International Day of Human Fraternity

 Global Tolerance Alliance Roundtable

Speech of His Eminence Cardinal Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot

Sustainability Pavilion of Expo 2020, Dubai, UAE

4 February 2022

Click here for more information on the event.

Excellencies,
Dear friends, Dear brothers and sisters,

I am truly grateful for the invitation to come here at Expo Dubai 2020 themed: Connecting Minds, Creating the Future and for welcoming me and asking me to share my thoughts in this Human Fraternity and the Global Tolerance Alliance Roundtable, in occasion of the II International Day of Human Fraternity to commemorate the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together signed in 2019 in Abu Dhabi by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmad Al-Tayyib.

I would like to thank particularly His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, for all the efforts made by the United Arab Emirates to promote interreligious collaboration.

I thank also His Eminence Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi and Msgr. Tomasz Trafny of the Pontifical Council for Culture that, at the request of Pope Francis, has prepared the Holy See’s Pavilion.

I’m very grateful to the University of Al-Azhar and to the Member of the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity, for their valuable presence on this occasion and for all the efforts they made to implementing the historic Document on Human Fraternity.

We could say, after two years because of Covid-19, that our today’s meeting, in this wonderful place, is an ideal continuation of the Human Fraternity to promote the world‘s peaceful and harmonious coexistence.

It is significant that each year, on February 4th, we celebrate the International Day of Human Fraternity, as established in 2020 on December 21st by the General Assembly of the United Nations. The Resolution adopted by United Nations, denounces all acts of religious hatred that undermine the spirit of tolerance and respect for diversity.

Certainly the voices of two highly respected moral authorities in the global community, as Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmad Al-Tayyib, lent great veracity to the call to human fraternity.

Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together

The Document on ‘Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together’ is truly a milestone on the path of interreligious dialogue. It marks how far we have come together, but it is also a point of departure. Thus, the Document on Human Fraternity is not so much a map, but a day-to-day commitment of working together for the common good and contributing, as believers, along with people of good will, to heal our wounded world.
Fraternity cannot mean exclusive to my group, community, culture, religion but inclusive of all. Fraternity can be the dynamic, as the Document suggests, by which we rise above differences and instead build bridges of coexistence for a new world.

Beside the well-known obstacles, confrontations, prejudices and conflicts in today’s world, the Document signed in Abu Dhabi beckons us to move beyond any difficulty by remaining always rooted in our own identity, avoiding any kind of syncretism, and supported by the sincerity of our intentions. There cannot be true fraternity by negotiating one’s true convictions. The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for such authentic social dialogue as we strive to meet together the challenges of today and tomorrow.

In this way, we commit ourselves to serve humanity through our mutual collaboration in promoting that peace which the world yearns for.
Pope Francis has emphasized the importance of relations between followers of various religions, stressing the importance of friendship and respect.

Believers of different religious traditions, walking together on the path of interreligious dialogue, can genuinely offer their contribution to universal fraternity in the societies in which they live. Indeed, believers are witnesses and bearers of values that can greatly contribute to building more just and healthy societies.

The Document on Human fraternity, inviting people of different religious traditions and all those of good will to work together to advance a culture of mutual respect, fraternity, reconciliation, dialogue and collaboration for peace.

I think that the signing of the Document in Abu Dhabi is an appeal, which means that there exists today a wounded humanity. Therefore, it is an appeal but also a duty for every human being that we must absolutely seek mutual ways of collaboration and knowledge. We now have a document before us, addressing in many ways to many people, the importance of acting now, through good conduct, ‘akhlak’ or behaviour, through joint collaboration. It was an historical moment, as a “breath of fresh air”, that will always be remembered, and we can always turn back to the signing in Abu Dhabi, remembering the core aim to better humanity, together. We are citizens of humanity, we are believers belonging to different religious traditions or even people of goodwill. Let us build together human solidarity in order to heal the wounds of humanity.

God is the Creator of everything and everyone, so we are members of a single family and we must recognize ourselves as such. This is the fundamental criterion that faith offers us to move from mere tolerance to fraternal coexistence, to interpret the differences that exist among us, to defuse violence and to live as brothers and sisters.

Dear brothers and sisters,

It is my heartfelt wish and profound desire that the Document on Human Fraternity bring fruits for the development of a new phase of interreligious dialogue.

May today’s gathering and celebration help us advance, through sincere and open dialogue, along this pathway to a future of greater solidarity, reconciliation and peace as all of us, believers and non-believers alike, bear witness to our belonging to the one human family.
Thank you for your kind attention.