Vatican Secretary for Interreligious Dialogue:religion a catalyst and basis for justice, peace

(Vatican Radio) The Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Fr. Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot says the Pope’s remarks on justice and religious freedom on his recent trip to Lebanon inspired his discourse to participants at the Istanbul World Forum October 13-14. The theme of the Forum was “Justice and the Construction of a New Global Order.”

Fr. Ayuso and the Apostolic Nuncio to Turkey, H.E. Archbishop Antonio Lucibello participated in the Panel on Religion and Peace including Patriarch Bartholomew I, Patriarch of the Phanar Greek Orthodox Church; His Excellency Mohammad Ahmad Hussein, Grand Mufti of Jerusalem; and Sheikh Hamza Yusuf of Zeytuna College.

In this interview with Tracey McClure, Fr. Ayuso explains the aim of his participation in the Istanbul forum and the essential role of religious freedom to a just society.

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Below is a transcript of the interview:

Q. What was the aim of your participation to the Istanbul World Forum which is on justice and the construction of a new global order?

A. The central theme of this World Forum has been ‘justice’, addressed under six different perspectives: Global Order, Politics, History, Economic Justice, Art and Media, and Religion. Through the Apostolic Nunziatura in Turkey, I received this invitation, in order to give the voice of the Catholic Church in this major event with regard to Religion and Peace…


Q. … so that presupposes ‘justice’?

A. Of course. In fact, I reminded the participants that Justice and Peace seek the good of one and all, and for this reason they demand order and truth. When one is threatened, both falter; when justice is offended, peace is also placed in jeopardy. The root-causes of many of the problems affecting the peaceful co-existence and development of all today, as we are well aware, are inequality and injustice, but the role of religion is as a catalyst and basis for justice and a promoter of an equality which is the ‘New Global Order’, close to the hearts of all of us.

Q. So, what then is the role of religion?

A. Indeed, religion has a role to play for the well-being and well-ordering of society, although it would be wrong to limit religion to a mere social role. Unfortunately, the role of religion in modem society is often misunderstood, unappreciated and even criticised as a source of the problems and conflicts in modem society. I remember that in his address to representatives of British Society Pope Benedict XVI, during his visit to Great Britain in 2010, noted that "distorted forms of religion, such as sectarianism and fundamentalism" can create social problems. Religion, properly understood and properly appreciated, according to Pope Benedict, has an important role to play in political debate which is "to help purify and shed light upon the application of reason to the discovery of objective moral principles". Therefore, "Religion ... is not a problem ... but a vital contributor to the national conversation."


Q. And what is the contribution of Religion to the national conversation about 'Justice' and 'Social Justice'?

A. Religion has a role in contributing to the national conversation of any given society. That conversation needs to engage with all the complexities that societies face in the modem world. Justice is a divine attribute, and religious teaching certainly contributes to the reflection on the right ordering of relationships, in other words, social justice. Catholic tradition, however, maintains that Justice is accessible by means of human reason, to all men and women of goodwill, both religious and nonreligious. Pope Benedict XVI has spoken about the complementary relationship between religion and reason: as religion may need to be tempered by the light of reason, there are times that reason needs to be purified and corrected by religion.


Q. As Pope Benedict XVI stated at London’s Westminster Hall in September 2010, the central question at the heart of a “Just” Society is discovering the ethical foundation for political choices. If the State does not have the last word then it stands to reason that in a just society there must be other voices.

A. Yes, for justice requires that all persons should be left in the free enjoyment of their rights. In its most simple and profound definition, justice is to give to another what is due to him. Our question is, therefore, who or what can hold the State to account, to ensure that it acts justly? The question is not political but moral, although the answer will require political choices. An individual society determines its own polity and so holds itself accountable to objective moral norms, in accordance with what is right and wrong, determining the most appropriate instruments to measure what ought to be done (justice) against what is being done.

Q. And how do you go about this?

A. Religion, therefore, has a role in political debate, not in providing concrete political solutions, which lies outside the competence of Religion, but to remind society of the objective moral norms at the basis of justice and the just society. And Society must allow Religion to have its proper voice in the Public Square.


Q. What do you mean by ‘the voice of Religion in the Public Square’?

A. Well, that Religion cannot to be understood as a merely private matter. A free and just society is not threatened by allowing individuals to speak the convictions of their hearts in openness, sincerity and truth. Religious freedom is at the heart of the social project and is necessary for social justice. Religious freedom, therefore, is the fundamental basis of all other freedoms. Pope John Paul II, in addressing the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1995, when he cited the role of religious freedom in helping bring about the collapse of European Communism, made a profound statement about the power of the moral voice of religion to hold tyranny to account.


Q. How important an issue then is Religious Freedom?

A. In its teaching on Religious Freedom, the Second Vatican Council says that "the human person has a right to religious freedom," that this right means that everyone should be "immune from coercion on the part of individuals, social groups, and every human power" in acting on religious convictions, and that this right is exercised "in private or in public, alone or in association with others,"… Since religion is not a mere private matter of the individual, the freedom from coercion in matters of belief for the individual, also apply 'in public ... or in association with others' so that the State has no right to coerce or attempt to control the internal life of a religious community, to determine its creed, or to use it as a means of social control. In 1979 I think, Pope John Paul II, in addressing the General Assembly of the United Nations, described religious freedom as the first of human rights.


Q. In continuity with the teaching of the Second Vatican Council and the teaching of Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI continues, it seems to me, to champion religious freedom as the basis of all other freedoms…

A. For the celebration of World Day of Peace on 1 January 2011, Pope Benedict XVI dedicated his annual message to the theme of religious freedom. It is worth recalling what he said there: "To deny or arbitrarily restrict this freedom is to foster a reductive vision of the human person; to eclipse the public role of religion is to create a society which is unjust, inasmuch as it fails to take account of the true nature of the human person; it is to stifle the growth of the authentic and lasting peace of the whole human family”…"For this reason, I implore all men and women of good will to renew their commitment to building a world where all are free to profess their religion or faith, and to express their love of God with all their heart, with all their soul and with all their mind (cf Mt 22:37)."

During his address to Political and Religious leaders and representatives of the world of Culture last month of September in Beirut, Pope Benedict XVI underlined the importance of religious freedom: "It cannot be forgotten that religious freedom is the basic right on which many other rights depend. The freedom to profess and practise one's religion without danger to life and liberty must be possible to everyone”.


Q. So, you would say this World Forum has been positive endeavor…

A. Yes, inasmuch as all of us renewed our commitment, with a sense of shared responsibility, for the promotion of greater social justice, through religious freedom, towards a lasting and secure peace in the world. Echoing what Pope Benedict XVI said during his visit to Lebanon, I concluded by saying that “thoughts of peace, words of peace, and acts of peace create an atmosphere of respect, honesty and cordiality, where faults and offences can be truthfully acknowledged as a means of advancing together on the path of reconciliation. The Pope added by saying “May Political and Religious Leaders reflect on this!” I think that this World Forum has been a special event that has contributed to political and religious leaders to reflect on this essential point.