Address of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI at the Meeting with Representatives
of some Muslim Communities
Dear Muslim Friends!
It
gives me great joy to be able to be with you and to offer you my heartfelt greetings.
I have come here to meet young people from every part of Europe and the world. Young
people are the future of humanity and the hope of the nations. My beloved predecessor,
Pope John Paul II, once said to the young Muslims assembled in the stadium at Casablanca
(Morocco): “The young can build a better future if they first put their faith in
God and if they pledge themselves to build this new world in accordance with God’s
plan, with wisdom and trust” (Insegnamenti , VIII/2, 1985, p. 500). It is
in this spirit that I turn to you, dear Muslim friends, to share my hopes with you
and to let you know of my concerns at these particularly difficult times in our history.
I
am certain that I echo your own thoughts when I bring up as one of our concerns the
spread of terrorism. Terrorist activity is continually recurring in various parts
of the world, sowing death and destruction, and plunging many of our brothers and
sisters into grief and despair. Those who instigate and plan these attacks evidently
wish to poison our relations, making use of all means, including religion, to oppose
every attempt to build a peaceful, fair and serene life together. Terrorism of any
kind is a perverse and cruel decision which shows contempt for the sacred right to
life and undermines the very foundations of all civil society. If together we can
succeed in eliminating from hearts any trace of rancour, in resisting every form of
intolerance and in opposing every manifestation of violence, we will turn back the
wave of cruel fanaticism that endangers the lives of so many people and hinders progress
towards world peace. The task is difficult but not impossible. The believer knows
that, despite his weakness, he can count on the spiritual power of prayer.
Dear
friends, I am profoundly convinced that we must not yield to the negative pressures
in our midst, but must affirm the values of mutual respect, solidarity and peace.
The life of every human being is sacred, both for Christians and for Muslims. There
is plenty of scope for us to act together in the service of fundamental moral values.
The dignity of the person and the defence of the rights which that dignity confers
must represent the goal of every social endeavour and of every effort to bring it
to fruition. This message is conveyed to us unmistakably by the quiet but clear voice
of conscience. It is a message which must be heeded and communicated to others:
should it ever cease to find an echo in peoples’ hearts, the world would be exposed
to the darkness of a new barbarism. Only through recognition of the centrality of
the person can a common basis for understanding be found, one which enables us to
move beyond cultural conflicts and which neutralizes the disruptive power of ideologies.
During
my meeting last April with the delegates of Churches and Christian communities and
with representatives of the various religious traditions, I affirmed that “the Church
wants to continue building bridges of friendship with the followers of all religions,
in order to seek the true good of every person and of society as a whole” (L’Osservatore
Romano, 25 April 2005, p. 4). Past experience teaches us that relations between
Christians and Muslims have not always been marked by mutual respect and understanding.
How many pages of history record battles and even wars that have been waged, with
both sides invoking the name of God, as if fighting and killing the enemy could be
pleasing to him. The recollection of these sad events should fill us with shame,
for we know only too well what atrocities have been committed in the name of religion.
The lessons of the past must help us to avoid repeating the same mistakes. We must
seek paths of reconciliation and learn to live with respect for each other’s identity.
The defence of religious freedom, in this sense, is a permanent imperative and respect
for minorities is a clear sign of true civilization.
In this regard, it is
always right to recall what the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council said about relations
with Muslims. “The Church looks upon Muslims with respect. They worship the one
God living and subsistent, merciful and almighty, creator of heaven and earth, who
has spoken to humanity and to whose decrees, even the hidden ones, they seek to submit
themselves whole-heartedly, just as Abraham, to whom the Islamic faith readily relates
itself, submitted to God . . . Although considerable dissensions and enmities between
Christians and Muslims may have arisen in the course of the centuries, the Council
urges all parties that, forgetting past things, they train themselves towards sincere
mutual understanding and together maintain and promote social justice and moral values
as well as peace and freedom for all people” (Declaration Nostra Aetate, No.
3).
You, my esteemed friends, represent some Muslim communities from this country
where I was born, where I studied and where I lived for a good part of my life. That
is why I wanted to meet you. You guide Muslim believers and train them in the Islamic
faith. Teaching is the vehicle through which ideas and convictions are transmitted.
Words are highly influential in the education of the mind. You, therefore, have a
great responsibility for the formation of the younger generation. As Christians and
Muslims, we must face together the many challenges of our time. There is no room
for apathy and disengagement, and even less for partiality and sectarianism. We must
not yield to fear or pessimism. Rather, we must cultivate optimism and hope. Interreligious
and intercultural dialogue between Christians and Muslims cannot be reduced to an
optional extra. It is in fact a vital necessity, on which in large measure our future
depends. Young people from many parts of the world are here in Cologne as living
witnesses of solidarity, brotherhood and love. They are the first fruits of a new
dawn for humanity. I pray with all my heart, dear Muslim friends, that the merciful
and compassionate God may protect you, bless you and enlighten you always. May the
God of peace lift up our hearts, nourish our hope and guide our steps on the paths
of the world.