The importance of encounter and dialogue and the special role of women in building peace in our wounded world, this was the focus of Pope Francis’ speech today during his reception of the participants in a conference organized by the Vatican Department for Interreligious Dialogue entitled “Women Build a Culture of Interreligious Encounter”.
Pope Francis received, Thursday, the participants in a conference organized by the Vatican Department for Interreligious Dialogue from January 25 to 27, entitled “Women Building a Culture of Interreligious Encounter”. After welcoming the head of the department, its members, the president of the World Federation of Catholic Women’s Organizations, and all those present, the Holy Father praised this initiative, and said that it is not frequent for representatives of 12 religions from all over the world to meet and discuss important issues related to encounter and dialogue in order to promote peace and understanding in our wounded world. The Pope stressed the greatest importance of this meeting, as it is devoted to listening to women’s experiences and points of view. Peace must be sought by involving women more, because women give the world care and life, and they are a path towards peace.
The Holy Father then spoke of the interest and commitment of the Holy See in the field of interreligious dialogue and in order to promote understanding and cooperation between the faithful of different religious traditions. The Pope went on to tell everyone that each of your traditions and each of you personally has a richness to offer to the world in order to spread a spirit of welcome, care and fraternity. He then pointed out that a large part of the conference organized by the Vatican Department for Interreligious Dialogue is devoted to rediscovering the women’s aspects in the different religious traditions of the participants and highlighting how these aspects contribute to the culture of encounter. In this context, the Pope stressed that sitting down to listen to the other, which is a characteristic of human encounter, is a model of the behavior of a person who is open to welcome, who overcomes narcissism and accepts the other, gives him his attention, and welcomes him into his own circle. His Holiness added that activities seeking encounter and the openness it requires become rare, and therefore doing them is one of the greatest gifts that you can give to your families, groups and societies, the Pope said to the participants in the conference.
Concluding his speech, Pope Francis encouraged everyone to continue this important cooperation by sharing knowledge and practical experiences that will give you strength and creativity, His Holiness said, as you work in your own ways in order to provide assistance to the many people who are looking for relief from their suffering, and more than that, for meaning and purpose for their lives. The Pope thanked his guests for their commitment and efforts to promote the dignity of women, especially girls. Then His Holiness thanked everyone for this visit, wishing them all the best for their important work these days, and blessed everyone and their families.