(LifeSiteNews) — Pope Francis has told an interreligious meeting in Paris that the multi-faith group must be open to guidance “by the divine inspiration present in every faith” in order to establish peace in the world.
In an address to the 38th “International Prayer Meeting for Peace” organized by the ecumenism-driven Sant’Egidio Community, Pope Francis urged the more than 150 gathered representatives of “Christian Communities and of the world’s great religions, as well as civil authorities” to “nurture fraternity between peoples in our time.”
The gathering, which took place from September 22-24, included speakers such as Justin Welby, the Anglican archbishop of Canterbury, Chems-Eddine Hafiz, the rector of Paris’ grand mosque, Haïm Korsia, the chief rabbi of France, and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Noting that the meeting finds its origin in Pope John Paul II’s 1986 Meeting for Peace in Assisi and thanking the Sant’Egidio Community “for the passion and creativity with which it continues to keep the spirit of Assisi alive,” Pope Francis expressed his hope that, while holding differing “religious beliefs,” including Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam, Buddhism, Shintoism, and Judaism, the group had “experienced the power and beauty of universal fraternity.”
“This is the vision our world needs today,” the Pope added, stressing that “the goal” of interreligious dialogue, like that of the Sant’Egidio Community meeting, is “to establish friendship, peace and harmony, and to share spiritual and moral values and experiences in a spirit of truth and love.”
Quoting his predecessor John Paul II, Francis argued, “More perhaps than ever before in history the intrinsic link between an authentic religious attitude and the great good of peace has become evident to all.”
“The spirit of Assisi is a blessing for this world of ours, still torn by numerous wars and acts of violence. The ‘spirit’ of Assisi must blow even stronger in the sails of dialogue and friendship between peoples,” the Pope stated, adding his hope that the Sant’Egidio meeting might “encourage all believers to rediscover their vocation to nurture fraternity between peoples in our time.”
Neglecting to mention Jesus or the Catholic Church in his speech, Francis urged the group to “weave bonds of fraternity and to allow ourselves to be guided by the divine inspiration present in every faith,” building upon comments made during an interreligious gathering in Singapore just weeks ago in which he stated that “every religion is a way to arrive at God.”
Following criticism that he was undermining key teachings of the faith in his Singapore address, Pope Francis doubled down on his comments, telling an ecumenical group that their diverse religious beliefs are “a gift from God.”
Catholic Church teaching emphasizes the need to bring all people to God through the Church He established on Earth, and that Jesus is “the way” to salvation (Jn. 14:6).
While addressing the Sant’Egidio gathering, which historically has Francis’ backing, the Pope hearkened back to his joint declaration with Grand Imam Ahmad Al-Tayyeb in Abu Dhabi, arguing that religions must reject the supposed “temptation” to “become a means of fueling forms of nationalism, ethnocentrism and populism.”
The Pontiff argued that “[a]ll too often in the past, religions were used to fuel conflicts and wars,” adding that this “danger” continues “even in our own day.”
The Pope also took the opportunity to reiterate a familiar call for climate change action and stressed that this, along with “pandemic” challenges, form part of “epochal changes” leading the world in an unknown direction.
Concluding his address, Francis insisted to the representatives of “the world’s great religions” that “God has placed also in our hands His dream for the world: fraternity between all peoples.”
Pope Francis has encouraged previous gatherings of the Sant’Egidio Community’s “prayer meeting for peace” to call for “more vaccines” as well as drawing on his encyclical letter Fratelli Tutti to promote “interreligious dialogue” for the purpose of “fraternity,” preferring to condemn the act of “proselytizing” non-Catholics.