"In this night of conflict that we are currently enduring, may
religions be a dawn of peace, seeds of rebirth amid the devastation of
death, echoes of dialogue resounding unceasingly, paths to encounter and
reconciliation reaching even those places where official mediation
efforts seem not to have borne fruit".
Pope Francis’ final appointment
in Azerbaijan was dedicated to inter faith dialogue before he boarded
his return flight to Rome a little after 19 am local time. He is
scheduled to arrive at 22 am local time.
A predominantly Muslim country - more than 80 percent of the
population - especially Shi'ite - around 60 percent - with a significant
presence Orthodox - around 12 percent - Azerbaijan knows no significant
differences between faiths. This is due not only to historical
traditions of coexistence, but also to a widespread secularism, visible
even in the clothes, as well as state control.
In a Caucasus where there are extremist positions and from where many
have left to join the ranks of Islamic fundamentalist groups Francis
returned to emphasize that " God cannot be used for personal interests
and selfish ends; he cannot be used to justify any form of
fundamentalism, imperialism or colonialism. From this highly symbolic
place, a heartfelt cry rises up once again: no more violence in the name
of God! May his most holy Name be adored, not profaned or bartered as a
commodity through forms of hatred and human opposition".
The inter-religious meeting took place in the great "Heydar Aliyev
mosque."
The Pope was welcomed by Sheikh of Caucasus Muslims,
Allahshukur Pashazadeh, with whom he went first to the "mihrab" - the
place that indicates the direction of Mecca - then to a room for a
private meeting and finally the main hall of the Mosque for the
interreligious meeting with representatives of other religious
communities in the country. In fact representatives of the Orthodox and
Jewish communities were also present.
Coming together, the Pope said, "it is a great sign", " is a
powerful sign, one that shows the harmony which religions can build
together, based on personal relations and on the good will of those
responsible. This is seen, for example, in the tangible help that the
President of the Council of the Muslims has guaranteed to the Catholic
community here on more than one occasion, along with the wise counsel
that, in a familial spirit, he shares with that community.
I wish also
to highlight the good relations that unite local Catholics to the
Orthodox community in solid fraternity and daily affection which are an
example for all, as well as the warm friendship shared with the Jewish
community.
The benefits of this harmony are felt throughout Azerbaijan, a
country that distinguishes itself for its welcome and hospitality, gifts
which I have experienced on this memorable day, one for which I am
truly grateful. There is here a desire to protect the great heritage of
religions and, at the same time, a pursuit of deeper and more fruitful
openness. The Catholic Church, for example, finds a place and lives in
harmony among other religions that have far more members, demonstrating
concretely that it is not opposition but cooperation that helps to build
better and more peaceful societies. Our being together at this place is
also in continuity with the many meetings that are held in Baku to
promote dialogue and multiculturalism. Opening the doors of welcome and
integration means opening the doors of each person’s heart and the doors
of hope to everyone. I am confident that this country, “the gateway
between East and West” (John Paul II, Address at the Welcome Ceremony,
Baku, 22 May 2002), will always cultivate its vocation to openness and
encounter, the indispensable conditions for building lasting bridges of
peace and a future worthy of humanity.
The fraternity and sharing that we seek to increase will not be
appreciated by those who want to highlight divisions, reignite tensions
and profit from opposition and differences; rather, fraternity and
sharing are invoked and longed for by those who desire the common good,
and are above all pleasing to God, the Compassionate and All Merciful,
who wishes his sons and daughters in the one human family to be ever
more united among themselves and always in dialogue with one another. A
great poet, a son of this land, wrote: “If you are human, mix with
humans, because people go well with each other” (Nizami Ganjavi, The Book of Alexander,
I, On his own state of life and the passage of time). Opening ourselves
to others does not lead to impoverishment but rather enrichment,
because it enables us to be more human: to recognize ourselves as
participants in a greater collectivity and to understand our life as a
gift for others; to see as the goal, not our own interests, but rather
the good of humanity; to act with neither abstract idealism nor with
interventionism, not by harmful interference or forceful actions, but
rather out of respect for the dynamics of history, cultures and
religious traditions.
Religions have an enormous task: to accompany men and women looking
for the meaning of life, helping them to understand that the limited
capacities of the human being and the goods of this world must never
become absolutes. Again, Nizami wrote: “Do not base yourself solidly on
your own strength, such that in heaven you will find no resting place!
The fruits of this world are not eternal; do not adore that which
perishes!” (Leylā and Majnūn, Death of Majnūn on the tomb of
Leylā). Religions are called to help us understand that the centre of
each person is outside of himself, that we are oriented towards the Most
High and towards the other who is our neighbour. In this way, the
vocation of human life is to set out towards the highest and truest
love: this alone is the culmination of every authentically religious
aspiration. For, as the poet says, “love is that which never mutates,
love is that which has no end” (ibid, The Despair of Majnūn).
Humanity therefore needs religion if it is to reach its goal.
