ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW ADDRESSED THE INTER-RELIGIOUS MEETING “PEOPLES AS BROTHERS, FUTURE EARTH” OF THE COMMUNITY OF SANT’EGIDIO

His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew addressed the Opening Assembly of the International Inter-religious Meeting “Peoples as Brothers, Future Earth. Religions and Cultures in Dialogue” of the Community of Sant’Egidio which took place on 6-7 October 2021 in Rome. 

 Men and women of various faiths and cultures attended the meeting to search for a way of peace for the world that, thanks to the vaccination campaign, is on its way out of the pandemic. This is the thirty-fifth promoted by the Community of Sant’Egidio in the “spirit of Assisi”, after the historic day desired by the late Pope John Paul II in 1986. Last year, the Meeting concentrated on the theme “No One Is Saved Alone”. This year, peace seekers from different faiths and cultures are trying to put in practice this awareness and look for the way to “begin again together”.

The inauguration ceremony and the Forums were held at the La Nuvola Congress Center. The final ceremony was a prayer for peace held in the Colosseum. The opening address was given by Marco Impagliazzo, President of Sant’Egidio. With him great religious leaders took the floor, such as Pope Francis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, the President of the Conference of European Rabbis Pinchas Goldschmidt, and Muslim representatives Mohamed Al-Duwaini, Deputy Sheykh of the Grand Imam of al-Azhar and Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistenceof the UAE, and Luciana Lamorgese, Minister of Interior of the Italian Republic.

His All-Holiness underlined that the Covid-19 “has made more evident the fact that all the peoples of the earth belong to the one human family” and that “a new beginning is only possible together”. Political leaders, religious leaders and all humanity must therefore seize the opportunity given by this moment of change to “build the future on rock and not on sand”, stressed Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of the Church of England. Tolerance is the future, argued Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, holder of the world’s first and only Ministry of Tolerance and Coexistence, established by the United Arab Emirates. “We are committed to working with all individuals and nations,” he said, “to ensure genuine respect and compassion for the dignity of every human being and to preserve basic human rights for all.”

The final ceremony was a prayer for peace held in the Colosseum with the participation of Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.

Address of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew the International Inter-religious Meeting “Peoples as Brothers, Future Earth” of the Community of Sant’Egidio (Rome, 6 October 2021)