Photo: VINCENZO PINTO / AFP / Getty Images
For: EFE
Thursday, October 3
Pope Francis' message will be kept forever in Norway's North Pole bunker
A small edition of a book with the speeches and photos of Pope Francis during the pandemic and blessed by him, will be deposited in the Svalbard seed bunker, in the Arctic Circle to be preserved forever.
The person in charge of taking him to this inhospitable place will be Michael Haddad, a young Lebanese who moves with an exoskeleton due to an accident and who will make an unprecedented tour of the Arctic at the beginning of the next year.
The volume “Why are you afraid, Have you no faith? ”, which includes the speeches and photos of the actions of the pontiff during the pandemic, has been produced in a special edition of six by three inches so it doesn’t take up too much space in the world’s largest and safest Svalbard seed bunker in Norway.
Haddad is an activ ist of climate change and with this gesture also wants to draw attention “to the need for urgent action against climate change, the care of our common home and inclusion in the face of inequalities,” explained Vatican sources.
“In this way, for the first time, a message from Pope Francis will reach the North Pole from the hand of an ambassador of goodwill and will be like a seed of hope, which will remain for posterity in the largest and safest refuge in the world dedicated to safeguarding the planet’s biodiversity “, they added.
Michael Haddad is a professional athlete and UN Goodwill Ambassador for environmental issues. He was just a child when a jet ski accident caused a spinal cord injury that immobilized him from the chest down and since then he has lost three-quarters of his motor functions.
Haddad se moves thanks to an exoskeleton, specially developed by a team of engineers, doctors and researchers, which stabilizes its trunk, shoulders and arms.
This Lebanese will walk 100 kilometers in the North Pole. An adventure I was going to do in 2020 but postponed due to the pandemic. “Traveling 100 miles to the North Pole is not just a message, but a contribution to science. I work with a great scientific team and I have been considered one of the few people in the world capable of doing something like this in my condition. So everything we are planning before, during and after this walk will contribute to scientific research to help other people to cross new systems “, he explained to the Vatican media.
“When I told my story to the Holy Father, he put his hand on my head. I told him that we try to carry a message of humanity, in favor of the earth and the environment ”, he explained.
It may interest you
· “Poor Haiti”: Pope Francis regrets the explosion that has left at least 60 victims
· Pope Francis sends his condolences for the victims of the US tornadoes.
· The Virgin of Guadalupe teaches us to “walk together”, says Pope Francis from the Vatican