Meeting with interreligious
leaders at the Notre Dame Center in Jerusalem on 11 May 2009,
the Holy Father gave the following address. Dear Brother
Bishops,
Distinguished Religious Leaders,
Dear Friends,
It is a source of great joy for me to meet with you this
evening. I wish to thank His Beatitude Patriarch Fouad Twal for
his kind words of welcome spoken on behalf of everyone present.
I reciprocate the warm sentiments expressed and gladly greet all
of you and the members of the groups and organizations you
represent.
"God said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your kindred and
your father’s house for a land I shall show you’ … so Abram went
… and took his wife Sarah with him" (Gen 12:1-5). God’s
irruptive call, which marks the beginning of the history of our
faith traditions, was heard in the midst of man’s ordinary daily
existence. And the history that ensued was shaped, not in
isolation, but through the encounter with Egyptian, Hittite,
Sumerian, Babylonian, Persian, and Greek cultures.
Faith is always lived within a culture. The history of
religion shows that a community of believers proceeds by degrees
of faithfulness to God, drawing from and shaping the culture it
meets. This same dynamic is found in individual believers from
the great monotheistic traditions: attuned to the voice of God,
like Abraham, we respond to his call and set out seeking the
fulfillment of his promises, striving to obey his will, forging
a path in our own particular culture.
Today, nearly four thousand years after Abraham, the
encounter of religions with culture occurs not simply on a
geographical plane. Certain aspects of globalization and in
particular the world of the internet have created a vast virtual
culture, the worth of which is as varied as its countless
manifestations. Undoubtedly much has been achieved to create a
sense of closeness and unity within the world-wide human family.
Yet, at the same time, the boundless array of portals through
which people so readily access undifferentiated sources of
information can easily become an instrument of increasing
fragmentation: the unity of knowledge is shattered and the
complex skills of critique, discernment and discrimination
learned through academic and ethical traditions are at times
bypassed or neglected.
The question naturally arises then as to what contribution
religion makes to the cultures of the world against the backdrop
of rapid globalization. Since many are quick to point out the
readily apparent differences between religions, as believers or
religious persons we are presented with the challenge to
proclaim with clarity what we share in common.
Abraham’s first step in faith, and our steps to or from the
synagogue, church, mosque or temple, tread the path of our
single human history, unfolding along the way, we might say, to
the eternal Jerusalem (cf. Rev 21:23). Similarly, every
culture with its inner capacity to give and receive gives
expression to the one human nature. Yet, the individual is never
fully expressed through his or her own culture, but transcends
it in the constant search for something beyond. From this
perspective, dear friends, we see the possibility of a unity
which is not dependent upon uniformity. While the differences we
explore in inter-religious dialogue may at times appear as
barriers, they need not overshadow the common sense of awe and
respect for the universal, for the absolute and for truth, which
impel religious peoples to converse with one another in the
first place. Indeed it is the shared conviction that these
transcendent realities have their source in – and bear traces of
– the Almighty that believers uphold before each other, our
organizations, our society, our world. In this way not only do
we enrich culture but we shape it: lives of religious fidelity
echo God’s irruptive presence and so form a culture not defined
by boundaries of time or place but fundamentally shaped by the
principles and actions that stem from belief.
Religious belief presupposes truth. The one who believes is
the one who seeks truth and lives by it. Although the medium by
which we understand the discovery and communication of truth
differs in part from religion to religion, we should not be
deterred in our efforts to bear witness to truth’s power.
Together we can proclaim that God exists and can be known, that
the earth is his creation, that we are his creatures, and that
he calls every man and woman to a way of life that respects his
design for the world. Friends, if we believe we have a criterion
of judgment and discernment which is divine in origin and
intended for all humanity, then we cannot tire of bringing that
knowledge to bear on civic life. Truth should be offered to all;
it serves all members of society. It sheds light on the
foundation of morality and ethics, and suffuses reason with the
strength to reach beyond its own limitations in order to give
expression to our deepest common aspirations. Far from
threatening the tolerance of differences or cultural plurality,
truth makes consensus possible and keeps public debate rational,
honest and accountable, and opens the gateway to peace.
Fostering the will to be obedient to the truth in fact broadens
our concept of reason and its scope of application, and makes
possible the genuine dialogue of cultures and religions so
urgently needed today.
Each one of us here also knows, however, that God’s voice is
heard less clearly today, and reason itself has in so many
instances become deaf to the divine. Yet that "void" is not one
of silence. Indeed, it is the din of egotistical demands, empty
promises and false hopes that so often invades the very space in
which God seeks us. Can we then make spaces – oases of peace and
profound reflection – where God’s voice can be heard anew, where
his truth can be discovered within the universality of reason,
where every individual, regardless of dwelling, or ethnic group,
or political hue, or religious belief, can be respected as a
person, as a fellow human being? In an age of instant access to
information and social tendencies which engender a kind of
monoculture, deep reflection against the backdrop of God’s
presence will embolden reason, stimulate creative genius,
facilitate critical appreciation of cultural practices and
uphold the universal value of religious belief.
Friends, the institutions and groups that you represent
engage in inter-religious dialogue and the promotion of cultural
initiatives at a wide range of levels. From academic
institutions – and here I wish to make special mention of the
outstanding achievements of Bethlehem University – to bereaved
parents groups, from initiatives through music and the arts to
the courageous example of ordinary mothers and fathers, from
formal dialogue groups to charitable organizations, you daily
demonstrate your belief that our duty before God is expressed
not only in our worship but also in our love and concern for
society, for culture, for our world and for all who live in this
land. Some would have us believe that our differences are
necessarily a cause of division and thus at most to be
tolerated. A few even maintain that our voices should simply be
silenced. But we know that our differences need never be
misrepresented as an inevitable source of friction or tension
either between ourselves or in society at large. Rather, they
provide a wonderful opportunity for people of different
religions to live together in profound respect, esteem and
appreciation, encouraging one another in the ways of God.
Prompted by the Almighty and enlightened by his truth, may you
continue to step forward with courage, respecting all that
differentiates us and promoting all that unites us as creatures
blessed with the desire to bring hope to our communities and
world. May God guide us along this path!
[Original text: English] |