Promoting Peaceful Coexistence and Common Citizenship

[ 10 ] — INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE FOR PEACE — “God is love” (1 John 4:7). Love of God and love of our brothers and sisters are two related commandments meaning that one cannot say that she loves God if she does not love her neigh- bour or, worse, hates himor her; he or she then is not a sincere person (cf. 1 John 2:20). Respect is another name for love. Let me bring to mind once again how Pope Francis insists in inviting believers and people of good will to a dialogue of friendship and respect. Love, understood in this context of dialogue, is the summary of all that is required of a person. That is why Saint Augustine (354–430) said: “Love and do what you will.” Freedom is the innate desire and the basic right of every person, community and peoples. Wars have been waged throughout human history, either to subjugate others so as to deprive them of their liberty, or to once again regain this very freedom which had been lost. We are now witnessing new forms of slavery in which our brothers and sisters are robbed of their freedom and enslaved in the form of: human trafficking, especially of women and children; forced labour, in particular of children; child soldiers; sexual abuse; and political and economic domination. We are called, there- fore, to support those who struggle for their liberty in every place where we encounter such struggle. Common citizenship is based on a God-given equality, expressed as rights and/or duties, regardless of ethnicity or reli- gion. In this regard I quote Pope Francis in his address to the participants in a recent conference: “Tackling Violence Com- mitted in the Name of Religion”. He said: “We need to show, with unremitting effort, that every human life is sacred, that it deserves respect, esteem, compassion and solidarity, without regard for ethnicity, religion, culture, or ideological and polit- ical convictions. Adherence to a particular religion does not confer additional dignity and rights upon individuals, nor does non-adherence deny or diminish them.” (2 February 2018). Let us continuously engage ourselves, despite the differ- ences of our religions and of our specific mission, to become promoters of peaceful coexistence and of common citizen- ship through interreligious dialogue. steemed Guests, Distinguished Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen— it is with great pleas- ure and personal joy that we find ourselves in your midst, in order to address this esteemed and honourable assembly. As a firm believer in the need for dialogue and peace in our world, we give thanks to God, for He is the one that has brought us all together in this historic and beautiful city — a city that encourages and facilitates dialogue and fosters the spirit of peace. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill among all. E His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew HE Bishop Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, mccj Titular Bishop of Luperciana, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue HE Bishop Ayuso is Titular Bishop of Luperciana and Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. He has always been active in interreligious dialogue, teaching in both Cairo and Rome as well as writing several important publications on issues related to Christian–Muslim dialogue. As a priest he worked in the local Church in Egypt and Sudan from 1982 to 2002. Career summary v Ordained Bishop, Titular See of Luperciana by Pope Francis, 2016 v Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, 2012–present v President of the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI), 2005–2012 v Awarded a PhD in Theology by the Faculty of Theology of Granada, Spain, 2000 v Served as parish priest in Sacred Heart Parish in Abbassiyya/Cairo as well as director of the Pastoral, Liturgical and Catechetical Centre of El Obeid Diocese/Sudan, 1982–2002 v Member of the Comboni Missionaries.