Pope meets Argentine
Interreligious Dialogue Institute
Pope Francis receives members of the Instituto de Diálogo
Interreligioso (I.D.I.) of Buenos Aires, who are meeting to discuss the
Document "Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together".
By Vatican News
Pope Francis received participants of a meeting promoted by
the Instituto para el Dialogo Interreligioso (IDI) from Argentina. The
topic of this meeting is the Human Fraternity Document which Pope Francis,
together with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, signed during his visit to Abu Dhabi
on 4 February 2019. The Document calls on all people to work towards
inter-faith harmony and to advance a “culture of mutual respect” and peace.
There is no alternative
In his address to participants at the meeting, Pope Francis
said he was pleased to note that this Document, which is of a universal nature,
“is also spreading in the Americas.”
The Pope quoted from his speech at the Global Conference on
Human Fraternity in February, saying: "There is no alternative: we will
either build the future together or there will not be a future. Religions, in
particular, cannot renounce the urgent task of building bridges between peoples
and cultures.” Interreligious cooperation, “based on the promotion of sincere
and respectful dialogue, is fundamental”, he added.
The role of believers
The world looks to believers, continued Pope Francis, to
collaborate among ourselves and with men and women of good will, in order to
provide effective responses to the problems of “war and hunger, poverty, the
environmental crisis, violence, corruption and moral degradation, the crisis of
the family, the economy and, above all, the lack of hope.”
The purpose of the Document
The purpose of the Document is to adopt the culture of
dialogue and common collaboration as a way forward, said the Pope. He described
fraternity as “a complex human reality, which must be treated delicately.” Pope
Francis went on to pose various questions: How can we care for one another? How
can we privilege inclusion over exclusion? How can we ensure religions are
“channels of fraternity rather than barriers of division?”
The role of dialogue
The Pope stressed the importance of religions being “factors
of peace for human societies”, as a response to those who unjustly accuse them
of fomenting hatred and violence. “Dialogue between religions is not a sign of
weakness”, said Pope Francis. Rather, “it finds its raison d'être in God's
dialogue with humanity.”
Instituto para el Dialogo Interreligioso
IDI is a civil association which promotes understanding
among adherents of various faiths, fosters dialogue and peaceful co-existence.
The Institute is primarily constituted of members of the three monotheistic faiths,
but it is open to all men and women of good will. Pope Francis' words and
actions have been of inspiration to IDI.
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