Conclusion of the VII Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions
By Francesca Merlo
Sep 17 2022
In his concluding remarks at the 7th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, Pope Francis urges all religions and societies to involve women and young people in the quest for world peace.
Concluding the 7th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, on his 38th Apostolic Journey abroad, Pope Francis thanked those present for coming from so many different parts of the world.
“We have travelled this road together,” he said. The Holy Father added that the members’ commitment in the service of dialogue over the course of the conference is more valuable than ever “when the problems of the pandemic have been compounded by the utter folly of war.”
Messengers of peace and unity
The Pope went on to recall his motto for the visit, “Messengers of Peace and Unity”, noting the deliberate decision to pluralise the word messengers.
“After the events of 11 September 2001, it was necessary to respond collectively to the incendiary atmosphere that terrorist violence sought to incite, and which threatened to turn religion into a grounds for conflict,” he said. “Pseudo-religious terrorism, extremism, radicalism and nationalism, dressed up in religious garb, nonetheless continue to foment fears and concerns about religion. In these days, then, it proved providential that we could come together once more, in order to reaffirm the authentic and inalienable essence of religion.”
Voice to those wanting to be heard
Kazakhstan, at the heart of the great and pivotal continent of Asia, was the natural place for us to meet, continued the Pope.
Pope Francis stressed that “those who legitimately desire to voice their beliefs must be protected, always and everywhere.”
He added that, unfortunately, “many people are even now persecuted and discriminated against on account of their faith”, and instead “we must ensure that religious freedom will never be a mere abstraction but a concrete right.”
The Pope explained that it is for this reason that the Catholic Church also believes in the unity of the human family. The Church believes that all “humanity forms but one community” and “wishes to continue to do so, for the path of interreligious dialogue is a shared path to peace and for peace; as such, it is necessary and irrevocable.”
Pope Francis went on to emphasise three words in the Declaration of our Congress.
