Let honest dialogue, respect for human dignity and cooperation with each other create among us: Pope Francis
Selvaraj Soosaimanikam – Vatican
Address by Pope Francis at the Seventh Conference of Leaders of the World’s Major and Indigenous Religions, Wednesday, September 14, in Nur-Sultan, the capital of Kazakhstan.
Religions remind us that we are ordinary beings before the infinite universe that transcends us and draws us in. We are not omnipotent, but as men and women we are called to journey toward the same celestial destination.
May this land of Kazakhstan, where we have all come together, open for us a new path centered on human relations. Let us create honest dialogue, respect for human dignity and mutual cooperation.
Yesterday, I mentioned in my speech about the dombra instrument, today I want to attach a voice to that instrument: Abai (1845-1904), the country’s most famous poet and the father of its modern literature, educator and composer, is depicted with the dombra instrument.
Poet Abai challenges us through a timeless question, ‘How can life be beautiful to one when one does not know oneself deeply?’ Similarly, another poet named G. LEOPARDI raises the question ‘Where will this short life of mine take me’?
Questions like these point to humanity’s need for religion. And they remind us that we humans are not created to satisfy earthly interests or form purely economic relationships, to walk together as wayfarers with our eyes raised to heaven, but rather, as the poet Abai says, we are called to live with a living soul and a clear mind.
We need religion to answer the thirst for world peace and the thirst for the infinite God who dwells in the heart of every man and woman. Freedom of religion thus constitutes a fundamental, primary and inalienable right. Therefore, every person has the right to express his religious beliefs in public without imposing them on others.
In a post-Covid world, this current conference invites us to reflect on the role we have to play in the spiritual and social development of humanity. So I would like to present to you four challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The first challenge is ‘vulnerability and responsibility’ We all feel vulnerable during this pandemic. None of us is completely independent, and none of us is completely self-sufficient. Instead, each of us had to live dependent on the other. We all needed help. Therefore, religions should not be indifferent to this: rather, they are called to promote unity in the midst of dangerous and serious challenges that further divide our human family.
‘Peacemaking’ poses the second challenge. All religions have been holding talks and seminars on this for the past several years. Due to the deadly evil of war, enmity, hatred, enmity etc. have arisen and disturbed the peace in human life.
God is the embodiment of peace. He always leads us not in the way of war, but in the way of peace. Therefore, let us make progress on the path of peace through meeting, dialogue and patient negotiations considering everyone, especially the young and future generations. The poet Abhay also enjoins us to take such steps.
‘Sibling emotional acceptance’ constitutes the third challenge. It is difficult for us today to accept humanity. Children, immigrants and the elderly are marginalized every day. As never before, we are witnessing massive displacement of people due to war, poverty, climate change and the pursuit of prosperity promoted by our globalized world.
Poet Abai says that man is a guest in this life. And so we rediscover the sublime state of hospitality, acceptance, compassion. Let us be ashamed of our indifference, not knowing the sufferings of the oppressors, and not having any concern and sympathy for their interests. We realize that this self-awareness is the path to compassion and makes us better people and believers.
Finally, the fourth challenge is ‘the care we must take for our common home, this earth’. What a beautiful world God has created the poet Abai! He praises God. So, against extreme climate changes, we need to preserve the natural environment. Thus we will realize that this earth will not fall prey to the profiteering of some, but can be preserved for future generations and for the glory of the Creator.
Exploitative attitudes are actually destroying our common home, the earth. Not only that, it also leads to going against the respectable and religious view of the world desired by the Creator. Therefore, let us realize the need to promote and promote the protection of life in every form.
We will never aim for artificial and conformist forms of coherence, but rather hold firmly to our own identities. Let us open our hearts as a pathway to brotherhood. It is by doing this that we can shine the light of our Creator in these dark times in which we live. Thanks to everyone