Patriarchate of Alexandria
05/10/2015
Your Excellency Mr. Roger Nkodo Dang, President of the Pan-African Parliament,
Your Excellencies Ladies and Gentlemen Parliamentarians of the African Continent,
I am here among you today following a
kind invitation from our President, who comes from the beautiful country
of Cameroon where I served in the past as Metropolitan, having Yaoundé
as the Centre of my Ministry to the West African Countries.
As Primate of Orthodoxy in Africa I
strive to provide a podium and voice to our suffering African brothers
and sisters, especially the poor and orphaned children, who look to all
of us through our common actions so that they too can live happily and
look to the future with hope.
I am here today, in the temple of
African Democracy, to convey to one of the most important African
organization, the Pan-African Parliament, our present common anxieties,
as well as our common hopes for the future of the poor and orphaned
children of Africa, as well as our suffering brothers and sisters, who
in spite of times and circumstances, remain faithful to the sacred
institution of family, so that all of us on the African Continent can
experience a better future in social progress, prosperity, security and
peaceful coexistence and cooperation.
In our contemporary world unfortunately
we are again experiencing in our everyday life the distressing results
of religious fundamentalism. Our fellow humans are murdered or forced to
leave their homelands and become refugees in search of a safe place for
their children to live in, all because of their different religious
beliefs. There is no doubt that behind every religious conflict there
are hidden political conflicts and interests, as well as attempts at
geopolitical reclassifications which do not take into account human
lives.
However, you and we, in other words the
political leaders and we the religious leaders, bear an ENORMOUS
responsibility for the peaceful progress of our Continent and our world
at large. It is on your political decisions, of coexistence and peace,
that we must both structure our individual and common activities for
reconciliation and mutual understanding, so that we can both plan for
the future of our children outside of and beyond poverty and war;
destruction and fear.
Our Patriarchate, the Throne of the
Apostle Mark, never once throughout its twenty centuries of existence,
sheltered, supported, or promoted religious conflicts. Religious
differences, like political ones, are solved through dialogue and mutual
understanding. Our Patriarchate comes into contact with and exchanges
points of view with other religious entities, while participates
actively in all Christian dialogue with the other prominent monotheistic
religions, namely Islam and Judaism.
As Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria, in
awe and in fear of God, I try to the best of my abilities, to be helpful
to the people of Africa, the ordinary people of toil, of disease and
illiteracy, so that I can contribute as much as possible to the
eradication of poverty, oppression and the exploitation of man by man.
My presence here once again places me in
front of the responsibilities which we all have, as political or
spiritual leaders of our Continent, to strive even more vigorously to
limit and eradicate these phenomena. We have to work and live together
on this Continent in an environment of peace and progress. I therefore
welcome with sincere joy and satisfaction, your cooperation with the
Inter-Parliamentary Assembly for Orthodoxy. It is a political
organization which has been highly regarded in the political realms
worldwide for the past twenty-three years and through every means
available it fights against poverty and destitution, for peace and
coexistence between people across borders, races and cultures. I am
sure that your collaboration with the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly for
Orthodoxy will be productive for our great wounded continent. It will
lead you to further collaborations in other places, such as the European
Parliament.
We have been informed that for the first
time this year by decision taken by the Plenary Session of the European
Parliament, following the elections of 2014, that a permanent standing
interparty committee has been formed, for religious freedom and
tolerance. We also learned with great satisfaction that the
Inter-Parliamentary Assembly for Orthodoxy has substantially contributed
to the creation of this Standing Committee and furthermore has close
cooperation with it. I believe that we also should move on to something
more permanent which will focus on the collaboration and tolerance
between different religions and will exceed good intentions and wishes.
Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen Parliamentarians,
Based on your recent decisions and
declarations, you firm intention is to evolve this body, the Pan-African
Parliament, into a major strategic organization for the entire
Continent, so that the problems of our people can emerge as problems of
the Continent.
You have decided to seek solutions on
technical projects and infrastructure which concerns the entire
Continent; to create the necessary tools, the necessary groups of
experts, which will allow you to address problems and formulate
solutions on a continental level thus providing a more holistic approach
to problems that are common to our continent and to contribute to the
establishment of rules of law which will be common for the whole of our
Continent.
New technologies, which offer nowadays
ever greater possibilities, constitute an valuable ally for you. Your
efforts fill us with satisfaction and we discern through them a better
future for all of us. This invaluable effort of Pan-African political
understanding and perspective, which your Parliament is establishing, in
order to be complete and comprehensive, should take into account both
the social and cultural-religious dimensions of the people of Africa.
It is on such a noble political level that we must approach the dialogue
between cultures and the cooperation of religious expression in Africa.
Every effort that has to do with the
future of Africa, must have as its starting point and its reference, the
cultural mutual understanding and cooperation of nations and people.
The future of Africa, its prospects, is ultimately based on the
possibility which we must develop, so that we can ensure principles and
structures of peaceful coexistence and understanding.
Our Patriarchate and I personally as
Pope and Patriarch of the Great City of Alexandria, are ready to
contribute to such a plan, such a perspective, for a permanent place for
religious dialogue between the cultures within the framework of your
parliament and your cooperation with the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly
for Orthodoxy.
God bless you all!
See also
THE PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA GIVES THE KEYNOTE ADDRESS TO THE PAN-AFRICAN PARLIAMENT
The Orthodox Church of Alexandria & the Patriarchate of AlexandriaPatriarcat grec Orthodoxe d’Alexandrie et de toute l’Afrique
Igreja Ortodoxa de Alexandria - Patriarcado de Alexandria e Toda África
