At 10:00am local time this morning (10:30pm EST last night), the Holy Father met with Religious Leaders in the dining room at the residence of the Archbishop of Yangon. His Holiness offered some unscripted remarks to the dignitaries who were in attendance.
First of all, thank you very much for having come to meet with me. Maybe I should have come to visit with each one of you but you have been generous and have saved me a lot of work. Thank you. While you were speaking, I was thinking about a prayer, a prayer that we often pray, taken from the Book of Psalms: How beautiful it is when brothers are united. United does not mean equals. Unity is not uniformity, even within its confession. Each one of us maintains his own values, his own riches and also his own weaknesses. We are all different and each confession has its own riches, its own traditions, its own treasures to be given and to be shared. And this can only be the case if you live in peace. And peace is created in the midst of differences. Unity always includes differences. Three times, one of you used the word harmony. This is peace: harmony. We, in this time that we are living, are experiencing a global trend toward uniformity, doing everything the same way. This trend is killing humanity. It is a cultural colonization. We need to understand the riches that are contained within our differences - ethnic, religious, popular - and these differences lead to dialogue. And from these differences, we learn from one another, as brothers ... As brothers who are helping to build this country, which even geographically has so much wealth, so many differences. The natural environment in Myanmar is very rich in its differences. Let us not be afraid of differences. Our Father is One, we are all brothers. Let us live as brothers. And if we speak among ourselves, let it be as brothers. If we teach, we must be reconciled. Always returning to the truth that we are brothers. I think that only in this way can we build peace. I am grateful that you have come to visit with me, but it is I who am visiting with you, and I would like that this visit might take place at least spiritually, that I may be one more among brothers.
Thank you. Keep on building peace. Don't let yourselves be equalled by the colonization of cultures. True divine harmony is achieved through the recognition of differences. Differences are a requirement for the achievement of peace.
Thank you very much. And allow me one prayer, from a brother to his brothers. An ancient blessing that includes all of us: May the Lord bless you and protect you. May he make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May he reveal his face to you and grant you peace.
Thank you very much!
(Original remarks in Spanish)
Unscripted words offered by His Holiness, Pope Francis
to Religious Leaders in Yangon (Mayanmar)
First of all, thank you very much for having come to meet with me. Maybe I should have come to visit with each one of you but you have been generous and have saved me a lot of work. Thank you. While you were speaking, I was thinking about a prayer, a prayer that we often pray, taken from the Book of Psalms: How beautiful it is when brothers are united. United does not mean equals. Unity is not uniformity, even within its confession. Each one of us maintains his own values, his own riches and also his own weaknesses. We are all different and each confession has its own riches, its own traditions, its own treasures to be given and to be shared. And this can only be the case if you live in peace. And peace is created in the midst of differences. Unity always includes differences. Three times, one of you used the word harmony. This is peace: harmony. We, in this time that we are living, are experiencing a global trend toward uniformity, doing everything the same way. This trend is killing humanity. It is a cultural colonization. We need to understand the riches that are contained within our differences - ethnic, religious, popular - and these differences lead to dialogue. And from these differences, we learn from one another, as brothers ... As brothers who are helping to build this country, which even geographically has so much wealth, so many differences. The natural environment in Myanmar is very rich in its differences. Let us not be afraid of differences. Our Father is One, we are all brothers. Let us live as brothers. And if we speak among ourselves, let it be as brothers. If we teach, we must be reconciled. Always returning to the truth that we are brothers. I think that only in this way can we build peace. I am grateful that you have come to visit with me, but it is I who am visiting with you, and I would like that this visit might take place at least spiritually, that I may be one more among brothers.
Thank you. Keep on building peace. Don't let yourselves be equalled by the colonization of cultures. True divine harmony is achieved through the recognition of differences. Differences are a requirement for the achievement of peace.
Thank you very much. And allow me one prayer, from a brother to his brothers. An ancient blessing that includes all of us: May the Lord bless you and protect you. May he make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May he reveal his face to you and grant you peace.
Thank you very much!
(Original remarks in Spanish)
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