Ouagadougou, 16 August, 2022 / 9:30 pm (ACI Africa).
The Cardinal in Burkina Faso has called upon the people of God in the West African nation to “break down the walls of hatred, violence” and build bridges of love.
In his homily during the Eucharistic celebration to mark the 27th Archdiocesan pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Yagma on Monday, August 15, Philippe Cardinal Ouédraogo said, “Religions never incite war or solicit feelings of hatred, hostility, extremism, or invite violence or bloodshed.”
“These misfortunes are the fruit of the deviation of religious teachings, of the political use of religions and also of the interpretations of groups of men of religion who have abused - at certain phases of history - the influence of religious feeling on the hearts of men to lead them to accomplish what has nothing to do with the truth of religion, for worldly and blind political and economic ends,” Cardinal Ouédraogo said.
He continued, “We must agree to do everything possible to break down the walls of hatred, hostility, misunderstanding, extremism, violence ... and to build bridges of understanding, mutual respect, tolerance, brotherhood and love.”
Addressing close to 20,000 pilgrims who gathered for the event marked on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Cardinal Ouédraogo further said, “Peace is a gift from God and the fruit of human efforts. Let us persevere in prayer, individually, in the family and in the community.”
