Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, FSP – Abu Dhabi
A year to the day that Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar signed the Document on Human Fraternity, religious leaders and many others gathered at the Manarat al Saadiyat in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday to Celebrate Human Fraternity.
The event began with an introduction by the Secretary of the Higher Committee implementing the document, Judge Mohammed Abdel Salam. The Document on Human Fraternity was signed by two great international icons, the Judge began. Now, other voices need to be added to theirs, other collaborators are needed to make the Document real, he said. Nothing will be achieved unless everyone gets involved to defend the right to life and freedom. It was the Pope and the Grand Imam who chose Abu Dhabi as the site for the signing of the Document. A year later, in the same place, he said, the voices of those who embrace human fraternity will be heard.
Patriarch Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and the Eastern Orthodox Church followed Judge Abdel Salam. He began saying it was a great joy for him to participate in the anniversary celebration. In a world of rapid change when new challenges are constantly appearing, the Patriarch said that a new stance is required by the world’s religions. The credibility of religious leaders, he continued, is measured by how they promote peace and engage in interreligious dialogue. In addition, solutions must be based on human dignity. Religions can do this, he said, by being in spiritual solidarity and promoting initiatives in the political and social spheres. Members of the faith traditions can step in when those spheres reach an impasse. Peace requires struggle and patience. The world expects a common witness to peace from people of faith. He ended saying that there will be no peace in the world unless there is peace among religions, and that will not happen without interreligious dialogue. Thus, what is necessary is courage and the commitment to undertake that journey.
Sheik Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan ended the ceremony noting that the signing of the Document during the Year of Tolerance was of great inspiration to the country. He then announced that the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity, which was given last year for the first time to Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, would now become an annual event. In this way, the values reflected in the Document will be concretized in the annual honoring of those who embrace the values of human fraternity.
