At the general audience, Francis retraces his journey on 28 and 29 April: Christians “are called to be yeast of fraternity,” a “healthy laicity” is needed.
Egypt, where the Pope visited on Friday and Saturday, has been a "sign of hope" at the time of Jesus when the Holy Family retreated from the persecution of Herod, and still today when it continues to be a sign of hope for a region where Christians "are called to be yeast of fraternity." This is what Francis said as he retraced the stages of his recent trip at the general audience in St. Peter's Square.
"I went to that country after a fourfold invitation," the Pope recalled: "The President of the Republic, His Holiness the Orthodox Coptic Patriarch, the Great Imam of Al-Azhar, and the Catholic Coptic Patriarch." The president and the civil authorities "have made an extraordinary commitment for this event to take place in the best possible way; for it to be a sign of peace for Egypt and for the whole region, which unfortunately suffers for conflicts and terrorism," Francis said, recalling that the motto of the trip was "The Pope of Peace in an Egypt of Peace".
The visit to the Al-Azhar University "has had a double horizon: that of dialogue between Christians and Muslims and, at the same time, the promotion of peace in the world," Francis said. At the International Peace Conference hosted by the authoritative Sunni Center, "I offered a reflection that enhanced the history of Egypt as a land of civilization and land of covenant. For all humanity, Egypt is synonymous with ancient civilization, art treasures and knowledge. This reminds us that peace is built through education, formation of wisdom, of a humanism as an integral part of the religious dimension, and through a relationship with God, as the Great Imam recalled in his speech. Peace is also built on the alliance between God and mankind based on the Decalogue written on the stone planks of Sinai, but much more deeply in the heart of every man and woman of every time and place, a law stated in the two commandments on loving of God and your neighbor. "
The same foundation "is also the foundation of the construction of the social and civil order in which all citizens, of all origins, cultures and religions are called upon to collaborate," Pope Francis continued, "This vision of healthy laicity emerged in the exchange of speeches with the President of the Republic of Egypt, in the presence of the authorities of the country and the diplomatic corps. Egypt’s great cultural and religious heritage gives the nation a special role in this work of peacemaking that lays not on the law of power, but on the power of law."
"Christians, in Egypt, as in every nation on earth, are called to be yeast of fraternity," Jorge Mario Bergoglio said, "we reaffirmed our mutual commitment, thanks to God, together with my beloved brother Pope Tawadros II, Patriarch of the Orthodox Copts by signing a Common Declaration not to repeat the Baptism administered in other Christian Churches. Together we prayed for the martyrs of the recent attacks that have tragically hit that venerable Church.
Finally, the second day of the journey "was devoted to the Catholic faithful, "first, the mass at the stadium "made available by the Egyptian authorities" and then during the meeting with priests, religious man and women and seminarians ("There are many seminarians: what a consolation! "). "In this community of men and women who have chosen to give life to Christ for the Kingdom of God, I have seen the beauty of the Church in Egypt, and I have prayed for all Christians in the Middle East, led by their shepherds and accompanied by the consecrated, for them to be the salt and light in those lands, among those peoples. "
Egypt, concluded the Pope without reading his written speech, "has been a sign of hope, refuge, help: when that part of the world was hungry, Jacob went there with his sons, Jesus went there when he was persecuted. That is why telling you about this journey is a way to talk about hope (the theme of the catechesis that the Pope is doing on Wednesdays): for us Egypt holds this sign of hope both in past history as for today, this fraternal spirit of which I’m talking to you today." For this reason, "May the Holy Family of Nazareth, who emigrated on the banks of the Nile to escape the violence of Herod, bless and protect the Egyptian people and guide them on the path of prosperity, fraternity and peace."
