KENYA: Address of His Holiness Pope Francis during the Ecumenical and Inter-religious Meeting at the Apostolic Nunciature, Nairobi

Thursday 26 November 2015

Dear
Friends,

I
am grateful for your presence this morning and for the opportunity to share
these moments of reflection with you.  In
a particular way, I wish to thank Archbishop Wabukala and Professor El-Busaidy
for their words of welcome offered on your behalf, and on behalf of their
communities.  It is always important to
me that, when I come to visit the Catholic faithful of a local Church, I have
an occasion to meet the leaders of other Christian communities and religious
traditions.  It is my hope that our time
together may be a sign of the Church’s esteem for the followers of all
religions; may it strengthen the bonds of friendship which we already enjoy.

To
be honest, this relationship is challenging; it makes demands of us.  Yet ecumenical and interreligious dialogue is
not a luxury.  It is not something extra
or optional, but essential, something which our world, wounded by conflict and
division, increasingly needs.

Indeed,
religious beliefs and practice condition who we are and how we understand the
world around us.  They are for us a
source of enlightenment, wisdom and solidarity, and thus enrich the societies
in which we live.  By caring for the
spiritual growth of our communities, by forming minds and hearts in the truths
and values taught by our religious traditions, we become a blessing to the
communities in which our people live.  In
democratic and pluralistic societies like Kenya, cooperation between religious
leaders and communities becomes an important service to the common good.

In
this light, and in an increasingly interdependent world, we see ever more
clearly the need for interreligious understanding, friendship and collaboration
in defending the God-given dignity of individuals and peoples, and their right
to live in freedom and happiness.  By upholding
respect for that dignity and those rights, the religions play an essential role
in forming consciences, instilling in the young the profound spiritual values
of our respective traditions, and training good citizens, capable of infusing
civil society with honesty, integrity and a world view which values the human
person over power and material gain.

Here
I think of the importance of our common conviction that the God whom we seek to
serve is a God of peace.  His Holy Name
must never be used to justify hatred and violence.  I know that the barbarous attacks on Westgate
Mall, Garissa University College and Mandera are fresh in your minds.  All too often, young people are being
radicalized in the name of religion to sow discord and fear, and to tear at the
very fabric of our societies.  How
important it is that we be seen as prophets of peace, peacemakers who invite
others to live in peace, harmony and mutual respect!  May the Almighty touch the hearts of those
who engage in this violence, and grant his peace to our families and
communities.

Dear
friends, this year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the closing of the Second
Vatican Council, at which the Catholic Church committed herself to ecumenical
and interreligious dialogue in the service of understanding and
friendship.  I wish to reaffirm this
commitment, which is born of our conviction of the universality of God’s love
and the salvation which he offers to all. 
The world rightly expects believers to work together with people of good
will in facing the many problems affecting our human family.  As we look to the future, let us pray that
all men and women will see themselves as brothers and sisters, peacefully
united in and through our differences. 
Let us pray for peace!

I
thank you for your attention, and I ask Almighty God to grant to you and your
communities his abundant blessings.

HOLY SEE Press Office