METZ (FRANCIA) (ITALPRESS) – “It is with deep joy, but also with a lively sense of spiritual responsibility, which I am among you today in Metz, city of borders and passages, at the Congress Centre that bears the name of Robert Schuman, one of the founding fathers of the European Union. This man of faith and convictions knew how to transform the old lines of fracture into bridges of hope for all Europe, becoming a true ambassador of unity in diversity. Following his example, our common responsibility for women and men religious, is to testify that, beyond the borders, it is always possible to meet, to make friendship and build peace”. Pope Leo XIV said that during an interreligious meeting in Metz, France. “Dialogue does not diminish our identity, but expresses it with simplicity and truth opening itself to the diversity of the other. As my predecessor said, Pope Francis – the Pontiff continued -: “The dialogue between people of different religions is not only for diplomacy, courtesy or tolerance. […] The goal is to establish friendship, peace.” Before him, Pope John Paul II considered dialogue as an intrinsic necessity to the very nature of man. According to Paul Ricœur, it is the way through which we recognize alternation as a promise and not as a threat; it is an art of the encounter that our world needs, to the antipods of aggression and violence”.
“We cannot talk about Europe without mentioning Christianity,” Pope Leo added in his speech at the Robert Schuman Centre in Metz, in the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron. “In fact, invoking the name of God to legitimize violence or oppression is a desecration of this name. Nothing that disrupts human dignity can claim an authentic divine inspiration. The religious speech must constantly exhort to disarm hearts and words. This entails the direct responsibility of each of us, as guardians of our respective traditions – Pope Leo XIV emphasized. On the other hand, if the fruitfulness of religious traditions is manifested first of all in their service to peace and brotherhood, it is also expressed in their ability to protect, accompany and serve life. The greatness of a civilization is not measured by its material successes, but by the way it surrounds, protects and elevates the human person. Religions are guardians of life: they affirm their sacred value. Their fruitfulness is manifested in the loving presence next to the most vulnerable and fragile people. Serving life means surrounding it with care, presence and tenderness, especially in the test, until the end. To us who are open to transcendence, the mission is to offer solid points of reference, especially to young people, to build a communion that respects and values the dignity of every human person”.
“We must look at ourselves from the illusion of rearmament. The search for peace in Europe, as well as in the rest of the world, must not be confused with a naïve irenism”, the Pontiff stressed. On the contrary, as Schuman said, “World peace cannot be safeguarded without creative efforts in proportion to the dangers that threaten it. However, you have to look at yourself from the illusion of rearmament. Not by chance, the repeated appeals to increase military spending and the choices that follow them are presented by many rulers with the justification of the danger of others.” “Today we must ask ourselves if we are actually doing “creative efforts” to promote world peace, “or if we are simply trying to stem the bleeding of war” and prepare ourselves better for what we presume should still come.”.
– Photo Ipa Agency –
(ITALPRESS).
