Pope Francis has reiterated the importance of a closer collaboration between the Church and Buddhists to address the pressing challenges facing the world today. Source: Vatican News.
Welcoming a delegation of some 100 Buddhist monks from the Wat Phra Cetuphon temple of Bangkok, in Thailand yesterday, he expressed his deep gratitude and appreciation for their “enduring friendship” and willingness to work together “to bring a ray of hope” to “our wounded humanity”.
In his address to the monks, Pope Francis recalled “the extraordinary welcome and hospitality” he received during his apostolic journey to Thailand in 2019.
He also recalled the Seventh Buddhist-Christian Colloquium held in Bangkok in November, which brought together more than 150 participants from various parts of Asia to reflect on the theme “Karuna and Agape in Dialogue for the Healing of a Wounded Humanity and the Earth”.
He referred in particular to the final statement of the colloquium in which the participants, “deeply rooted in their respective religious traditions,” committed “to working together with everyone” to “ bring a ray of hope to a desperate humanity” in the midst of “dark clouds” overshadowing the world today.
“Today humanity and the Earth, our common home, are indeed wounded! So many wars, so many people who have lost everything and have been forced to flee. So many children affected by violence,” he said.
Pope Francis mentioned key points highlighted during the Colloquium, including that “no one is saved alone and that “we can only be saved together since we are interconnected and interdependent”.
In light of that truth, the Pope urged the monks “to continue working together with everyone” – civil society, members of other religions, governments, international organisations, academic and scientific communities and all other stakeholders – “to promote a friendship that sustains peace and fraternity and builds a more inclusive world”.
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Pope to Buddhists: ‘Let’s work together for a more inclusive world’ (By Lisa Zengarini, Vatican News)
