Kazakhstan's NUR-SULTAN (AP) — The Russian Orthodox hierarchy and other religious leaders heard from Pope Francis on Tuesday, who emphasized that religion must never be used to defend the "evil" of war or allow God to "be held captive to the human ambition for power."Francis urged delegations to band together in denouncing war as he addressed an interfaith gathering in Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic, against the backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Anyone cautioned that "he who enables evil and does not resist it cannot be regarded as a sincere believer," citing a poet from Kazakhstan. He is, at best, a reluctant believer.
Metropolitan Anthony, in charge of foreign relations for the Russian Orthodox Church, which has vehemently supported Russia's invasion, was present in the audience of the 80 imams, patriarchs, rabbis, and muftis. His boss, Patriarch Kirill, was meant to have participated in the assembly but canceled last month.Kirill has used spiritual and theological justifications to support Russia's invasion, referring to it as a "metaphysical" conflict with the West. He invoked the idea that Russians and Ukrainians are one people and blessed Russian soldiers going into battle.Francis launched the conference of Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Taoist, and other faith organizations aimed at fostering interreligious dialogue and fraternity as a force for peace in the world, but he made no mention of Russia or Ukraine. Neither did Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Francis, however, urged the religious leaders that they themselves needed to take the lead in spreading a culture of peace in a speech from Russia's southern neighbor as the seven-month conflict continues, calling it hypocritical to think that non-believers will do so if religious leaders don't.He asked, "How can we who call ourselves believers submit to the loss of that life if the creator, to whom we have given our lives, is the author of human life?" "Let us join our efforts to ensure that the Almighty will never again be held prisoner to the human thirst for power, mindful of the wrongs and follies of the past."Francis then issued a challenge to everyone in the room to commit to resolving disagreements via discussion and negotiation rather than resorting to force.
"May we never excuse violent behavior. May we never allow the profane to take advantage of the sacred. Power must never serve as a prop for the sacred, and vice versa!
The grand imam of Al-Azhar, the center of Sunni learning in Cairo, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, was one of the religious leaders there. He gave Francis a cordial kiss on the cheek when the pope arrived in a wheelchair.
In 2019, Francis and al-Tayeb jointly signed a declaration that promoted human fraternity as a force for peace; Tokayev mentioned this text in his own remarks to open the congress.After both confirmed their attendance early this year, there were rumors that Francis and Kirill might get together during the congress. The two chatted by videoconference in the early weeks of the battle after meeting for the first time in 2016 in Cuba, the first time a pope and Russian patriarch had ever met.
Later, Francis publicly rebuked Kirill for justifying Ukraine's invasion and urged him not to turn into "Putin's altar boy
[zombify_post]
0 Comments