Religion is a compass that orients us to the good and steers us away
from evil, which is always crouching at the door of a person’s heart
(cf. Gen 4:7). Religions, therefore, have an educational task:
to help bring out the best in each person. We, as guides, have a great
responsibility, in order to offer authentic responses to men and women
who are searching, who are often lost among the swirling contradictions
of our time. Indeed, today we observe, on the one hand, the dominance of
the nihilism of those who no longer believe in anything except their
own wellbeing, advantage and profit, of those who throw life away,
having become accustomed to the saying, “if God does not exist then
everything is permissible” (cf. F.M. Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov,
XI, 4.8.9); on the other hand, we see the growing emergence of rigid
and fundamentalist reactions on the part of those who, through violent
words and deeds, seek to impose extreme and radical attitudes which are
furthest from the living God.
Religions, on the contrary, which help to discern the good and put it
into practice through deeds, prayer and diligent cultivation of the
inner life, are called to build a culture of encounter and peace,
based on patience, understanding, and humble, tangible steps. This is
the way a humane society is best served. For its part, society must
always overcome the temptation to take advantage of religious factors:
religions must never be instrumentalized, nor can they ever lend support
to, or approve of, conflicts and disagreements.
There is, furthermore, a fruitfulness deriving from the virtuous
rapport between society and religions, that respectful alliance which
needs to be built up and protected, and which I would like to evoke with
an image dear to this country. I refer to the precious artistic windows
that have been here for centuries, crafted simply out of wood and
tinted glass (Shebeke). When they are made using traditional
methods, there is a peculiar characteristic: neither glue nor nails are
used, but the wood and the glass are set into each other through
time-consuming and meticulous effort. Thus, the wood supports the glass
and the glass lets in the light. In the same way, it is the task of
every civil society to support religion, which allows a light to shine
through, indispensable for living. In order for this to happen, an
effective and authentic freedom must be guaranteed. Artificial kinds of
“glue” cannot be used, which bind people to believe, imposing on them a
determined belief system and depriving them of the freedom to choose;
nor is there a need for the external “nails” of worldly concerns, of the
yearning for power and money. For God cannot be used for personal
interests and selfish ends; he cannot be used to justify any form of
fundamentalism, imperialism or colonialism. From this highly symbolic
place, a heartfelt cry rises up once again: no more violence in the name
of God! May his most holy Name be adored, not profaned or bartered as a
commodity through forms of hatred and human opposition.
We honour, rather, the divine mercy that is given to us, through
assiduous prayer and real dialogue, “a necessary condition for peace in
the world… a duty for Christians as well as other religious communities”
(Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium,
250). Prayer and dialogue are profoundly interconnected: they flow from
an openness of heart and extend to the good of others, thus enriching
and reinforcing each other. The Catholic Church, in continuity with the
Second Vatican Council, heartily “exhorts her sons and daughters, that
through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other
religions, carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the
Christian faith and life, they recognize, preserve and promote the good
things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found
among these men and women (Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Nostra Aetate,
2). This is not an accommodating “facile syncretism”, nor a “diplomatic
openness which says yes to everything in order to avoid problems”
(Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium,
251), but rather a path of dialogue with others and a path of prayer
for all: these are our means “of turning spears into pruning hooks”
(cf. Is 2:4), to give rise to love where there is hatred, and
forgiveness where there is offence, of never growing weary of imploring
and tracing the ways of peace.
A true peace, founded on mutual respect, encounter and sharing, on
the will to go beyond prejudices and past wrongs, on the rejection of
double standards and self-interests; a lasting peace, animated by the
courage to overcome barriers, to eradicate poverty and injustice, to
denounce and put an end to the proliferation of weapons and immoral
profiteering on the backs of others. The blood of far too many people
cries out to God from the earth, our common home (cf. Gen 4:10). Today, we are challenged to give a response that can no longer be put off: to build together a
future of peace; now is not the time for violent or abrupt solutions,
but rather an urgent moment to engage in patient processes of
reconciliation. The real question of our time is not how to advance our
own causes - this is not the real question -, but what proposals for
life are we offering to future generations; how to leave them a better
world than the one we have received. God, and history itself, will ask
us if we have spent ourselves pursuing peace; the younger generations,
who dream of a different future, pointedly direct this question to us.
In this night of conflict that we are currently enduring, may
religions be a dawn of peace, seeds of rebirth amid the devastation of
death, echoes of dialogue resounding unceasingly, paths to encounter and
reconciliation reaching even those places where official mediation
efforts seem not to have borne fruit. Particularly in this beloved
Caucasus region, which I have very much wished to visit and to which I
have come as a pilgrim of peace, may religions be active agents working
to overcome the tragedies of the past and the tensions of the present.
May the inestimable richness of these countries be known and valued: the
treasures old and ever new of the wisdom, culture and religious
sensibility of the people of the Caucasus, are a tremendous resource for
the future of the region and especially for European culture; they are
goods which we cannot renounce."