General Audience - April 3, 2019

Catechisis on the  Apostolic vist to Morocco

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!

Last Saturday and Sunday I made an  Apostolic Journey to Morocco, at the invitation of His Majesty King Mohammed VI. I renew my gratitude to him and to the Moroccan authorities for their warm welcome and for all their cooperation, especially the King: he was most fraternal, very friendly, very close.

I especially thank the Lord who allowed me to take another step on the path of dialogue and encounter with our Muslim brothers and sisters, to be, as the Motto of the Journey said, a “Servant of Hope” in today’s world. My pilgrimage followed in the footsteps of two saints: Francis of Assisi and John Paul II . Eight hundred years ago, Francis brought a message of peace and fraternity to Sultan al-Malik al Kamil.  In 1985, Pope Wojtyla made his memorable visit to Morocco, after having received King Hassan II, the first Muslim Head of State, at the Vatican. But some might ask themselves: but why is the Pope going to the Muslims and not just to Catholics? Because there are many religions, and why are there many religions? Along with the Muslims, we are the descendants of the same Father, Abraham: why does God allow many religions? God wanted to allow this: Scolastica theologians used to refer to God’s voluntas permissiva. He wanted to allow this reality: there are many religions. Some are born from culture, but they always look to heaven; they look to God. But what God wants is fraternity among us and in a special way, this was the reason for the trip, with our brothers, Abraham’s children like us, the Muslims. We must not fear differences. God allowed this. We should be afraid were we to fail to work fraternally to walk together in life. 

To serve hope in a time like ours means above all to build bridges between civilizations. And it was a joy and an honour for me to be able to do so with the noble Kingdom of Morocco,  meeting its people and its leaders. Remembering some important international summits which were held in that country in recent years, with King Mohammed VI, we reaffirmed the essential role of religions in safeguarding human dignity and promoting peace, justice and care for creation, that is, our common home. In this perspective together with the King, we also signed an  Appeal for Jerusalem so that the Holy City may be preserved as a human heritage site and as a place for peaceful encounter, especially for the faithful of the three monotheistic religions.

I visited the Mausoleum of Mohammed V  where I paid homage to his memory and to that of Hassan II. I then visited the  Institute for the formation of Imams and of men and women preachers. This Institute promotes an Islam which respects other religions and rejects violence and fundamentalism; that is, it emphasizes that we are all brothers and sisters, and that we must work for fraternity.

I dedicated particular attention to the migration issue, by  speaking to the authorities and above all, by participating in an  encounter specifically reserved to migrants. Some of them bore witness that the lives of those who migrate change and they feel human again only when they find a community that welcomes each one as a person. This is fundamental. It was precisely in Marrakech, Morocco last December, that the “Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration” was ratified. It was an important step towards the shouldering of responsibility by the international community.  As the Holy See, we offered our contribution which can be summed up in four verbs: to welcome migrants, to protect migrants, to promote migrants and to integrate migrants. It is not a case of implementing welfare programs from the top down, but rather of undertaking a journey together, through these four actions, in order to build cities and countries that, while preserving their respective cultural and religious identity, are open to differences and know how to promote them in the spirit of human fraternity. The Church in Morocco is very committed to being close to migrants. I do not like to say migrant. I prefer to say migrating persons. Do you know why? Because migrant is an adjective while the term person is a noun. We have slipped into the culture of the adjective: we use many adjectives and we often forget the nouns, that is, the substance. Adjectives are always linked to a noun, to a person. Therefore, a migrant person. In this way, there is respect and one does not slip into this culture of the adjective which is too “liquid”, too “gaseous”. The Church in Morocco, I was saying, is very committed to being close to migrant people, and this is why I wanted to thank and encourage those who generously expend themselves at their service, fulfilling the word of Christ: “I was a stranger, and you welcomed me” (Mt 25:35).

Sunday was dedicated to the Christian community. First of all I visited the Rural Centre for Social Services managed by the sisters of the Daughters of Charity, the same ones who run the outpatients dispensary and the childrens’ department, here at Santa Marta, and these sisters work in cooperation with many volunteers, offering various services to the people. 

 In Rabat’s Cathedral I met the priests, consecrated people and the Ecumenical Council of Churches. The flock in Morocco is small and this is why I recalled the Gospel images of salt, light and leaven (cf. Mt 5:13-16; 13:33) which we read at the beginning of this Audience. What matters is not the quantity but that the salt have flavour, that the light shine and that the leaven have the strength to ferment the whole mass of dough. And this does not come from us but from God, from the Holy Spirit who makes us witnesses to Christ there where we are, in a style of dialogue and friendship, to be lived, above all, by Christians, because Jesus says, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples: if you have love for one another” (Jn 13:35).

And the joy of ecclesial communion found its foundation and its full expression in the  Sunday Eucharist celebrated in a sports complex in the capital. Thousands of people from about 60 different nationalities! It was a unique epiphany of the People of God in the heart of a Muslim country. The parable of the Merciful Father caused to shine in our midst the beauty of the design of God who wants all his children to participate in his joy, in the feast of forgiveness and reconciliation. This feast is entered by those who know how to recognize themselves as in need of the Father’s mercy and who know how to rejoice with him when a brother or a sister returns home. It is not by chance that the great parable of the Merciful Father resonated in the place where Muslims invoke the Clement and the Merciful One, every day. Thus, it is: only those who are reborn and live in the embrace of this Father, only those who feel they are brothers and sisters can be servants of hope in the world.

Homily of Pope Francis
at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium (Rabat) Morocco

31 March 2019
4th Sunday of Lent

“While he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him” (Lk 15:20).

