At 5:45pm local time, at the Franciscan International Student Centre, an ecumenical and inter-religious meeting took place. Present for this gathering were about 300 people representing the Muslim, Orthodox, Catholic and Jewish communities.
During the gathering, following the greetings offered by the Archbishop of Sarajevo, Cardinal Vinko Puljić and those offered by representatives of the Muslim, Orthodox and Jewish communities, the Holy Father, Pope Francis shared his speech which was followed by a concluding prayer.
Dear brothers and sisters,
I am pleased to participate in this meeting, which gathers representatives of the religious confessions present in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I address a cordial greeting to each of you and to your communities, and I especially thank you for the courteous expressions and the reflections you have proposed. Having heard them, I can tell you that your reflections have been good to hear!
Today's gathering is a sign of a common desire for fraternity and peace; it bears witness to a friendship that you have been building across the years and which you are already living in your everyday coexistence and collaboration. Your presence here is already a message of the dialogue that we all seek and toward which we are working.
I especially want to recall, as a result of this desire for meeting and for reconciliation, the establishment in 1997 of the local Council for Inter-religious Dialogue which brings together Muslims, Christians and Jews. I welcome the work that the Council is accomplishing through the promotion of various activities, dialogue, the coordination of joint initiatives and meetings with State Authorities. Your work is very precious in this region and particularly in Sarajevo, a crossroads of people and of cultures where diversity, while it is a great resource which has facilitated social, cultural and spiritual development in this region, has also been a motive for great suffering and bloody war.
It is no coincidence that the birth of the Council for Inter-religious Dialogue and other significant initiatives in the field of inter-religious dialogue and ecumenism have come about at the end of the war, in response to the need for reconciliation and in the face of the need to rebuild a society which has been torn apart by conflict. In fact, inter-religious dialogue here, as in other corners of the world, is a prerequisite for peace, and this is a duty for all believers (cf Evangelii gaudium, 250).
Inter-religious dialogue, even before any discussion on major themes of faith, is a conversation about human life (EG, 250). In it is found the sharing of everyday existence, in all its concreteness, with the joys and the sufferings, the struggling and the hopes: participants assume joint responsibilities, together designing a better future for all people. We learn to live together, to know one another and to accept one another while respecting our diversity, freely, for who we are. Through dialogue, we recognize and develop a spiritual community that unites and helps to promote moral values, great moral values, justice, freedom and peace. Dialogue is a school of humanity and a unifying factor which helps us to build a society that is founded on tolerance and mutual respect.
For this reason, inter-religious dialogue cannot be limited only to a few people, only to the heads of religious communities, but it should extend as far as possible, to all believers, involving varioius sectors of civil society. Young people deserve special attention in this respect; they are called to build the future of this country. However, it is always good to remember that dialogue, if it is to be authentic and effective, presupposes a formed identity: without a formed identity, dialogue is useless or even harmful. I say these things about young people, but they apply to all people.
I sincerely appreciate all that you have done so far and I encourage you in your commitment to the cause of peace, of which you, as religious leaders, are the primary guardians here in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I assure you that the Catholic Church will continue to give her full support to your efforts and to ensure her complete availability.
We all know that there is still a long way to go. Don't give up, no matter how discouraged you may be by difficulties that arise. Continue with perseverance along the path of forgiveness and reconciliation. While it is right to maintain a memory of the past, and even to learn the lessons of history, we should avoid its regrets and recriminations, but allow ourselves to be purified by God who give us the gifts of the present and the future: He is our future, He is the ultimate source of peace.
This city, which in the recent past has sadly become a symbol of war and of destruction, this Jerusalem of Europe, today, with a variety of peoples, cultures and religions, can become a renewed sign of unity, a place in which diversity does not represent a threat, but an asset and and an opportunity to grow together. In a world which is at times still wounded by conflict, this land can become a messenger: attesting to the fact that it is possible to live beside one another, in diversity but in shared humanity, building together a future of peace and of fraternity. You can live together and be peacemakers!
I am grateful to all of you for your presence and for the prayer that in your goodness you have offered for my work. On my part, I assure you of my prayer offered for all of you, for your communities: I offer it with all my heart. May the Lord bless you all.
Now, I invite you to pray with me to the Eternal, the One, True and Living God, to the Merciful One.
All-powerful and eternal God,
Good and merciful Father:
Creator of the heavens and the earth, of all things visible and invisible;
God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob,
King and Lord of the past, of the present and of the future:
only judge of all peoples,
who rewards your faithful with eternal glory!
We, descendants of Abraham through faith in you, the only God,
Jews, Christians and Muslims,
stand humbly before You
and with trust, we pray to You
for this country, Boznia and Herzegovina,
may they live in peace and harmony
men and women, believers from various religions, nations and cultures.
We ask you, O Father, that this might come about
in all countries of the world!
Strengthen within us the gifts of faith and hope,
mutual respect and sincere love
for all our brothers and sisters.
Give us the courage to commit ourselves
to working for social justice,
to being men of good will,
filled with mutual understanding and forgiveness,
patient artisans of dialogue and peace.
May all our thoughts, words and actions
be in harmony with Your holy will.
May everything we do be for Your honour, Your glory and for our salvation.
Eternal praise and glory to You, our God!
Amen.
Following the concluding prayer, some members of the community who were present were invited to the stage in order to greet the Holy Father. Pope Francis then traveled by car to the John Paul II Diocesan Youth Centre for a meeting with youth.
