Text of Pope Benedict XVI's Speech to Muslim Leaders, Diplomatic Corps and the Rectors
of Jordan's Universities at Al-Hussein Bin Talal Mosque, Amman, Jordan
(May 9, 2009) Your Royal Highness, Your Excellencies, Distinguished Ladies and
Gentlemen, It is a source of great joy for me to meet with you this morning in
this magnificent setting. I wish to thank Prince Ghazi Bin Muhammed Bin Talal for
his kind words of welcome. Your Royal Highness’s numerous initiatives to promote inter-religious
and inter-cultural dialogue and exchanges are appreciated by the people of the Hashemite
Kingdom and they are widely respected by the international community. I know that
these efforts receive the active support of other members of the Royal Family as well
as the nation’s government, and find ample resonance in the many initiatives of collaboration
among Jordanians. For all this, I wish to express my own heartfelt admiration. Places
of worship, like this splendid Al-Hussein Bin Talal mosque named after the revered
late King, stand out like jewels across the earth’s surface. From the ancient to the
modern, the magnificent to the humble, they all point to the divine, to the Transcendent
One, to the Almighty. And through the centuries these sanctuaries have drawn men and
women into their sacred space to pause, to pray, to acknowledge the presence of the
Almighty, and to recognize that we are all his creatures. For this reason we cannot
fail to be concerned that today, with increasing insistency, some maintain that religion
fails in its claim to be, by nature, a builder of unity and harmony, an expression
of communion between persons and with God. Indeed some assert that religion is necessarily
a cause of division in our world; and so they argue that the less attention given
to religion in the public sphere the better. Certainly, the contradiction of tensions
and divisions between the followers of different religious traditions, sadly, cannot
be denied. However, is it not also the case that often it is the ideological manipulation
of religion, sometimes for political ends, that is the real catalyst for tension and
division, and at times even violence in society? In the face of this situation, where
the opponents of religion seek not simply to silence its voice but to replace it with
their own, the need for believers to be true to their principles and beliefs is felt
all the more keenly. Muslims and Christians, precisely because of the burden of our
common history so often marked by misunderstanding, must today strive to be known
and recognized as worshippers of God faithful to prayer, eager to uphold and live
by the Almighty’s decrees, merciful and compassionate, consistent in bearing witness
to all that is true and good, and ever mindful of the common origin and dignity of
all human persons, who remain at the apex of God’s creative design for the world and
for history. The resolve of Jordanian educators and religious and civic leaders
to ensure that the public face of religion reflects its true nature is praiseworthy.
The example of individuals and communities, together with the provision of courses
and programmes, manifest the constructive contribution of religion to the educational,
cultural, social and other charitable sectors of your civic society. Some of this
spirit I have been able to sample at first hand. Yesterday, I experienced the renowned
educational and rehabilitation work of the Our Lady of Peace Centre where Christians
and Muslims are transforming the lives of entire families, by assisting them to ensure
that their disabled children take up their rightful place in society. Earlier this
morning, I blessed the foundation stone of Madaba University where young Muslim and
Christian adults will side by side receive the benefits of a tertiary education, enabling
them to contribute justly to the social and economic development of their nation.
Of great merit too are the numerous initiatives of inter-religious dialogue supported
by the Royal Family and the diplomatic community and sometimes undertaken in conjunction
with the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue. These include the ongoing
work of the Royal Institutes for Inter-faith studies and for Islamic Thought, the
Amman Message of 2004, the Amman Interfaith Message of 2005, and the more recent Common
Word letter which echoed a theme consonant with my first encyclical: the unbreakable
bond between love of God and love of neighbour, and the fundamental contradiction
of resorting to violence or exclusion in the name of God (cf. Deus Caritas Est, 16). Such
initiatives clearly lead to greater reciprocal knowledge, and they foster a growing
respect both for what we hold in common and for what we understand differently. Thus,
they should prompt Christians and Muslims to probe even more deeply the essential
relationship between God and his world so that together we may strive to ensure that
society resonates in harmony with the divine order. In this regard, the co-operation
found here in Jordan sets an encouraging and persuasive example for the region, and
indeed the world, of the positive, creative contribution which religion can and must
make to civic society. Distinguished friends, today I wish to refer to a task
which I have addressed on a number of occasions and which I firmly believe Christians
and Muslims can embrace, particularly through our respective contributions to learning
and scholarship, and public service. That task is the challenge to cultivate for the
good, in the context of faith and truth, the vast potential of human reason. Christians
in fact describe God, among other ways, as creative Reason, which orders and guides
the world. And God endows us with the capacity to participate in his reason and thus
to act in accordance with what is good. Muslims worship God, the Creator of Heaven
and Earth, who has spoken to humanity. And as believers in the one God we know that
human reason is itself God’s gift and that it soars to its highest plane when suffused
with the light of God’s truth. In fact, when human reason humbly allows itself to
be purified by faith, it is far from weakened; rather, it is strengthened to resist
presumption and to reach beyond its own limitations. In this way, human reason is
emboldened to pursue its noble purpose of serving mankind, giving expression to our
deepest common aspirations and extending, rather than manipulating or confining, public
debate. Thus, genuine adherence to religion – far from narrowing our minds – widens
the horizon of human understanding. It protects civil society from the excesses of
the unbridled ego which tend to absolutize the finite and eclipse the infinite; it
ensures that freedom is exercised hand in hand with truth, and it adorns culture with
insights concerning all that is true, good and beautiful. This understanding of
reason, which continually draws the human mind beyond itself in the quest for the
Absolute, poses a challenge; it contains a sense of both hope and caution. Together,
Christians and Muslims are impelled to seek all that is just and right. We are bound
to step beyond our particular interests and to encourage others, civil servants and
leaders in particular, to do likewise in order to embrace the profound satisfaction
of serving the common good, even at personal cost. And we are reminded that because
it is our common human dignity which gives rise to universal human rights, they hold
equally for every man and woman, irrespective of his or her religious, social or ethnic
group. In this regard, we must note that the right of religious freedom extends beyond
the question of worship and includes the right – especially of minorities – to fair
access to the employment market and other spheres of civic life. Before I leave
you this morning I would like to acknowledge in a special way the presence among us
of His Beatitude Emmanuel III Delly, Patriarch of Baghdad, whom I greet most warmly.
His presence brings to mind the people of neighbouring Iraq many of whom have found
welcome refuge here in Jordan. The international community’s efforts to promote peace
and reconciliation, together with those of the local leaders, must continue in order
to bear fruit in the lives of Iraqis. I wish to express my appreciation for all those
who are assisting in the endeavors to deepen trust and to rebuild the institutions
and infrastructure essential to the well-being of that society. And once again, I
urge diplomats and the international community they represent together with local
political and religious leaders to do everything possible to ensure the ancient Christian
community of that noble land its fundamental right to peaceful coexistence with their
fellow citizens. Distinguished friends, I trust that the sentiments I have expressed
today will leave us with renewed hope for the future. Our love and duty before the
Almighty is expressed not only in our worship but also in our love and concern for
children and young people – your families – and for all Jordanians. It is for them
that you labor and it is they who motivate you to place the good of every human person
at the heart of institutions, laws and the workings of society. May reason, ennobled
and humbled by the grandeur of God’s truth, continue to shape the life and institutions
of this nation, in order that families may flourish and that all may live in peace,
contributing to and drawing upon the culture that unifies this great Kingdom!