This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience the participants in the Colloquium organized by the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue and the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies.
The following is the address delivered by the Pope to those present during the meeting:
Address of the Holy Father
Peace be with you.
Welcome.
Your Royal Highness Prince Hasan bin Talal,
Dear brothers and sisters,
I am pleased to greet all of you and I am grateful for your presence here on the occasion of this eighth colloquium, jointly organized by the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue and the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies.
The theme that you have chosen this year, “Human Compassion and Empathy in Modern Times,” is particularly timely for our world today. Indeed, these are not marginal sentiments, but rather are essential attitudes of both of our religious traditions and important aspects of what it means to live a truly human life.
The Muslim tradition associates compassion, ra’fa, with mercy as a gift bestowed by God in the hearts of believers, and one of the divine names, al-Ra’uf, reminds us that compassion always has its origin in God himself.
Similarly, in the Christian tradition, Sacred Scripture reveals a God who does not remain indifferent to suffering, but says to Moses, “I have seen the misery of my people… I have heard their cry” (Ex 3:7). In Jesus Christ, this divine compassion becomes visible and tangible. God goes beyond seeing and hearing by taking on our human nature in order to become the living embodiment of compassion. Following the example of Jesus, Christian compassion becomes a sharing in or “suffering with” others, particularly the most disadvantaged. For this reason, “love for the poor — whatever form their poverty may take — is the evangelical hallmark of a Church faithful to the heart of God” (Dilexi Te, 103).
For our traditions, human compassion and empathy are not something additional or optional, but are a call from God to reflect his goodness in our daily lives.
This belief, therefore, has social implications. Pope Leo XIII taught that the poor and marginalized are worthy of special attention and help from society and the State (cf. Rerum Novarum, 37). In this regard, I wish to express appreciation for the generous efforts of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in welcoming refugees and assisting those in need in difficult circumstances.
Dear friends, compassion and empathy are sadly in danger of disappearing today. Technological advances have made us more connected than ever before, but they can also lead to indifference. The constant flow of images and videos of the hardships of others can dull our hearts rather than stir them. Pope Francis warned us that “we have become used to the suffering of others [thinking]: it does not affect me, it does not interest me, it is none of my business” (Homily, Lampedusa, 8 July 2013). This type of apathy is becoming one of the most serious spiritual challenges of our time.
In such a context, Christians and Muslims, drawing from the richness of our respective traditions, are called to a common mission: to revive humanity where it has grown cold, to give voice to those who suffer and to transform indifference into solidarity. Compassion and empathy can be our instruments as they have the power to restore the dignity of the other.
It is my hope that Jordan will continue to be a living witness to this kind of compassion, as well as a sign of dialogue, solidarity and hope, in a region that is marked by trials.
May our collaboration bear fruit in concrete gestures of peace, empathy and fraternity.
Thank you!
And, as in our traditions we seek peace as one of the most important blessings of God, I ask the blessing of God upon all of you.
The Lord be with you. May the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit come down upon you and remain with you always. Amen.
Thank you very much.
