Pope Francis: Friendship and respect between religious traditions important
Pope Francis today emphasized the importance of the promotion of friendship and respect
between men and women of different religious traditions during a meeting with ecumenical
and interfaith leaders who had attended his inauguration Mass.
This meeting
was preceded by private encounters with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople,
Bartholomew I, and the Metropolitan Hilarion, the chairman of the Department of External
Church Relations for the Patriarchate of Moscow.
Pope Francis began his remarks
by thanking those present for wanting to be a part of the beginning of his ministry
as Bishop of Rome, and successor of Peter. He said he had recognized the spiritual
presence of the communities they represented, and “had the feeling of taking part
in an even more urgent fashion in the prayer for the unity of all believers in Christ.”
He
said the “personal and transforming relationship with Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
who died and rose for our salvation,” is essential for every Christian. He said the
desire to proclaim this message is at the heart of the Second Vatican Council, which
the Pope said was especially meaningful for the ecumenical journey.
“We ask
the merciful Father to be able to fully live the faith that we have received as a
gift on the day of our Baptism, and to be able to give our testimony freely, joyfully
and courageously,” Pope Francis said. “The more we are faithful to His will - in thoughts,
in words and in deeds - the more we will truly and substantially walk towards unity.”
Speaking
to Jewish representatives, Pope Francis spoke of the “special spiritual bond” between
Christians and Jews. He said he trusted the Church and the Jewish people can “continue
that fruitful fraternal dialogue that the Council wished for, and that has actually
accomplished much, has brought forth many fruits, especially during the last decades.”
He
then spoke of the importance of interfaith dialogue. “The Catholic Church is aware
of the importance of the promotion of friendship and respect between men and women
of different religious traditions,” said Pope Francis, repeating the sentence for
emphasis. “The Church is equally aware of the responsibility that each of us bring
towards our world, and to the whole of creation, that we must love and protect,”
the Pope continued. “And we can do a lot for the good of the less fortunate, for those
who are weak and suffering, to promote justice, to promote reconciliation, to build
peace.” “But above all,” Pope Francis concluded. “We must keep alive in our world
the thirst for the absolute, and must not allow the vision of the human person with
a single dimension to prevail, according to which man is reduced to what he produces
and to what he consumes: this is one of the most dangerous threats of our times.” Listen: