READ POPE'S SPEECH:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\tDear Friends,<\/p>\n
\tI am grateful for the opportunity to take part in this meeting which brings together, among
\n\tothers, the four largest religious communities integral to the life of Sri Lanka: Buddhism,
\n\tHinduism, Islam and Christianity. I thank you for your presence and for your warm welcome.
\n\tI also thank those who have offered prayers and blessings, and in a particular way I express my
\n\tgratitude to Bishop Cletus Chandrasiri Perera and to the Venerable Vigithasiri Niyangoda Thero
\n\tfor their kind words.<\/p>\n
\tI have come to Sri Lanka in the footsteps of my predecessors Popes Paul VI and John Paul
\n\tII to demonstrate the great love and concern which the Catholic Church has for Sri Lanka. It is
\n\ta particular grace for me to visit the Catholic community here, to confirm them in their Christian
\n\tfaith, to pray with them and to share their joys and sufferings. It is equally a grace to be with all
\n\tof you, men and women of these great religious traditions, who share with us a desire for
\n\twisdom, truth and holiness.<\/p>\n
\tAt the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church declared her deep and abiding respect
\n\tfor other religions. She stated that she 'rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these
\n\treligions. She has a high regard for their manner of life and conduct, their precepts and
\n\tdoctrines\u00e2?\u009d (Nostra Aetate, 2). For my part, I wish to reaffirm the Church\u00e2??s sincere respect for
\n\tyou, your traditions and beliefs.<\/p>\n
\tIt is in this spirit of respect that the Catholic Church desires to cooperate with you, and with
\n\tall people of good will, in seeking the welfare of all Sri Lankans. I hope that my visit will help
\n\tto encourage and deepen the various forms of interreligious and ecumenical cooperation which
\n\thave been undertaken in recent years.
\n\tThese praiseworthy initiatives have provided opportunities for dialogue, which is essential
\n\tif we are to know, understand and respect one another. But, as experience has shown, for such<\/p>\n
\tdialogue and encounter to be effective, it must be grounded in a full and forthright presentation
\n\tof our respective convictions. Certainly, such dialogue will accentuate how varied our beliefs,
\n\ttraditions and practices are. But if we are honest in presenting our convictions, we will be able
\n\tto see more clearly what we hold in common. New avenues will be opened for mutual esteem,
\n\tcooperation and indeed friendship.<\/p>\n
\tSuch positive developments in interreligious and ecumenical relations take on a particular
\n\tsignificance and urgency in Sri Lanka. For too many years the men and women of this country
\n\thave been victims of civil strife and violence. What is needed now is healing and unity, not
\n\tfurther conflict and division. Surely the fostering of healing and unity is a noble task which is
\n\tincumbent upon all who have at heart the good of the nation, and indeed the whole human
\n\tfamily. It is my hope that interreligious and ecumenical cooperation will demonstrate that men
\n\tand women do not have to forsake their identity, whether ethnic or religious, in order to live in
\n\tharmony with their brothers and sisters.<\/p>\n
\tHow many ways there are for the followers of the different religions to carry out this service!
\n\tHow many are the needs that must be tended to with the healing balm of fraternal solidarity! I
\n\tthink in particular of the material and spiritual needs of the poor, the destitute, those who yearn
\n\tfor a word of consolation and hope. Here I think too of the many families who continue to
\n\tmourn the loss of their loved ones.<\/p>\n
\tAbove all, at this moment of your nation\u00e2??s history, how many people of good will are
\n\tseeking to rebuild the moral foundations of society as a whole? May the growing spirit of
\n\tcooperation between the leaders of the various religious communities find expression in a
\n\tcommitment to put reconciliation among all Sri Lankans at the heart of every effort to renew
\n\tsociety and its institutions.<\/p>\n
\t\u00a0For the sake of peace, religious beliefs must never be allowed to be
\n\tabused in the cause of violence and war. We must be clear and unequivocal in challenging our
\n\tcommunities to live fully the tenets of peace and coexistence found in each religion, and to
\n\tdenounce acts of violence when they are committed.
\n\tDear friends, I thank you once again for your generous welcome and your attention. May
\n\tthis fraternal encounter confirm all of us in our efforts to live in harmony and to spread the
\n\tblessings of peace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
(-ONLY VIDEO-) On day one of the Pope's trip to Sri Lanka, he met with leaders of the country's major religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. ;<\/p>\n
In his speech, he explained that people don't need to set their faith aside to live in harmony. Once again, he called for religion to never be used as a tool for violence. ;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":32336,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"acf":{"video":"http:\/\/youtu.be\/QDyif_Yo2QU","video_descarga":"http:\/\/attuale.romereports.com\/news\/","international_url":"http:\/\/romereports.com.edgesuite.net\/news\/bncdiscreligint.mov","type":"rrp","newsletter":"si"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51993"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}