Greeting German-speaking theology students at the Vatican on Friday, Pope Francis underscores the important contribution of religions to building a fraternal and just world.
By Vatican News staff reporter
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, German-speaking students who were supposed to participate in a year of theological study at the Abbey of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Jerusalem were unable to attend. . Thus, instead of going to the Holy Land, thirty students were welcomed by the Pontifical Athenaeum Sant’Anselmo in Rome.
This change of plan also meant that they could meet the Pope at the Vatican on Friday.
Greeting the students, Pope Francis told them that this year of study, or Theological academic course, “It is an opportunity for students of Catholic and Protestant theology to learn about biblical sites and meet with the Eastern churches, as well as the Jewish and Islamic worlds.”
“Even if you can’t live in the Holy Land this year,” he continued, “ecumenism and interfaith dialogue will continue to be a hallmark of your program.”
The presence of God in society
The Pope stressed that, as students of theology, they were witnesses for their peers and “for today’s men and women of the importance of God in their lives and of the fullness that a lived faith brings.”
He said: “Your task will be to dialogue with a world where there seems to be less and less room for religion. It is a task that we share with all believers of different religions, knowing that making God present is good for our societies. “
Religions and fraternity
Citing his recent encyclical All brothersPope Francis emphasized that, as believers, “we are convinced that religions make an important contribution to the construction of fraternity and to the defense of justice in society. On the other hand, we believe that when, for various reasons, people want to expel God from society, they end up worshiping idols and man soon deviates. “
The Pope expressed his hope that his year of theological study would contribute to his “formative, spiritual and human journey.” Finally, in the run-up to Christmas, Pope Francis recalled that “in spirit we will all be pilgrims in the grotto of Bethlehem,” urging them to be “witnesses of God-with-us.”