Cardinal Piat on Pope’s
visit: Mauritians are open to all, despite differences
Cardinal Maurice Piat speaks about the Church's mission to
help the people of Mauritius rediscover their Christian identity, as Pope
Francis makes his Apostolic Journey to the country.
By Francesca Merlo
“We are very grateful” to Pope Francis for accepting to
visit Mauritius during his Apostolic Journey, says Cardinal Maurice Piat,
Bishop of Port Louis. After visiting the “big island” of the Indian Ocean,
Madagascar, Pope Francis travels to one of the smaller ones, Mauritius.
Social harmony in Mauritius
Mauritius, said Cardinal Piat, is known “as a country in
which people from various cultures and various religions live together”, and
they do so “with a certain amount of social harmony”, despite it being such a
“small space”.
Cardinal Piat says that although there are, of course,
problems at times, “it is good to live in Mauritius, among people with such
varied backgrounds”, both cultural and religious.
A Christian message for all
He believes that the Pope is addressing his message to
everybody. “A Christian message, of course”, he says, “but voiced and expressed
in ways in which it can be understood by everybody else, too”.
Even our “brothers and sisters” from different backgrounds
are enjoying this visit with “much joy”, and they collaborated fully in order
to “make it a success”.
A spiritual authority
Cardinal Piat says that he believes it is because they
consider the Pope a spiritual authority beyond “the limits of the Catholic
Church”. He is “listened to and admired as somebody who installs peace”,
through his manner of speaking and through his way of life. He is therefore,
according to Cardinal Piat, expected to be someone who can bring “a breath of
fresh air and a renewal of our commitment of living together.”
Deepening our Christian Identity
Cardinal Piat says that in order to live in harmony “we must
be able to deepen our Christian Identity”. Because, he explains, “this identity
is true” and it is open to others. “Christ on the cross had his arms open to
the world and true Christians should be close to Christ”, he says.
This openness, continues Cardinal Piat, is what we are
trying to achieve “ humbly and will small steps”. It is a daily challenge, he
adds, because “whenever we go out in Mauritius” we meet people from different
backgrounds, and as you know “it is becoming a challenge for people all over
the world”.
“How can we live together when we are so different? How can
we welcome one another and how can we be brothers?” he asks.
A challenge
This re-finding our Christian identity is a challenge that
our Churches are facing across the Archipelago, though, he says, they are “not
exactly the same”.
Faith in the islands started as “something attached to
social identities”, he says. Cardinal Piat explains that “at the beginning”,
“all the inhabitants had to be baptized” and that therefore it is easy to take
for granted that someone with Creole origins in Mauritius might be a Christian.
“So”, concludes Cardinal Piat, “we have to rediscover the
beauty and the specificity of our identity. Our Christian Identity.”
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