who can now worship without fear, thanks to the joint efforts of a pope and a president.

What a blessing to the world.

Today each of us must gird ourselves for another battle in defense of human dignity and religious freedom. The stakes today are arguably higher than they were even during the Cold War, because the threats to it are more diverse and more numerous.

More than 80 percent of mankind lives in places where religious freedom is threatened or entirely denied. Approximately 71 million people around the world are displaced as refugees. Roughly 25 million people are caught in human trafficking situations.

And it’s no coincidence that it has happened as unfree societies have proliferated.

Because when the state rules absolutely, God becomes an absolute threat to authority. That’s why Cuba cancelled National Catholic Youth Day back in August.

When the state rules absolutely, human dignity is trampled, not cherished. That’s why Assad kills his own people, and has no regard for the 11 million Syrians suffering today as displaced persons and refugees.

When the state rules absolutely, moral norms are crushed completely. That’s why the Islamic Republic of Iran has jailed, tortured, and killed thousands of its own citizens for four decades. It’s why China has put more than a million Uighur Muslims …in internment camps. It’s why it throws Christian pastors in jail.

Freedom of religion can also be threatened when an intolerant majority rules. That’s how the Burmese security forces have been able to drive hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims out of their homes, in the most violent and brutal ways.

We must recognize the roots of religious repression. Authoritarian regimes and autocrats will never accept a power higher than their own. And that causes all sorts of assaults on human dignity.

We must exercise our moral voice to confront them.

There is a pill named as viagra wholesale 100mg which has been readily made available in the drug markets & there must be lower proportions of meat, carbohydrates & unhealthy fatty acids which help for reducing the impact of such form of health problems of intimacy. When a man is sexually aroused, the brain sends a message telling the blood vessels in the penile arteries without interruption for a set amount of time. tadalafil cipla It relieves you from stress and helps to buy cialis online enjoy great orgasm with your female. It offers the best ayurvedic treatment to increase male desire, is recommended for the http://appalachianmagazine.com/2017/03/24/interstate-73-the-best-hope-for-southern-west-virginia/ order generic cialis treatment of erectile dysfunction, lo libido in men is also one of the main problems of most men, which is unwillingly confessed by men.

The Holy See and the United States have had our differences over the years. Good people can disagree.

But on the issues most fundamental, on the issues of human dignity and religious freedom, these issues that transcend everyday politics, on the enduring struggle of the individual’s right to believe and worship, we must – and I know we will – march together.

His Holiness leads a church that has carried on the mission of Christ for centuries. Sister Gabriella Bottani – who is with us today – leads more than 2,000 nuns around the world who fight human trafficking.

Catholic Relief Services helps students in areas of Iraq devastated by ISIS get back in school and recover a normal life. The voice of Catholics around the world, led by Pope Benedict, and Pope Francis, drew attention to the case of Asia Bibi in Pakistan, saving her – certainly saving her – from execution for her faith.

The United States came along just a little bit later than St. Peter, but protecting human dignity has long been essential to our foreign policy.

We led the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights back in 1948.

After World War II, Pope Pius the Twelfth said after the war, quote, “Into the hands of America, God has placed the destinies of an afflicted mankind.” We used our power after World War II to rescue a starving Europe.

Today, we deploy humanitarian missions all over the world, such as the rescue efforts after the 2004 tsunami, or after the – in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian just this past August.

And in the Trump administration, you have the strongest advocates of religious freedom in the history of our country.

The President and I have met with many victims of religious persecution. We’ve prioritized life in our foreign aid. We’ve devoted nearly $340 million to help Iraq’s ethnic and religious minorities recover from the scourge of ISIS.

We’ve used relentless diplomacy to secure the release of hostages like Pastor Andrew Brunson, and three men held in North Korea who I was proud to bring home last year.

Last week, President Trump became the first American president ever to host a religious freedom event at the United Nations.

But perhaps most importantly, at our Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom this past July, we launched the International Religious Freedom Alliance, the first multilateral organization, multilateral body of its kind. We aim to make it the premier body in the world for advancing the issues of religious freedom.

We humbly ask the Holy See to join us. We ask the representatives of all nations present here today to join us. What could be more powerful than our voices all together, calling for the freedom to worship God?

