Mgr Martinelli stressed to the link that makes the declaration signed yesterday in Jakarta and the 2019 text on human fraternity “different and complementary”. In a world marked by war, “the danger is to become accustomed to dehumanisation”. “Strong symbols” such as the Friendship Tunnel or the House of Abraham are essential. The Pope also calls for “looking deeper” into interreligious dialogue, returning “to the question of God as a fundamental human question”.
Milan () – “Different and complementary.” The Istiqlal Declaration is “a reinforcement” of the document on fraternity signed in Abu Dhabi, because it addresses “two fundamental issues: the violence of conflicts and the abuse of creation.” This was stressed to by Monsignor Paolo Martinelli, Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia (United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen), commenting on Pope Francis’ trip to Asia and Oceania. The prelate, contacted by telephone in Abu Dhabi, where he recently returned after meeting the pontiff in the Vatican with the bishops of the Latin Episcopal Conference in the Arab Regions (CELRA), supports his continued call “to defend the human person and life.”
Dehumanization, the abuse of creation, interreligious dialogue, the tunnels that connect – and unite – under the banner of friendship, the care of bonds and creation: these are many of the themes touched upon in these first days in Indonesia by Pope Francis, the first stop on his apostolic journey between Asia and Oceania scheduled for September 2-1. For the Vicar of Arabia today there is “the danger of becoming accustomed to the dehumanization caused by conflicts and wars.” For this reason, after the signing with the imam of al-Azhar Ahmed al-Tayeb, the signing of the agreement with the Imam of al-Azhar, Ahmed al-Tayeb, is equally significant. «Joint Declaration of Istiqlal» signed yesterday with Grand Imam Nasaruddin Umar. “Having strong symbols like the ‘Friendship Tunnel’ or the ‘Abrahmic Family House’ is really important,” he says, “as they represent vital points where we can experience that we can walk together, appreciating differences.”
Below is the interview with Monsignor Martinelli:
Your Excellency, what is the significance of the Pope’s reference to the theme of dehumanization in a world where war and violence are multiplying?
I think that Pope Francis is right to continually call for the defence of human beings and of life. Indeed, today there is a danger of becoming accustomed to the dehumanisation caused by conflicts and wars. The pontiff’s interventions constitute a barrier, a critical resistance to the culture of indifference and hatred that is spreading. His words prevent us from becoming anaesthetised by the horror of evil and help us to rediscover that we are made for human fraternity and the search for the common good.
There is also the question of creation, the “common home” repeatedly stressed by Francis: after Dubai and in the perspective of Cop29, what has changed in the sensitivity of religions on this issue?
The December meeting in Dubai, the COP28was very important in several respects. I remember that there was a pavilion of the different religions, which promoted significant encounters with exponents of different spiritual traditions. Above all, it was the first time that a meeting of this kind and at this level officially considered the importance of the contribution of religions to the question of the protection of the environment and creation. The discourse and the commitment continue, although in different ways. Here I see that the theme is still alive in the debate. For our part, I can say that there are ecumenical initiatives that continue to focus on the question of the common home, especially in this “time of creation”. In addition, it is part of our catechesis programme to help children understand the deep connection between the experience of the Christian faith and the protection of creation. We must focus on education, for a real change of mentality on decisive issues.
Yesterday the Pope referred several times to the theme of the tunnel, a metaphor and a concrete element like the “Friendship” tunnel that connects the church and the mosque in Jakarta, which “connects” with the House of Abraham in Abu Dhabi: what importance do these symbols have, which become a physical place?
Symbols are really important because they speak not only to the head, but also to the heart and the body, to the whole person, they are the communication of the whole human being. Having strong symbols like the “Friendship Tunnel” or the “Abrahmic Family House” is really important today because they represent vital points where we can experience that we can walk together, valuing our differences, without having to overcome them. We need places where we can experience that walking together among people of different beliefs is not just an idea or a principle, but a real possibility.
I was also very impressed by the speech that Francis gave yesterday on interreligious dialogue. I would like to underline two aspects: firstly, that dialogue between people of different faiths is not only and primarily about finding what we have in common, but about appreciating differences, mutual respect, and really getting to know each other by overcoming prejudices. One gets to know oneself better when one welcomes the difference of the other. The Pope calls this “caring for bonds.” Bonds can only be created if one recognizes the good of the other, as the other does.
Once again, I am struck by what the Pope says about what lies “beneath” all religions, the invitation to look deeper: he says that “the common root of all religious sensibilities is one: the search for an encounter with the divine, the thirst for the infinite that the Almighty has placed in our hearts, the search for a greater joy and a stronger life than any death, which animates the journey of our life and impels us to come out of our self to go towards God.” In this perspective, interreligious dialogue is a call to every man and woman to return to the question of God as a fundamental human question. The human person is a desire for God, for plenitude, for the ultimate meaning of the things we experience. This religious dimension represents the heart of every person. When man forgets it, he becomes dehumanized. The first task of religions is to put the question of God back on this level.
Is the signing of the Istiqlal Declaration a step further than the Abu Dhabi document with the Imam of Al-Azhar?
These are two different and complementary things. The Istiqlal Declaration seems to me to be a reinforcement of the document signed in Abu Dhabi. The document on human fraternity is more broadly worded, touches on many issues, indicates methods and objectives that involve believers of different religions, especially Christians and Muslims. In this case, however, it is a text that considers two fundamental issues: the violence of conflict and the abuse of creation. It insists on how different religious traditions, interreligious dialogue, must contribute to stopping conflicts and caring for our common home. The document makes a significant reference to “Pancasila”, which represents the philosophical tradition on which Indonesia bases the peaceful coexistence of different peoples and cultures. It is significant that the document expresses a very specific cultural aspect.
How does the Gulf view this apostolic journey to the Far East and what value does the Pope’s reminder have (also) for the Muslim world, where there is no shortage of tensions around the question of proselytism?
This trip of the Pope is extremely important and interesting also for the reality of the Gulf. The Pope makes it very clear that announcing the Gospel has nothing to do with proselytism. Living in Islamic countries leads us to rediscover that the heart of evangelization is witness, to concretely realize the relationship between faith and life. True witness is never anonymous. In giving witness, we communicate what we value most – Christ and his Gospel – freely opening ourselves to the relationship with the other, with full respect for his freedom. Interreligious dialogue is one of the fundamental relationships of Christian witness.
(Photo Vatican Media)
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