Pope meets representatives of Christian Churches, Jews, other religions

March 20, 2013 - While urging Christians to work for unity among themselves by giving an open, joyful and courageous witness to their faith received in Baptism, Pope Francis encouraged members of other religions to promote friendship and respect among men and women, respect creation and promote the sense of the absolute. He was addressing a large group of delegates from Christian churches, ecclesial communities and organizations, Jews and other religions who attended the inauguration ceremony and Mass of his pontificate on Tuesday in the Vatican. Speaking to representatives of Christian Churches in Italian, the Argentine Pope recalled the current Year of Faith that was convoked by his predecessor, Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, to mark 50 years of the start of the Second Vatican Council, that gave a great boost to ecumenism. He urged them to feel united with Christ’s prayer at the Last Supper, “that they may be one.” With an open, joyful and courageous witness to our faith received in Baptism, the Pope said, we can render the best service to Christian unity, a service of hope for a world still marked by divisions, conflicts and rivalries. “The more faithful we are to his will, in thought, word and deed, the more truly and substantially will be walk towards unity,” the Pope said. On behalf of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis assured his commitment to ecumenical dialogue in the footsteps of his predecessors.
Pope Francis also addressed the Jewish representatives wishing they will be able to carry forward their fraternal dialogue that has borne much fruits. Then turning to the representatives of Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh, Jain and Hindu communities from various parts of the world, the pontiff thanked them for their presence. Their participation at the ceremony was facilitated by the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue. Buddhist representatives were mainly from Japan. There were two Sikh representatives from the United Kingdom: Bhai Sahim Mohinder Singh Ahluwalia, the Chairman of the Guru Nanak Niskham Sewak Jatha of Birmingham and Sandeep Singh Virdee, of the same organization. The two Hindu representatives were Swami Jeevanmukta Ganapati, the president of the Siddha Shiva International, Belgium, and Marck Olivier Manser, Assistant to Siddha Shiva International of Rome, Italy. The lone Jain representative was Dr. Harshad Sanghrajka, deputy chairman of the Institute of Jainology of London, UK.
Addressing all of them, Pope Francis expressed his gratitude saying their presence was a tangible sign of their wish to grow in reciprocal esteem and in cooperation for the common good of humanity. “The Catholic Church is aware of the importance of promoting friendship and respect among men and women of various religious traditions,” the Pope said, and stressed and repeated the words – “promoting friendship and respect among men and women of various religious traditions.” Referring to the environment, the Pope said that the Church is equally aware of the responsibility that all have towards our world, towards the entire creation which, he said, we must love and protect. “And we can do much more for the good of the poorest, who are week and who suffer, in favour of justice, to promote reconciliation, to build peace, he said. But above all, Pope Francis said, “we must keep alive the thirst for the absolute, without allowing only one dimension of man to prevail, according to which man is reduced to something that produces and consumes. The Pope called this ‘one of the most dangerous perils of our times.
Pope Benedict wondered how much violence has been created in recent history by trying to eliminate God and the divine from the horizon of humanity, and we feel the value of witnessing in our societies the original openness that is innate to the human heart. In this regard, the Pope said, we feel close also to all those men and women who, while not belonging to any religious tradition, however feel they are searching for truth, goodness and beauty. The Pope said they are our precious allies in the task of defending human dignity, in building peaceful coexistence among people and in protecting and caring for creation.