rebuild with the poor and respect creation

The Pope received a Buddhist delegation in audience at the Vatican together with the Apostolic Vicar of Phnom Penh and the President of the Department for Interreligious Dialogue. He called for an “ecological conversion” that safeguards the environment and the brothers at the same time. The pontiff praised the practice of “metta” (respect for all living beings that he preached through the Buddha), along with the Genesis invitation to cultivate and care for the earth.

Vatican City () – “Interreligious cooperation is an important element of society, which allows people to live peacefully as brothers and sisters, reconciled with each other and with the environment in which they find themselves,” Pope Francis said today. receive in the Vatican a delegation of Buddhist monks and representatives of Cambodian civil society, accompanied by the apostolic vicar of Phnom-Penh, mons. Olivier Schmitthaeusler, and Cardinal Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, president of the department for interreligious dialogue.

The central theme of the meetings that are taking place in Rome is the challenge of “ecological conversion”, “a positive sign – the pontiff commented – of the growing sensitivity and concern for the well-being of the earth, our common home, and for the important contributions that, inspired by religious beliefs and spiritual traditions, you can offer your noble country on its path of social healing and economic reconstruction, after the sociopolitical crises of recent decades”.

Citing his encyclical Laudato Si’, Francis also urged the search for “integrated” solutions, capable of uniting “respect for creation, respect for others, respect for oneself and respect for the Creator.” “Ecological conversion -he recalled- takes place when the human roots of the current environmental crisis are recognized; when true repentance leads to curb or stop harmful trends, ideologies and practices that are disrespectful of creation and when people commit to promoting development models that heal the wounds inflicted by greed, the excessive pursuit of economic benefits, the lack of solidarity with others and lack of respect for the environment”.

In this – added the pontiff – Buddhists and Christians, drawing inspiration from their own religious traditions, can offer a specific contribution. “By following the principles that the Buddha has inherited from his disciples (Pratimoksa), such as the practice called metta, which consists of not harming living beings and leading a simple lifestyle, Buddhists can acquire a compassionate attitude towards all beings, including the earth, which is their habitat. For their part, Christians fulfill their ecological responsibility when, as trusted custodians, they protect creation, the work that God has entrusted to man to cultivate and care for.

“Upon you and on all the inhabitants of your noble country – Pope Francis concluded when bidding farewell to the Cambodian delegation – I invoke abundant blessings from Heaven”.