Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew underlined the important role that religions can play in consolidating world peace and promoting respect for human dignity, in a spirit of solidarity and safeguarding of fundamental freedoms.
His remarks came as part of a speech he delivered on Tuesday, February 4, at the inter-religious meeting organized by the International Brotherhood Committee in Abu Dhabi, on the first anniversary of Document on Human Fraternity, which was signed one year ago in the same city by the Pope of Rome and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar.
In his address, the Ecumenical Patriarch noted that “genuine religion does not exempt people from their responsibility within the world and for the world. On the contrary, for true believers, faith must be a prerequisite for the sound approach to the reality of worldly life and its contradictions.”
He emphasized that religions could promote respect for human dignity by acting upon and fostering solidarity and supporting relevant initiatives in the political and social field aimed at safeguarding fundamental freedoms.
During his visit to the United Arab Emirates, the Ecumenical Patriarch met the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, as well as THE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. He also visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Center, where he was informed about its history, as well as the Louvre Abu Dhabi, a branch of Louvre Museum in Paris, accompanied by Metropolitans Emmanuel of France and Ignatios of Dimitris and Almyros, and Grand Ecllesiarch Aetios.