During the gathering, following the greetings offered by the Archbishop of Sarajevo, Cardinal Vinko Puljić and those offered by representatives of the Muslim, Orthodox and Jewish communities, the Holy Father, Pope Francis shared his speech which was followed by a concluding prayer.
Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the Ecumenical and Inter-religious meeting
Dear brothers and sisters,
I am pleased to participate in this meeting, which gathers representatives of the religious confessions present in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I address a cordial greeting to each of you and to your communities, and I especially thank you for the courteous expressions and the reflections you have proposed. Having heard them, I can tell you that your reflections have been good to hear!
Today's gathering is a sign of a common desire for fraternity and peace; it bears witness to a friendship that you have been building across the years and which you are already living in your everyday coexistence and collaboration. Your presence here is already a message of the dialogue that we all seek and toward which we are working.
I especially want to recall, as a result of this desire for meeting and for reconciliation, the establishment in 1997 of the local Council for Inter-religious Dialogue which brings together Muslims, Christians and Jews. I welcome the work that the Council is accomplishing through the promotion of various activities, dialogue, the coordination of joint initiatives and meetings with State Authorities. Your work is very precious in this region and particularly in Sarajevo, a crossroads of people and of cultures where diversity, while it is a great resource which has facilitated social, cultural and spiritual development in this region, has also been a motive for great suffering and bloody war.
It is no coincidence that the birth of the Council for Inter-religious Dialogue and other significant initiatives in the field of inter-religious dialogue and ecumenism have come about at the end of the war, in response to the need for reconciliation and in the face of the need to rebuild a society which has been torn apart by conflict. In fact, inter-religious dialogue here, as in other corners of the world, is a prerequisite for peace, and this is a duty for all believers (cf Evangelii gaudium, 250).
Inter-religious dialogue, even before any discussion on major themes of faith, is a conversation about human life (EG, 250). In it is found the sharing of everyday existence, in all its concreteness, with the joys and the sufferings, the struggling and the hopes: participants assume joint responsibilities, together designing a better future for all people. We learn to live together, to know one another and to accept one another while respecting our diversity, freely, for who we are. Through dialogue, we recognize and develop a spiritual community that unites and helps to promote moral values, great moral values, justice, freedom and peace. Dialogue is a school of humanity and a unifying factor which helps us to build a society that is founded on tolerance and mutual respect.
For this reason, inter-religious dialogue cannot be limited only to a few people, only to the heads of religious communities, but it should extend as far as possible, to all believers, involving varioius sectors of civil society. Young people deserve special attention in this respect; they are called to build the future of this country. However, it is always good to remember that dialogue, if it is to be authentic and effective, presupposes a formed identity: without a formed identity, dialogue is useless or even harmful. I say these things about young people, but they apply to all people.
I sincerely appreciate all that you have done so far and I encourage you in your commitment to the cause of peace, of which you, as religious leaders, are the primary guardians here in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I assure you that the Catholic Church will continue to give her full support to your efforts and to ensure her complete availability.
We all know that there is still a long way to go. Don't give up, no matter how discouraged you may be by difficulties that arise. Continue with perseverance along the path of forgiveness and reconciliation. While it is right to maintain a memory of the past, and even to learn the lessons of history, we should avoid its regrets and recriminations, but allow ourselves to be purified by God who give us the gifts of the present and the future: He is our future, He is the ultimate source of peace.
This city, which in the recent past has sadly become a symbol of war and of destruction, this Jerusalem of Europe, today, with a variety of peoples, cultures and religions, can become a renewed sign of unity, a place in which diversity does not represent a threat, but an asset and and an opportunity to grow together. In a world which is at times still wounded by conflict, this land can become a messenger: attesting to the fact that it is possible to live beside one another, in diversity but in shared humanity, building together a future of peace and of fraternity. You can live together and be peacemakers!
I am grateful to all of you for your presence and for the prayer that in your goodness you have offered for my work. On my part, I assure you of my prayer offered for all of you, for your communities: I offer it with all my heart. May the Lord bless you all.
Now, I invite you to pray with me to the Eternal, the One, True and Living God, to the Merciful One.
Prayer
All-powerful and eternal God,
Good and merciful Father:
Creator of the heavens and the earth, of all things visible and invisible;
God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob,
King and Lord of the past, of the present and of the future:
only judge of all peoples,
who rewards your faithful with eternal glory!
We, descendants of Abraham through faith in you, the only God,
Jews, Christians and Muslims,
stand humbly before You
and with trust, we pray to You
for this country, Boznia and Herzegovina,
may they live in peace and harmony
men and women, believers from various religions, nations and cultures.
We ask you, O Father, that this might come about
in all countries of the world!
Strengthen within us the gifts of faith and hope,
mutual respect and sincere love
for all our brothers and sisters.
Give us the courage to commit ourselves
to working for social justice,
to being men of good will,
filled with mutual understanding and forgiveness,
patient artisans of dialogue and peace.
May all our thoughts, words and actions
be in harmony with Your holy will.
May everything we do be for Your honour, Your glory and for our salvation.
Eternal praise and glory to You, our God!
Amen.
Following the concluding prayer, some members of the community who were present were invited to the stage in order to greet the Holy Father. Pope Francis then traveled by car to the John Paul II Diocesan Youth Centre for a meeting with youth.
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