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Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
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risu.org.ua - Protecting human freedom and dignity is a vital contribution to peace-building by religious communities, said Ecumenical Patriarch His All-Holiness Bartholomew I as he spoke at the Al-Azhar International Peace Conference on 27-28 April in Egypt.
“During the last two decades, humanity has experienced continuous terrorist attacks, which are the cause of death and hurt of thousands of people, and which are becoming the greatest threat and source of fear for contemporary societies,” he said. “Since then, religions have been often suspected or openly accused for inspiring terrorism and violence.”
Religion is a vital factor in the peace process, Bartholomew said. “Religion can, of course, divide by causing intolerance and violence. But this is rather its failure, not its essence, which is the protection of human dignity.”
Interreligious dialogue recognizes the differences of religious traditions and promotes peaceful coexistence and cooperation between people and cultures, he continued. “Interreligious dialogue does not mean to deny one’s own faith, but rather to change one’s mind or attitude towards the other.”
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CWN - Pope Francis said that Christians and Muslims together must promote “civility of encounter” as the only viable alternative to “the incivility of conflict,” in a speech to an inter-religious peace conference hosted by Al Azhar University in Cairo.
Earlier in the day, the Pope had told Egypt’s political leaders that their country “has a unique role to play in the Middle East” and in the quest for a stable peace there. And later, addressing Coptic Christians, the Holy Father said that “there is no time to lose” in the quest for Christian unity, and assured embattled Egyptian Christians that “your sufferings are our sufferings.”
The Pope was greeted to Al Azhar University by the institution’s leader, Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, who opened the peace conference by asking for a minute of silent prayer for the victims of terrorism. The Islamic cleric went on to denounce violence, insisting that Islam is a religion of peace.
Pope Francis opened and closed his own address—which was frequently interrupted by applause—with the traditional Arabic greeting: “As salaamu alaykum“ (Peace be with you). He began his remarks by recalling the history of Egypt as an ancient cultural center, and said that the program of dialogue between the Vatican and Al Azhar University continues the heritage of respectful interaction between faiths that has been a characteristic of Egypt’s history.
That attitude of respect is a hallmark of faith, the Pope insisted. Violence, he said, “is the negation of every authentic religious expression.” He said that religious leaders should “unmask evil,” and at the same time address the causes of violence, by working to end poverty, eliminate the arms trade, and counteract the divisive influences of populism. “May Saint Francis of Assisi, who eight centuries ago came to Egypt and met Sultan Malik al Kamil, intercede for this intention,” he said.
Pope Francis concluded his address at Al Azhar by saying: "As religious leaders, we are called, therefore, to unmask the violence that masquerades as purported sanctity and is based more on the “absolutizing” of selfishness than on authentic openness to the Absolute. We have an obligation to denounce violations of human dignity and human rights, to expose attempts to justify every form of hatred in the name of religion, and to condemn these attempts as idolatrous caricatures of God: Holy is his name, he is the God of peace, God salaam."
Later, in his meeting with Coptic Christians, the Pope recalled the historic encounter between Pope Paul VI and Coptic Pope Shenouda III in May 1973, which ended centuries of separation. He said that all Christians should speak together “the common language of charity,” and not “take refuge behind the pretext of differing interpretations.”
Noting that the Christian world was united this year in the celebration of Easter on the same date, the Pope added that Christians are also drawn together by the shared witness of suffering for the faith and the “ecumenism of blood.”
References:
- Pope at Al-Azhar; religious leaders must 'unmask' violence and hatred (Vatican Radio)
- The future depends on the encounter of religions and cultures (AsiaNews)
- Catholics and Copts must speak "the common language of charity" (Vatican Radio)
- Pope Francis: Egypt's unique role in the Middle East (Vatican Radio)
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CWN - Pope Francis has arrived in Egypt for a two-day visit, which will be highlighted by a Friday address to an inter-religious conference hosted by Al Azhar University.
The Pope’s flight from Rome arrived at the airport in Cairo in the early afternoon. He was greeted there by Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattat al Sisi, and by a delegation of the nation’s religious leaders. From the airport, he traveled to the presidential palace for a courtesy visit. Then he traveled to Al Azhar, where he met with the institution’s leader, Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, in advance of the afternoon conference.
During the flight from Rome to Cairo, the Pope followed a custom of papal trips, sending telegrams of greetings to the heads of state of the countries over which he flew: Italy and Greece.
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CWN - Pope Francis offered Mass on April 25, the Feast of St. Mark, for Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria, the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
The Church in Alexandria traces its origin to St. Mark, and the Mass took place three days before Pope Francis’s apostolic journey to Egypt.
During the Mass—attended by members of the Council of Cardinal Advisors—the Pope preached on evangelization, calling on the faithful to pray for the grace to go out of themselves in order to proclaim the Gospel with humility.
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CWN - Pope Francis has issued a video-message to the people of Egypt on the eve of his apostolic journey there.
“With a joyful and grateful heart I will come in a few days’ time to visit your dear homeland: cradle of civilization, gift of the Nile, land of sun and hospitality, where Patriarchs and Prophets lived and where God, Clement and Merciful, the One and Almighty, made His voice heard,” the Pope said.
“I am truly happy to come as a friend, as a messenger of peace and as a pilgrim to the Country that gave, more than two thousand years ago, refuge and hospitality to the Holy Family fleeing from the threats of King Herod,” he continued. “I am honored to visit the land visited by the Holy Family!”
The Pope added: "I hope that this visit will be an embrace of consolation and of encouragement to all Christians in the Middle East; a message of friendship and esteem to all inhabitants of Egypt and the region; a message of fraternity and reconciliation to all children of Abraham, particularly in the Islamic world, in which Egypt occupies a primary position. I hope that it may also offer a valid contribution to interreligious dialogue with the Islamic world, and to ecumenical dialogue with the venerated and beloved Coptic Orthodox Church.
Our world, torn by blind violence, which has also afflicted the heart of your dear land —needs peace, love and mercy; it needs workers for peace, free and liberating people, courageous people able to learn from the past to build a future without closing themselves up in prejudices; it needs builders of bridges of peace, dialogue, brotherhood, justice, and humanity."
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CWN - A Syriac Orthodox bishop in Lebanon has expressed confidence that two Orthodox prelates who were kidnapped in Syria in 2013 are still alive, despite a lack of information about their whereabouts.
Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Gregorios Youhanna Ibrahim and his Greek Orthodox counterpart, Boulos Yazigi, were seized by rebels in Syria in April 2013, while traveling just outside Aleppo. No public information has ever been obtained about their fate.
Speaking on April 22, however, Orthodox Bishop Daniel Kourie of Beirut said that to be best of his knowledge “the two bishops are still alive.” He said that a commission he leads has “knocked on every door” in search of information about the kidnapped prelates, to no avail, but will continue the search.
References:
- Pope sends encouragement to Coptic leader
- Bishop Venedykt (Valery) Aleksiychuk, M.S.U appointed as Bishop of the Eparchy of Saint Nicholas of Chicago (UGCC)
- Orientale Lumen Conference set for June, to Discuss Two Historical Events
- GOOGLE offers virtual tour to unique wooden churches of Carpathian region