“As religious leaders, I believe that first of all we must serve the truth and declare what is evil when it is evil, without fear or pretence, even and especially when it is committed by those who profess to follow the same creed as us,” the pope said.
“We must also help each other, all together, to combat the religious illiteracy that permeates all cultures: it is a widespread ignorance that reduces the experience of belief to rudimentary dimensions of the human and seduces vulnerable souls into adhering to fundamentalist slogans.”
“Above all, we need to educate, promoting equitable, solidarity-based and integral development that increases opportunities for schooling and education, because where poverty and ignorance reign unchecked, fundamentalist violence takes hold more easily.”
Pope Francis praised the forum for its commitment to the process of building peace between adherents of different faiths.
“[W]e religious leaders must be the first to support these processes, bearing witness that the capacity to fight evil does not lie in proclamations, but in prayer; not in revenge, but in concord; not in shortcuts dictated by the use of force, but in the patient and constructive force of solidarity. Because only this is truly worthy of man. And because God is not the God of war, but of peace.”
The G20 Interfaith Summit, taking place at the University of Bologna, will feature talks and sessions from a diverse range of religious leaders. The sessions will discuss topics related to “economic models and systems, the environment, women, families, children, work, humanitarian aid, health, education, freedom of religion or belief, global security, governance, human rights, and the rule of law,” according to the forum’s website.
Participants will develop policy recommendations designed to be delivered to G20 Summit leaders and to be relevant to leaders on the international, regional, and national levels.
Pope Francis is set to celebrate the closing Mass of the International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest, Hungary, on Sept. 12.
Jonah McKeown is a staff writer and assistant podcast producer for Catholic News Agency. He holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and in the past has worked as a writer, as a producer for public radio, and as a videographer.
