UN Secretary General says Pope a man of peace

April 10, 2013: United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon described his meeting with Pope Francis on Tuesday at the Vatican as uplifting and hopeful . He said Pope Francis is a man of peace and purpose, he looks forward to meeting him again and has invited him to visit the United Nations at his earliest convenience. Speaking to reporters after the audience, Ban highlighted the Pope’s commitment to the poor, his deep sense of humility and his passion and compassion to improve the human condition. Ban said: “I was especially privileged to meet Pope Francis, as we mark 1000 days to the deadline to the Millennium Development Goals , MDGs. We discussed the need to advance social justice and accelerate work to meet with the MDG’s, as this is vital, if we are to meet the Millennium promise to the world’s poorest.” Ban also said he told the pope that his choice of name after St Francis of Assisi was a powerful image for the many goals and purposes shared by the U.N.
Ban praised the Pope’s commitment to build bridges among the communities of faith, as he strongly believe that inter-faith dialogue can point a way to a deeper appreciation of shared values, which in turn can lead to tolerance inclusion and peace. “This is the driving force of the UN’s ‘Alliance of civilizations’ initiative, and I greatly appreciated the opportunity to speak with Pope Francis about furthering this work”, Ban said and added their talks also focused on issues of mutual interest, in particular on situations of conflict and serious humanitarian emergencies, especially Syria, the Korean Peninsula and the African continent, where peace and stability are threatened. Reference was also made to the problem of trafficking in persons, especially women, and that of refugees and migrants.
Listen to Ban Ki-Moon speaking to journalists: