- Good morning, everyone. - Good morning.
- Good morning. - Let's start this
second day of reflection. And today I'm very honored
to welcome among us Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle. He doesn't need any
introduction, of course. I just want to provide some
background informations. In 2001, Cardinal Tagle was
appointed bishop of Imus. Pope Benedict XVI appointed him the 32nd archbishop of Manila on 2011. The same pope announced he
was elevating Archbishop Tagle to the College of Cardinals on 2012. On December 8th, 2019, he was appointed prefect of the Congregation for the
Evangelization of Peoples. He also serves as the president
of Caritas Internationalis, a federation of Catholic
relief, development, and social service organizations, and of the Catholic Biblical Foundation. Cardinal Tagle is also a member of the Congregation
for Catholic Education, the Pontifical Council for the Family, Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, the Congregation for
Institutes of Consecrated Life and Society of Apostolic Life, and the Pontifical Council for Laity. The cardinal combines in
his person great culture and great wisdom on the one hand and a deep and cordial optness to relationship and
friendship on the other. I have the pleasure and the honor of meeting him several times on the occasion of
conferences and meetings in Rome and also around the world. And I have been able
to experience firsthand how much he is loved and how much his humanity
expresses itself freely. The most beautiful
experience I had with him was during Pope Francis'
trip to the Philippines. Cardinal Tagle is a radically
fraternal man, (laughs) a man of encounter and dialogue. In this sense, he represents, also thanks to his
Filipino and Chinese roots, a wonderful fruit of the church of Asia. In this connection, I want to recall what he said in an interview
with Vatican Radio. He said, "The church of Asia
is often a minority church, like John the Baptist
crying in the wilderness, even in the Philippines, though
the church is a majority. I realized that the sufferings of people and the difficult questions they ask are an invitation to be first
in solidarity with them, not to pretend to have all the solutions." I will now give him the
floor for his keynote speech on the culture of encounter. Thank you, Your Eminence, for accepting our
invitation to join us today. Thank you. (congregation applauds) - Good morning to everyone. Buongiorno. And thank you, Father Spadaro, for that wonderful introduction. I thought you were
introducing somebody else. (congregation laughs) So warm greetings again to all of you who are
taking part in this event to mark the first anniversary of Pope Francis' "Fratelli tutti." And greetings to the Sultan and your delegation, your group. I would also like to thank the Berkley Center for Religion,
Peace and World Affairs at Georgetown University and La Civilta Cattolica
for sponsoring this event. Let me say a few words regarding method. It is often said that
Saint Francis of Assisi has been inspiring Pope
Francis of Rome (laughs) in the choice of topics
for his encyclicals. Saint Francis' calling
to rebuild God's church is connected to "Evangelii Gaudium," a church that is missionary,
not self-referential, going out to encounter peoples. Saint Francis' canticle
praising God, the Creator, and celebrating the
interconnectedness of creatures runs through the encyclical "Laudato si', On the Care of Our Common Home." And how Saint Francis' admonition to love a brother or a sister, whether far from or with you, serves as the leitmotif of the
encyclical "Fratelli tutti." So in a sense, we have the privilege of
having now some scholars showing the interconnectedness also of the teachings, the
encyclicals of Pope Francis, so in a sense, we cannot
dwell on one encyclical without touching the other two. So please do not be surprised
if once in a while I quote from "Laudato si'" or
also "Evangelii Gaudium." Coming from the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, or what they call the
missionary dicastery (laughs) of the Vatican, one of my interests is to see
whether a missionary church, how this missionary church is
connected to "Fratelli tutti" or the identity of the church
as missionary in its nature. How does that connect with
the culture of encounter and the vision of "Fratelli tutti?" Pope Francis in "Fratelli
tutti" number six says, and I quote, "Although I have written the encyclical from the Christian convictions
that inspire and sustain me, I have sought to make this reflection an invitation to dialogue
among all people of good will." So a declaration of his intention. So he stresses that "Fratelli tutti," as written by him, is rooted in Christian sources. Yet that rootedness in Christian sources enables him to reach out to all peoples in the spirit of dialogue. So Christian identity and
openness to the world, or going forth (laughs) to the world, are not mutually exclusive. Pope Francis' declaration of intent leads me to, again, ask the
place of "Fratelli tutti" in the church's identity and mission. Are the inspirations and the paths of encounter with people and the world offered by "Fratelli
tutti" mere activities? Are they what we could consider extracurricular (laughs) activities of an optional character? Or, do they emerge from what
the church is and should be? So this leads me back to Vatican II. I have no time to go back
to the scriptures, (laughs) but Vatican II. And I was pleasantly surprised. I will just read some texts. "Gaudium et Spes" number one, "The joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the
men and women of our time, specially of those who are
poor or afflicted in any way, are the joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the
followers of Christ as well." "Gaudium et Spes" number two says, "The world which the council has in mind is the whole human family seen in the context of
everything that envelops it. It is the world as the
theater of human history." Then "Gaudium et Spes" number three. "And so the council as witness and guide to the
faith of the whole people of God gathered together by Christ can find no more eloquent
expression of its solidarity and respectful affection
for the whole human family, to which it belongs, than to enter into dialogue with it about all these different problems." "Gaudium et Spes." Now, we see from these three texts that the engagement of the church with the whole human family and the whole human history in the spirit of solidarity and dialogue is not incidental. It is not accidental (laughs) or tangential to the
church's identity and mission according to "Gaudium et Spes." Now, this vision in "Gaudium et Spes" finds its so-called doctrinal grounding in "Lumen Gentium" number one where it is said, "The church in Christ is
in the nature of sacrament, a sign and instrument
of communion with God and of unity among all men and women." Sacrament of communion with God and sacrament of the
unity of all human being. In "Lumen Gentium"
number four, it is said, "The universal church is seen to be a people brought into unity from the unity of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit." A quotation from Saint Cyprian. So what do we see in this
few texts from Vatican II? The church as rooted in Christ and the unity of the Trinity, the church is rooted in
the unity of the Trinity, is oriented towards or is thrust into the world. It is never a unity that is self-enclosed. The church's interaction with the world, with the human family, has a purpose, a calling, a mission. That is, to be a sacrament
of communion with God and sacrament of the
unity of the human family. Its identity is its very mission. And "Lumen Gentium"
uses the term sacrament. "Ad gentes" number two, which is the decree on the missionary activity of the church, says, "The church on Earth is
by its very nature missionary since according to the plan of the Father, it has its origin in
the mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit." By nature, missionary. And in the same document, number six, it says, "It is clear
that missionary activity flows immediately from the
very nature of the church." So the mission to the world
is not an addendum. (laughs) It flows from the very nature,
identity of the church. Now, taking these key
teachings of Vatican II, we can, I think, safely say
that the nature of the church as sacrament of communion with God, and let us remind ourselves, this God is the unity
of three divine persons, the sacrament of unity with God and the sacrament of the
unity of the human family includes as an essential part the promotion of universal
fraternity and social friendship as contained in "Fratelli tutti." Communion and communication come together. Communion and communication. Universal fraternity offers a model for understanding and connecting the ad intra and the ad extra dimensions of ecclesial life. It would be interesting to look at some other
documents of Vatican II where fraternity or sorority (laughs) or brotherhood is mentioned. And there are a lot. I was surprised preparing for this. Even if attending conferences and preparing for
conferences could be tiring, it's also rewarding (laughs) because you learn new things
when you do your research. I just indicate a few things, like if there are priests here, are their priests here? In "Lumen Gentium" 28, it said, "Priests assemble the family of God as a brotherhood fired
with a single ideal." Wow, huh? So it's not just an
institution, a cold institution. But you gather them as a brotherhood. Are there married people here? Thanks be to God. (laughs) In "Lumen Gentium" 41, it is said, "Christian married couples and parents," about Christian married
couples and parents in their raising up of
their children, et cetera, it is said, "Because in this way, they present to all an
example of faithful love, they build up the brotherhood of charity." Wow, a beautiful concept
of forming the family, building up a brotherhood,
a sisterhood of charity. Now, again, to priests, "Presbyterorum Ordinis" number nine says, "Priests have been placed
in the midst of the laity so that they may lead them
all to the unity of charity, loving one another with
brotherly affection, outdoing one another
in sharing their honor. Theirs is the task of
bringing about agreement among divergent outlooks in such a way that nobody
may feel a stranger in the Christian community." This is already in Vatican II. That no one may feel like a stranger. An image used also by Pope
Francis in "Fratelli tutti." And last quotation from
"Gaudium et Spes" number 92, "In virtue of its mission
to enlighten the whole world with the message of the gospel and gather together in one spirit all people of every
nation, race, and culture, the church shows itself as a sign of the spirit of brotherhood which renders possible sincere
dialogue and strengthens it." So we see that Pope Francis is not inventing something new. (laughs) Pope Francis is receiving as pope, as the bishop of Rome, this legacy of Vatican II. He reappropriates it. And given the new context, he develops it. And one such development
is in "Fratelli tutti." Of course, also in "Evangelii
Gaudium," "Laudato si'," and his many other speeches. I see how the sacramental missionary existence of the church, sacramental and missionary
as taught by Vatican II and reappropriated and
developed in "Fratelli tutti" could be fruitful at a time, at this time, when the whole church engages
in the synodal process amidst the conflicts and
divisions in the world and in the church. Synodality, or walking together, as a church community requires friendship, dialogue, reciprocity, mutuality, between diverse charisms and
ministries within the church, between different theological
and pastoral approaches, between consultation and decision. I think we need a study of
how to develop friendship between those two. Consultative, deliberative. A friendship between
structures and participation, between conservation and innovation, between ethnic groups, between rites, the Eastern rites and the Latin rite. A synodal, dialogical, and friendly church is a sign, an instrument of
communion with the triune God. But such church is also a missionary sign and instrument of the
unity of diverse people walking together for the common good. So in this perspective, synodality is not just
an intra-ecclesial path. If we looked at the
description of the church, a sacrament of unity,
also of the human race, the synodal process inside the church has a missionary intent. It should be a sign and instrument of the walking together of peoples. A synodal church does not
make internal cohesion an occasion to become self-referential. No, that's not synodality. (laughs) If by synodality we start
focusing only on ourselves, that is not true synodality. A synodal church helps
effect in the world the unity and the communication that the Holy Spirit generates within the church. A synodal church walks with
and for the whole of humanity, not just for itself. Okay, am I speaking too fast? So may I start my talk now? (congregation laughs) I'm just joking. So that's the first point
that I would like to stress, that this culture of encounter, encountering the human family
in the spirit of dialogue is not tangential. As far as the vision of Vatican II, it's not tangential to the identity and mission of the church. As far as Vatican II is concerned and as other studies have shown, even from the biblical period. The second point that
I would like to stress, which I culled also from the
teachings of Pope Francis, is this, the culture of encounter means getting in touch with reality, with real people, and getting in touch,
at least for Christians, with the Word of God,
the living Word of God. Always this two. The sacrament of encountering God and encountering
the wider human family. There is no culture of encounter if we do not get in touch with
reality, with real persons. So I invite you first to face the reality of
fraternity or sorority. In Italiano, you say (speaks in Italian), is there a sororita? Yeah, (murmurs) also. (speaks in Italian) Yeah, yeah, I read an article about the distinction between the two. I won't go into that. (laughs) Hi, sister. But let us get in touch with the Bible. And let us see the
reality of the blessedness and the brokenness of
fraternity in the Bible. So I will indicate a few episodes just to help us encounter
again (laughs) these persons. And I will choose episodes featuring blood sisters and brothers. Well, Cain and Abel, the first siblings that
come to mind in Genesis 4. They come from the same source. They had the same parents. But coming from the same source does not guarantee (laughs) fraternity. Their story reminds us that the first recorded crime in the Bible after the fall of Adam
and Eve was fratricide, a person killing his own brother. And if we follow the
narrative logic of the Bible, that fratricide is carried over in the
history of humanity. How sad, but it is there. But God saved fraternity
by putting a mark on Cain so that no one would kill him at sight. Then we recall Abraham's sons. Ishmael, the son of the slave Hagar, and Isaac, son of Sarah, Genesis 21. With a heavy heart, Abraham
sent Ishmael and Hagar away, but God promised to make
a nation of Ishmael also. And how can we forget Esau and Jacob? The twin sons of Isaac. Even in Rebecca's womb,
they jostled each other. And later on, (laughs) the fight over the inheritance. Jacob's sons tried to
kill their brother Joseph out of jealousy. But later they decided to sell him to the Ishmaelite traders. Genesis 37. So a recorded case of human trafficking. Trafficking in human persons. And who were the promoters? Blood brothers. But God used the forced migration
of Jacob's sons to Egypt to restore their fraternity. Aaron and Miriam were jealous of their
brother Moses' privilege, standing before God and the people. When Miriam was stricken
with leprosy as a punishment, it was the brother, Moses,
who pleaded with God for her healing. A beautiful sign of fraternity. Now, we jump to the time of Jesus. According to the Gospel of Saint John, Andrew, who had known Jesus first, joyfully brought his brother,
Simon Peter, to Jesus. Beautiful. Sharing his joy with the brother. James and John, sons of (audio skips), are brothers by blood. And they're also brothers by ambition. "Give us the best seats in Your Kingdom." We loved the siblings Martha,
Mary, and Lazarus of Bethany, intimate friends of Jesus. The sisters had different approaches in welcoming Him as a guest. Now, what am I driving at? God is the source and protector of fraternity and sorority. But Jesus went beyond blood relations. He says in the Gospel of Matthew, "Whoever does the will
of my heavenly Father is my brother and sister and mother." So, here, you have an added dimension. It is not just the recognition that we come from the same source. There is an added dimension. You have to do something. For the history showed that even those who came
from the same parents do not necessarily treat each
other as brothers and sisters. There is something else
that you should do. And according to Jesus, it is your choice to do
the will of the Father. The Letter to the Hebrews
describes Jesus our high priest and compassionate
intercessor before the Father in these words, "He who consecrates and those
who are being consecrated all have one origin. Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters." The same origin, but Jesus had to suffer and be perfect in order to become a compassionate
brother to all of us. So what a beautiful vision and dream fulfilled by God and Jesus in the Spirit. Now, the Bible provides
a compelling vision of God's dream of a human
and fraternal world, but it is mandatory for a culture of encounter to maintain direct contact with persons, with families, and the various conditions of life. We see how the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed social, cultural, economic, and political weaknesses that have been existing for
a long time in our countries and in international relations but have remained largely ignored. Unfortunately, the pandemic
has made them worse. We know that the lack of fraternity or caring for other people coexists with behaviors and practices
that damage creation, our common home. The neglect of neighbors
and the misuse of creation are mutually dependent
and reinforce each other. Pope Francis expresses this
reality in the following way in "Laudato si'" number 48, "The human environment and
the natural environment deteriorate together. We cannot adequately combat environmental degradation unless we attend to
causes related to human and social degradation." So, again, it is not just friendship with fellow human beings, but friendship also with creation for we are interconnected. Now, I come from the Philippines, as Father Spadaro said, Antonio. I'm also Antonio, at
least half of my name. So we are, in Spanish they
say (speaks in Spanish). Now, we in the Philippines, we welcome so many typhoons a year. An average of 20 to 22 typhoons a year. And then you have earthquakes, you have volcanic eruption, et cetera. Now, while environmental
disasters affect people living in a particular place, like where a typhoon passes or
where an earthquake happens, we know from experience that the poor are more devastated than the others. And after a calamity, whether natural or caused by human beings, the poor are easily forgotten. And they remain forgotten for a long time, without brothers, sisters. The quotation that Pope Francis uses in one part of "Fratelli tutti," "Some feel orphaned." They don't belong to any family. So conversion to social friendship and ecological conversion, they do not come automatically. (laughs) We easily fall back to the status quo. So we need this renewal,
renewal all the time. Now, Pope Francis sees one possible reason for the neglect of the poor. Neglect of the poor. And I think this is important for a conference on the
culture of encounter. Let us listen to Pope Francis speaking to us from
"Laudato si'" number 49. He says, "This is due partly to the fact that many professionals, opinion makers, communications media, and centers of power located in affluent urban areas are far removed from the poor, with little direct contact
with their problems. They live and reason from
the comfortable position of a high level of development
and quality of life well beyond the reach of majority
of the world's population. This lack of physical
contact and encounter, encouraged at times by the
disintegration of our cities, can lead to a numbing of conscience and to tendentious analysis
which neglect parts of reality." Yeah. We hope that this does not happen and would not happen with us. Let it not be said that we
engage only in green talk or green rhetoric, or fraternal talk, without forming pastoral
friendship with the poor. Personal encounters with the wounded Earth and personal encounter
with the wounded poor who bear the wounds of the Earth should be part of our continuing formation in caring for our common home and in developing social friendship. I speak from the little
experience that I have had with Caritas, with the
Biblical Federation, and now with the Propaganda Fide. I have been disturbed, awakened, and formed many times by
visiting places and peoples devastated by earthquakes, typhoons, floods, toxic wastes, and wars. As I look and stood speechless
before collapsed houses, buildings, and churches, my heart bled to see unburied
corpses on the streets, grieving mothers, helpless fathers, hungry children. For me, refugee camps have offered sights, smells, and sounds of a suffering humanity, running away from environmental disasters, poverty, and violence. But these encounters with them have been occasions for
my personal formation and the change of thinking and priorities. And I'm sure those of you who have had this personal experience or encounter could say the same thing. The third point that I
would like to develop is conversion to justice. The culture of encounter
in the spirit of dialogue and for the church as part of our sacramental
missionary identity involves always, from the biblical times up to today, a conversion to justice. Pope Francis calls for integral ecology or ecological justice in the whole fourth
chapter of "Laudato si'," ending with the famous
intergenerational justice in number 162. Now, the first chapter of "Fratelli tutti" entitled Dark Clouds Over a Closed World describes different
manifestations of injustice. So part of being true to our mission as church, as sacrament of unity with God
and unity of the human race requires that we be formed again and again in the ways of justice as citizens of the Earth and as brothers and sisters to everyone. Now, Isaiah says, "Wash yourselves clean, put away your misdeeds
from before my eyes, cease doing evil, learn to do good, make justice your aim, redress the wronged, hear the orphans' plea, defend the widow." Isaiah 1:17. So Isaiah proposers very concrete actions focused on very concrete
human beings. (laughs) And he ends by saying,
"Make justice your aim." Without justice, there will
be no universal fraternity, there will never be social friendship, there will never be caring
for our common home. This vision of Isaiah
is reiterated many times and in different ways by Pope Francis in "Fratelli tutti" and also
in the other encyclicals. To reverse personal acts of injustice and institutional, social, cultural, and political injustices, we need conversion to God. Conversion to God. In "Laudato si'" number
two, Pope Francis says, "We have come to see ourselves as the Earth's lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will." What a description. We worship ourselves. We serve ourselves. The idol that we worship is ourselves. By contrast, Saint Francis of Assisi who inspired "Laudato si'" was a mystic and a pilgrim who lived in simplicity and
in wonderful harmony with God, with others, with
nature, and with himself. An integral friendship with God, with himself, with neighbors, with creation. So we cannot say, "Let me
be an expert in (laughs) friendship with creation. But friendship with human beings, Father Spadaro, you take care of that." I also cannot say, "Let me be an expert in
friendship with human beings. Ah, but friendship with the
wider society, with creation, I leave that up to other groups." No, it is an integral
friendship, a life of friendship. In "Fratelli tutti" number four, Pope Francis again reminds
us of Saint Francis who taught universal fraternity and love. Where does Saint Francis of
Assisi locate universal love? In God. In God who is love. "God is love; and those who love, abide in God," the First Letter of Saint John. In God who is the source
and Father of all, and not in idols, would we see, hear, touch, approach, and love and serve those whom God loves. And that means every human being. Pope Francis says, "Service is never ideological," meaning it is not just
for a particular group, "we do not serve ideas, we serve people." "We do not serve ideas, we serve people," "Fratelli tutti" 115. So justice blossoms where
love is open to all. So where there is universal friendship, where there is universal fraternity, justice will blossom. There is a beautiful description of universal love or social friendship found in "Fratelli tutti" number 94. "A love that is open to all," the opposite of which is I am closed unto myself and my group, "a love that seeks union with others, a love that sees the value and the beauty of others as they are, not as I want them to be. It is seeking what is good for them. It does not exclude others. It is a love that will be just, that will not oppress, manipulate, or take advantage of others simply because this is how God loves." This is how Jesus loved. He died for all. He embraced everyone as
a brother and sister. This is how the Spirit blows. Again, my encounters with the poor, the excluded, and the vulnerable is quite frightening. It's not the most pleasant experience. For you have to enter their wounds and you make their wounds your own. So when we talk of universal fraternity or social friendship, it is not a cute, cute
little thing. (laughs) It could be disturbing. Part of it is entering their wounds and making them your own, and listening to their stories, and realizing that we
share the same dreams, the same pains, the same hopes. Listening to them, I hear myself. These are the same dreams that I have. These are the same
pains that I experience. These are the same hopes
that keep me going. So listening to them, I hear myself, too. And listening to them, I hear
the groanings of creation. So Pope Francis invites
us to live in solidarity starting in our homes, in our families, in our schools, in parishes, in our use of social communication. All the avenues are there, but they are (indistinct) for building social friendship in the whole of the human family. May I continue towards the end now? Or, do you want me to stop now? (laughs) Now, related to this openness to everyone and not doing injustice to people is a very contemporary concern. And this is my fourth point regarding respect, dialogue,
and what we call populism. Yesterday, Cardinal Ayuso was here and Monsignor Indunil is still here. So the Pontifical Council
for Interreligious Dialogue marked the 10th anniversary
recently of the document Christian Witness in a
Multi-Religious World, a joint project of the Pontifical Council, the World Council of Churches, and the World Evangelical Alliance. The call of the document
for respect for all peoples and building interreligious relationship affirmed by "Fratelli tutti" faces a contemporary challenge, I think, in populism. Pope Francis sees the use of populism as a key for interpreting society. He finds it deeply problematic because it disregards
the legitimate meaning of the word people. He says this in "Fratelli tutti" 157. Social media has influenced daily language by spreading this
problematic use of the words populism and populist. The pope says, and I quote, "As a result, they have
lost whatever value they might have had and have become another
source of polarization in an already divided society. Efforts are made to
classify entire peoples, groups, societies, and
governments as populist or not. Nowadays, it has become impossible for someone to express
a view on any subject without being categorized
one way or another, either to be unfairly discredited, or to be praised to the skies," "Fratelli tutti" 156. You express an opinion, and
they label you right away. Ah, conservative. Ah, progressive. Ah, Vatican II. Ah, Council of Nicaea. (laughs) Oh, (murmurs), oh, I like that. So you say, "The sun is
rising, the sun is shining." Ha! Conservative. (laughs) I don't know where that comes from. But it is sad to note that
so-called populous demagogues use or misuse religion for their interests, undermining efforts at developing interreligious relationships
and friendships, as Pope Francis develops in
the whole of the eighth chapter of "Fratelli tutti." I suggest that a serious
analysis of populism be done in the light of "Fratelli tutti." There have been some studies already done. May I point to one? Pankaj Mishra's "Age of Anger:
A History of the Present" is valuable book. He sketches a history
of paranoia and hatred that we are experiencing in our time. One of his basic insights,
of Mishra's insights, is that people who were excluded from the promised benefits of modernity have become frustrated and angry. Let us face it. Some people have been excluded, and they continue to be excluded. And they are now frustrated and angry. Now, they become easy prey for demagogues who ignite their anger
towards the so-called elites and other imaginary enemies. So this angry, frustrated
people rally behind this messianic figures, or figures who present
themselves as messiah, as protectors of the excluded. And some of them utilize
religious language and images to generate an almost religious battle against those who do not
belong to their group. Pankaj Mishra's explanation of the anger that makes the exclude sector of society entrust their future to messianic
or paternalistic leaders could motivate the religions of the world to really attend in the spirit of dialogue,
solidarity, and friendship, to attend to the needs of the excluded, those in the peripheries, as Pope Francis often invites us. To neglect the excluded. We'll push them, push them further into populous groups who do not care about them. They are manipulated and
used for narrow purposes. The victims of societal exclusion should not be further
victimized by agitators. They need and deserve genuine
respect, concern, and caring. And, finally, building peace. In "Laudato si'" number 57, Pope Francis states, "It is foreseeable that
once certain resources have been depleted, the scene will be set for new wars. Albeit under the guise of noble claims, war always does harm to the environment and to the cultural riches of peoples, risks which are magnified when one considers nuclear
arms and biological weapons." They say that the next world war, we hope it doesn't happen, will be a fight over water, which is becoming scares. Violent conflicts wound
creation and wound human beings. So "Fratelli tutti" invites us to develop the art of peacebuilding. I want to focus on what the Holy Father calls a penitential
memory as a path to peace in "Fratelli tutti" 226. Part of the culture of
encounter towards peace, a penitential memory. The penitential character of memory is based on truth,
justice, and forgiveness. Truth. No matter how painful
the process might be, enemies, or those who are in
opposite sides of an issue, need to face and speak
the truth to each other. The sincere search for truth on the part of contrasting parties could provide a common ground
for encounter and dialogue. According to Pope Francis, "A penitential memory is
one that can accept the past in order not to cloud the future with their own regrets,
problems, and plans. Only by basing themselves on
the historical truth of events will they be able to make a
broad and persevering effort to understand one another and to strive for a new
synthesis for the good of all," "Fratelli tutti" 226. The memory that seeks
conversion to the truth refuses to become a breeding ground for future hatred and destruction. The pope says, "Truth
should not lead to revenge, but rather to reconciliation
and forgiveness," 227. In a dialogue between contrasting
parties governed by truth, everyone is open to the possibility that the other who might be in error or have acted badly against me could have a legitimate point of view. For even one's enemies may
possess elements of truth. (heaves) This is difficult to swallow, huh? 'Cause once we are hurt, we think that the person that's hurt us is the personification of evil. No good would exist in that person, only in me. Good exists only in me. But the truth is even one's enemies may process elements of truth. Justice, we already said
a lot of about justice. There will never be peace
anywhere at any time without justice. Now, Pope Francis is very nuanced. He says, "Talk of justice could be used to hide
a thirst for revenge." So we should be honest. Is it justice that we
want, or is it revenge? A penitential memory seeks
justice not through revenge, but through the building of a new society based on sharing and service. Acting justly means restoring a basic sense of belonging to everyone, as opposed to exclusion
and manipulation of others. "Acting justly means protecting the dignity of brothers and sisters," "Fratelli tutti" 233. And, finally, forgiveness. Peace comes from forgiveness. But we need to avoid misconceptions of forgiveness and reconciliation. What are some of the misconceptions? Now, some think that forgiveness means yielding ground to the enemy. Forgiveness is a sign of weakness, a renunciation of one's rights, and, therefore, a tacit
approval for evil to continue. The pope describes this
misconceptions of forgiveness in "Fratelli tutti" 236. According to him, "These misconceptions lead to fatalism, apathy, and injustice, or even intolerance or violence," 237. Forgiveness does not
