{"id":6357,"date":"2021-04-07T12:06:42","date_gmt":"2021-04-07T16:06:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/news\/news-2\/popes-prayer-intention-april-fundamental-human-rights\/"},"modified":"2021-04-07T12:06:42","modified_gmt":"2021-04-07T16:06:42","slug":"popes-prayer-intention-april-fundamental-human-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/news\/news-2\/popes-prayer-intention-april-fundamental-human-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope\u2019s prayer intention for April: \u2018For fundamental human rights\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From Vatican News<\/a>
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\n\u201cDefending fundamental human rights demands courage and determination.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Pope Francis begins \u201cThe Pope Video\u201d for April with this remark, and goes on to describe exactly what he means.<\/p>\n\n

He says he is referring to \u201cactively combatting poverty, inequality, the lack of work, land and housing, and the denial of social and labor rights.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

As a press release from the Pope\u2019s Worldwide Prayer Network points out, the Pope is inviting all people of goodwill to pray for those who \u201crisk their lives fighting for fundamental rights.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Risking life and limb for others<\/strong>
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\nIn the video, the Pope laments that human rights are often not equal for all, saying there are \u201cfirst-, second-, and third-class people, and those who are disposable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Yet, he appeals, fundamental human rights \u201cmust be equal for all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cIn some places, defending people\u2019s dignity can mean going to prison, even without a trial. Or it might mean slander,\u201d he notes.<\/p>\n\n

Despite the danger, says Pope Francis, \u201cevery human being has the right to develop fully, and this fundamental right cannot be denied by any country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

With this in mind, the Pope urges everyone to pray during April for this intention.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cLet us pray for those who risk their lives while fighting for fundamental rights under dictatorships, authoritarian regimes and even in democracies in crisis, that they may see their sacrifice and their work bear abundant fruit.\u201d
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\nInherent human rights<\/strong>
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\nThe press release accompanying the video points out that the images which form a background to the Pope\u2019s words \u201cseek to reflect the exercise of these fundamental rights\u2026 and the abuse of these same rights.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

It notes that \u201cfundamental human rights\u201d refer to \u201crights that belong to all people, basically for the very fact that they exist as human beings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Those rights, it adds, were first laid down at an international level in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.<\/p>\n\n

Lamentable inequality<\/strong>
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\nFr. Fr\u00e9deric Fornos, S.J., who heads up the Pope\u2019s Worldwide Prayer Network which produces the monthly video, recalls that Pope Francis has often spoken up against the basic inequalities which people face, as some live in opulence while others see their rights trampled upon.<\/p>\n\n

Pope Francis, he says, is urging us in April to remember those who face prison, danger, or death to stand up for people\u2019s rights, whether in dictatorships, authoritarian regimes, or in some democracies in crisis.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cMany of them [do so] in the name of their faith in Jesus Christ,\u201d says Fr. Fornos. \u201cLet us not forget them; let us pray for them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The full text of the Pope’s prayer intention is below:<\/p>\n\n

Defending fundamental human rights demands courage and determination.
\nI\u2019m referring to actively combatting poverty, inequality, the lack of work, land and housing, and the denial of social and labor rights.
\nOften, in practice, fundamental human rights are not equal for all.
\nThere are first-, second-, and third-class people, and those who are disposable.
\nNo. They must be equal for all.
\nIn some places, defending people\u2019s dignity can mean going to prison, even without a trial. Or it might mean slander.Every human being has the right to develop fully, and this fundamental right cannot be denied by any country.
\nLet us pray for those who risk their lives while fighting for fundamental rights under dictatorships, authoritarian regimes and even in democracies in crisis, that they may see their sacrifice and their work bear abundant fruit.<\/em><\/p>\n\n