March 22, 2013 - Pope Francis on Friday urged the world’s nations to join hands and
fight material and spiritual poverty, build peace, construct bridges and protect the
environment, holding out to them the model of St. Francis of Assisi whose name he
has assumed. In his first address to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy
See, delivered in Italian, the Argentine-born Pope explained that one reason why
he chose the name Francis was the saint’s love for the poor. In the footsteps of
this saint, he said, the Catholic Church in every corner of the globe tries to care
and look after the vast number of poor who endure great suffering, and thus strives
to make society more humane and more just. But he pointed to another form of poverty
– the spiritual poverty of our time, which, he said, particularly afflicts the so-called
richer countries. It is what Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI called the “tyranny of relativism”,
which makes everyone his own criterion and endangers the coexistence of peoples, Pope
Francis said, delivering his address entirely in Italian . In this regard, he explained,
Francis of Assisi urges us to work for peace, which cannot be built without truth.
“There cannot be true peace if everyone is his own criterion, if everyone can always
claim exclusively his own rights, without at the same time caring for the good of
others, of everyone, on the basis of the nature that unites every human being on this
earth.” Pope Francis further explained another title of the Pope - Pontiff – meaning
builder of bridges with God and between people. He wished that dialogue between nations
help build bridges connecting all people, in such a way that everyone can see in the
other not an enemy, not a rival, but a brother or sister to be welcomed and embraced!
Pointing to the Italian origin of his own family, the 76-year old Pontiff said “this
dialogue between places and cultures a great distance apart matters greatly to me.”
The Pope said that in this work, the role of religion was fundamental. It is not
possible to build bridges between people while forgetting God, nor is it possible
to establish true links with God, while ignoring other people. Hence, he said, it
is important to intensify dialogue among the various religions, and particularly stressed
on dialogue with Islam. St. Francis also teaches us profound respect for the whole
of creation and the protection of our environment, which all too often, instead of
using for the good, we exploit greedily, to one another’s detriment, Pope Francis
added. The Holy See has diplomatic relations with 180 nations, besides a few international
and inter-governmental organizations and other entities.
Below is the full
text of the Pope's address:
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Heartfelt
thanks to your Dean, Ambassador Jean-Claude Michel, for the kind words that he has
addressed to me in the name of everyone present. It gives me joy to welcome you for
this exchange of greetings: a simple yet deeply felt ceremony, that somehow seeks
to express the Pope’s embrace of the world. Through you, indeed, I encounter your
peoples, and thus in a sense I can reach out to every one of your fellow citizens,
with their joys, their troubles, their expectations, their desires. Your presence
here in such numbers is a sign that the relations between your countries and the Holy
See are fruitful, that they are truly a source of benefit to mankind. That, indeed,
is what matters to the Holy See: the good of every person upon this earth! And it
is with this understanding that the Bishop of Rome embarks upon his ministry, in the
knowledge that he can count on the friendship and affection of the countries you represent,
and in the certainty that you share this objective. At the same time, I hope that
it will also be an opportunity to begin a journey with those few countries that do
not yet have diplomatic relations with the Holy See, some of which were present at
the Mass for the beginning of my ministry, or sent messages as a sign of their closeness
– for which I am truly grateful. As you know, there are various reasons why I chose
the name of Francis of Assisi, a familiar figure far beyond the borders of Italy and
Europe, even among those who do not profess the Catholic faith. One of the first reasons
was Francis’ love for the poor. How many poor people there still are in the world!
And what great suffering they have to endure! After the example of Francis of Assisi,
the Church in every corner of the globe has always tried to care for and look after
those who suffer from want, and I think that in many of your countries you can attest
to the generous activity of Christians who dedicate themselves to helping the sick,
orphans, the homeless and all the marginalized, thus striving to make society more
humane and more just. But there is another form of poverty! It is the spiritual
poverty of our time, which afflicts the so-called richer countries particularly seriously.
It is what my much-loved predecessor, Benedict XVI, called the “tyranny of relativism”,
which makes everyone his own criterion and endangers the coexistence of peoples. And
that brings me to a second reason for my name. Francis of Assisi tells us we should
work to build peace. But there is no true peace without truth! There cannot be true
peace if everyone is his own criterion, if everyone can always claim exclusively his
own rights, without at the same time caring for the good of others, of everyone, on
the basis of the nature that unites every human being on this earth. One of the
titles of the Bishop of Rome is Pontiff, that is, a builder of bridges with God and
between people. My wish is that the dialogue between us should help to build bridges
connecting all people, in such a way that everyone can see in the other not an enemy,
not a rival, but a brother or sister to be welcomed and embraced! My own origins impel
me to work for the building of bridges. As you know, my family is of Italian origin;
and so this dialogue between places and cultures a great distance apart matters greatly
to me, this dialogue between one end of the world and the other, which today are growing
ever closer, more interdependent, more in need of opportunities to meet and to create
real spaces of authentic fraternity. In this work, the role of religion is fundamental.
It is not possible to build bridges between people while forgetting God. But the converse
is also true: it is not possible to establish true links with God, while ignoring
other people. Hence it is important to intensify dialogue among the various religions,
and I am thinking particularly of dialogue with Islam. At the Mass marking the beginning
of my ministry, I greatly appreciated the presence of so many civil and religious
leaders from the Islamic world. And it is also important to intensify outreach to
non-believers, so that the differences which divide and hurt us may never prevail,
but rather the desire to build true links of friendship between all peoples, despite
their diversity. Fighting poverty, both material and spiritual, building peace
and constructing bridges: these, as it were, are the reference points for a journey
that I want to invite each of the countries here represented to take up. But it is
a difficult journey, if we do not learn to grow in love for this world of ours. Here
too, it helps me to think of the name of Francis, who teaches us profound respect
for the whole of creation and the protection of our environment, which all too often,
instead of using for the good, we exploit greedily, to one another’s detriment.
Dear
Ambassadors, Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you again for all the work that you do,
alongside the Secretariat of State, to build peace and construct bridges of friendship
and fraternity. Through you, I would like to renew to your Governments my thanks for
their participation in the celebrations on the occasion of my election, and my heartfelt
desire for a fruitful common endeavour. May Almighty God pour out his gifts on each
one of you, on your families and on the peoples that you represent. Thank you!