mean allowing falsehood and injustice to prosper. In "Fratelli tutti" 242, Pope Francis says, "The important thing is not to fuel anger, which is unhealthy for our soul
and the soul of our people, or to become obsessed with taking revenge and destroying the other. No one achieves inner peace or returns to a normal life that way." All the more you lose peace. Of course, we cannot force
anyone to forgive another person. We can only encourage and foster it. Forgiving does not mean forgetting the harm one has experienced. I don't know if in many
cultures they have that saying, "Forgive and forget." Yeah. But how can you forget? (laughs) So the Holy Father says
in "Fratelli tutti" 251, "Those who truly forgive do not forget. Instead, they choose not to yield to the same destructive force that caused them so much suffering." So I dare say that
forgiving is not forgetting, but remembering in a different way. I remember that the one who has wounded me is a brother or sister with whom I share common
weaknesses and pains. I also remember not to inflict
the wound I have experienced on other brothers and
sisters and on creation. By remembering my pain, I hope to become truthful,
and just, and merciful. And with brothers and sisters, we will rebuild our human
family and care for the Earth. In my visits to Syria,
Lebanon, Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Saigon, Cambodia, to name a few, I realized that wars come from a decision to stop treating other people as brothers, sisters, and friends. Wars come from a decision
to dominate over others, even at the cost of destroying creation, cultures, and civilizations. It is good to go forth, (speaks in foreign language) it is good to go forth, to cross barriers and enter
the wounds and memories caused by wars, to groan with sisters,
brothers, and with creation, to ask for forgiveness, to work for peace, to build up each other, to build a future together
for our common human family and for our common home. And we pray that God may make His dream for all of us come true. Thank you very much for your patience. Thank you.
(congregation applauds) - His Eminence, thank you
very much for your key speech and for highlighting so important issues in the papal documents. Thank you very much. - Thank you, thank you, too. Thank you. And if I confused you, there's only one message. Please read the document.
(both laugh) Maybe a phase will become clearer. But I think it is helpful, it has been helpful to me to read the document with one eye on the wider
tradition from the Bible, and recently from the
Vatican II teachings, and another eye and another foot on the experiences of men
and women of our times. Then the call for universal
brotherhood, sisterhood really rings true. Really rings true. And it doesn't become only
an idea or a proposal, but you hear it from within and from within the hearts
of communities, yes. Because I have to go to Verona. I'm sorry I could not
participate in the discussion, which looks exciting. I just want to end with
a story that I have told many, many times already. I visited a refugee camp in Greece along the border with
Macedonia at the time. I was with some Caritas workers. And that day, they told me it was slow. It was a slow day because only 5,000
refugees arrived that day. So with 5,000, it was a slow day. I can't imagine (laughs) what
a regular day looked like. And even from where I'm standing now, the refugee that comes
and stands by that door, you can already smell, smell from a distance their misery. And you can imagine the weeks, even months of displacement and whatever other horrors. So they got food, medicine. They were given opportunity
to wash their clothes and take a shower. And then some of them
moved on to Macedonia. At the time, the borders were still open. When there was a pause in the work, I talked with the lady
who was in charge of, she was responsible for
the distribution of, she was very organized and efficient. I learned that she was a
government official in that city. So I asked her whether it was part of her
official responsibilities to supervise the camp. And she said, "No, this
is volunteer work." And, you know, Filipino as I am, I started joking. I said, "Ah, volunteer, why, don't you have enough
things to do (laughs) in your job as a government official?" I was trying to make things light. But she turned serious. She said, "My ancestors
were refugees, too. I have refugee DNA. They are my brothers and sisters." Wow. There, right there. And that was before "Fratelli tutti." Whenever I read "Fratelli
tutti," I remember her. I don't even know her name. But it is this daily encounter with them and daily encounter with her ancestors, as though telling her, "They are no strangers, they
are your brothers and sisters." So I hope to end with that story. So thank you, thank you again.
(congregation applauds) Thank you very much.
- Thank you.
