Ecumenical Patriarch rejects religious fundamentalism and outright nationalism

“No to religious fundamentalism and absolute nationalism,” Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew said at the International Meeting of Religions and Cultures in Rome.

Yesterday at the end of the afternoon, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew spoke at the international meeting organized in Rome by the Catholic community of Saint Aegidos, the “Brother peoples, the land of the future. Religions and cultures in dialogue.

The Primate of Christian Orthodoxy, among others, emphasized:

“Can we go back to the previous period, as if nothing had happened? Our answer to this question is only one: the old world no longer exists and we have in our hands the capacity to build a new beginning, a departure that can only be done together.

The Ecumenical Patriarch addressed believers, economists, philosophers, environmentalists, scientists, men and women of good will and highlighted three main principles for the future.

“We begin by re-stating what the pandemic has made clearer: that we belong to one human family, from all the peoples of the earth, with a need to pay attention to Creation. It is therefore necessary that we all recognize, at all levels, not only human rights, but that we belong to a single humanity, with all its peculiarities, cultures and identities. A new start in the post-pandemic era cannot ignore all of this by eliminating any perception of diversity and helping us to recognize ourselves as one family.

The second principle, according to the Patriarch is to recognize the unique identity of each one and to listen to one another, “not to become one with an international identity, but to understand the uniqueness of the other”.

The last principle emphasized by the Ecumenical Patriarch is mutual respect: “Mutual respect, dialogue and mutual listening make the above possible. By overcoming religious fundamentalism and absolute nationalism. “Proclaiming fair justice at all levels of human society and creating moments of mutual enrichment,” Bartholomew said.

Because “the main goal is for people to live in peace” and “protect God’s creation and everything related to it”. Otherwise, “the consequences will be worse than the world we left behind.”

Today the Patriarch will pray for peace at the Colosseum. An initiative in which Pope Francis will also participate.