Quick Analysis

Ukraine’s Frozen Conflict

As we approach winter in the northern hemisphere, the war in Ukraine is beginning to resemble a “frozen conflict” from many perspectives. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently told the media he hopes the war will end faster once President-elect Trump takes over in January. Opinions in Moscow, however, differ from that of the Ukrainian leader. Russian President Vladimir Putin argues that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) needs to exclude Ukraine from joining in “exchange” for peace. If it does not, he says, then no end to the war is in sight. So far there is no Christmas solution. Several NATO countries, according to Vladimir Socor of the Jamestown Foundation, are tentatively considering “coalitions-of-the-willing” to provide security for Ukraine outside of the formal NATO framework. There is, however, no collective mechanism today under which such an arrangement is viable. According to the NATO Charter, while Ukraine is a NATO partner country, it may not join as a full member since it has not fulfilled the requirements for membership. That has not stopped NATO and allies from continuing “to provide Ukraine with unprecedented levels of support, helping to uphold its fundamental right to self-defence,” according to the organization. Socor says that keeping Ukraine out of NATO will not advance peace with Russia. Waiting for a peace settlement, he suggests, would only serve to encourage Moscow to continue the war indefinitely. Although the Biden Administration officially withdrew its support for Ukrainian membership in 2021, NATO maintains an “open door” policy toward membership-seeking countries. The current White House position led the way for European states to oppose Ukraine’s membership saying that a decision should be delayed until “conditions are met.” Biden pushed for changing “open door” to a “bridge” metaphor. It is not intended as an across-the-board NATO policy and has been implemented in the past on a case-by-case basis, says Socor. “The alliance’s open-door policy was not fully insulated from Russia’s non-statutory blocking power, and NATO-aspirant countries’ path toward membership was not always irreversible.” Russia has successfully blocked states like Georgia from joining, first in 2008 and again after the war in Ukraine began in 2014. Russia recognizes the value add of Ukraine to NATO is enormous and that Kyiv has a better case than some other nations. Putin’s invasion was, in part, intended to foreclose that option. By 2021, Moscow was pushing hard to maximize its war objectives, which included further annexations of Ukrainian territory. A main goal for Putin was, and is, to ensure there is no Ukraine left to join NATO. As President-elect Trump prepares to assume office in January, he is faced with the historical challenges presented by the war. Post-conflict security guarantees were the center of several proposals made during the 2023 military stalemate. The incoming Trump Administration has yet to outline how it intends to handle the Russia-Ukraine war. Analysts in Washington believe that the new Administration will expect its European allies to guarantee the majority of Ukraine’s security needs. As we approach 2025, several European nations have acknowledged that they do not view Ukraine as eligible for NATO membership as it would draw the organization into the middle of the conflict. Others want to wait until the war is over or pending a “peace” settlement before considering Ukrainian membership. Socor reports that some “influential voices” are suggesting that “Kyiv should join NATO after “freezing” the war along a stable armistice line, de facto accepting Ukraine’s partition, with NATO security guarantees applying de jure to the government-controlled territory only.” This would mean starting accession talks soon with the actual talks to commence only after a ceasefire is in place. Trump arrives in Washington at a time when Putin’s hybrid strategies of war in Ukraine have eviscerated commonly-held differences between war and peace. “Absent a political consensus in NATO over Ukrainian membership, certain European allies, including France’s President Emmanuel Macron, are holding informal consultations about post-conflict security guarantees to Kyiv by NATO members outside of NATO’s framework,” according to the Jamestown Foundation. The Biden Administration downplayed the discussions on possible forms of military assistance and defense industry cooperation by sending only an Assistant Secretary of State. For a European peace to hold the Trump Administration would need to formally extend the United States’ nuclear deterrence to Ukraine. Options under discussion in Europe include a “coalition of the resolute” to deploy forces to Ukraine as part of a possible armistice package, deterring further Russian attacks, says Secor. European officials are also debating, without any agreement, whether its military forces could perform non-combat logistical roles to free Ukrainian forces to fight. None of the possible courses of action has moved forward as all eyes are waiting on the incoming Trump Administration for clues about its intended level of support for a NATO framework and other non-NATO proposals. Daria Novak served in the U.S. State Dept.