Here the Gospel takes us to the heart of the parable, showing the father’s response at seeing the return of his son. Deeply moved, he runs out to meet him before he can even reach home. A son long awaited. A father rejoicing to see him return.

That was not the only time the father ran. His joy would not be complete without the presence of his other son. He then sets out to find him and invites him to join in the festivities (cf. v. 28). But the older son appeared upset by the homecoming celebration. He found his father’s joy hard to take; he did not acknowledge the return of his brother: “that son of yours”, he calls him (v. 30). For him, his brother was still lost, because he had already lost him in his heart.

By his unwillingness to take part in the celebration, the older son fails not only to recognize his brother, but his father as well. He would rather be an orphan than a brother. He prefers isolation to encounter, bitterness to rejoicing. Not only is he unable to understand or forgive his brother, he cannot accept a father capable of forgiving, willing to wait patiently, to trust and to keep looking, lest anyone be left out. In a word, a father capable of compassion.

At the threshold of that home, something of the mystery of our humanity appears. On the one hand, celebration for the son who was lost and is found; on the other, a feeling of betrayal and indignation at the celebrations marking his return. On the one hand, the welcome given to the son who had experienced misery and pain, even to the point of yearning to eat the husks thrown to the swine; on the other, irritation and anger at the embrace given to one who had proved himself so unworthy.

What we see here yet again is the tension we experience in our societies and in our communities, and even in our own hearts. A tension deep within us ever since the time of Cain and Abel. We are called to confront it and see it for what it is. For we too ask: “Who has the right to stay among us, to take a place at our tables and in our meetings, in our activities and concerns, in our squares and our cities?” The murderous question seems constantly to return: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (cf. Gen 4:9).

At the threshold of that home, we can see our own divisions and strife, the aggressiveness and conflicts that always lurk at the door of our high ideals, our efforts to build a society of fraternity, where each person can experience even now the dignity of being a son or daughter.

Yet at the threshold of that home, we will also see in all its radiant clarity, with no ifs and buts, the father’s desire that all his sons and daughters should share in his joy. That no one should have to live in inhuman conditions, as his younger son did, or as orphaned, aloof and bitter like the older son. His heart wants all men and women to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4).

It is true that many situations can foment division and strife, while others can bring us to confrontation and antagonism. It cannot be denied. Often we are tempted to believe that hatred and revenge are legitimate ways of ensuring quick and effective justice. Yet experience tells us that hatred, division and revenge succeed only in killing our peoples’ soul, poisoning our children’s hopes, and destroying and sweeping away everything we cherish.

Jesus invites us, then, to stop and contemplate the heart of our Father. Only from that perspective can we acknowledge once more that we are brothers and sisters. Only against that vast horizon can we transcend our shortsighted and divisive ways of thinking, and see things in a way that does not downplay our differences in the name of a forced unity or a quiet marginalization. Only if we can raise our eyes to heaven each day and say “Our Father”, will we be able to be part of a process that can make us see things clearly and risk living no longer as enemies but as brothers and sisters.

“All that is mine is yours” (Lk 15:31), says the father to his older son. He is not speaking so much about material wealth, as about sharing in his own love and own compassion. This is the greatest legacy and wealth of a Christian. Instead of measuring ourselves or classifying ourselves according to different moral, social, ethnic or religious criteria, we should be able to recognize that another criterion exists, one that no one can take away or destroy because it is pure gift. It is the realization that we are beloved sons and daughters, whom the Father awaits and celebrates.

“All that is mine is yours”, says the Father, including my capacity for compassion. Let us not fall into the temptation of reducing the fact that we are his children to a question of rules and regulations, duties and observances. Our identity and our mission will not arise from forms of voluntarism, legalism, relativism or fundamentalism, but rather from being believers who daily beg with humility and perseverance: “May your Kingdom come!”

The Gospel parable leaves us with an open ending. We see the father asking the older son to come in and share in the celebration of mercy. The Gospel writer says nothing about what the son decided. Did he join the party? We can imagine that this open ending is meant to be written by each individual and every community. We can complete it by the way we live, the way we regard others, and how we treat our neighbour. The Christian knows that in the Father’s house there are many rooms: the only ones who remain outside are those who choose not to share in his joy.

Dear brothers and dear sisters, I want to thank you for the way in which you bear witness to the Gospel of mercy in this land. Thank you for your efforts to make each of your communities an oasis of mercy. I encourage you to continue to let the culture of mercy grow, a culture in which no one looks at others with indifference, or averts his eyes in the face of their suffering (cf. Misericordia et Misera, 20). Keep close to the little ones and the poor, and to all those who are rejected, abandoned and ignored. Continue to be a sign of the Father’s loving embrace.

May the Merciful and Compassionate One – as our Muslim brothers and sisters frequently invoke him – strengthen you and make your works of love ever more fruitful.

Appeal by His Majesty King Mohammed VI and His Holiness Pope Francis Regarding Jerusalem / Al-Quds the Holy City and a Place of Encounter

30 March 2019

On the occasion of the visit of His Holiness Pope Francis to the Kingdom of Morocco, His Holiness and His Majesty King Mohammed VI, recognizing the unique and sacred character of Jerusalem / Al-Quds Acharif, and deeply concerned for its spiritual significance and its special vocation as a city of peace, join in making the following appeal:

“We consider it important to preserve the Holy City of Jerusalem / Al-Quds Acharif as the common patrimony of humanity and especially the followers of the three monotheistic religions, as a place of encounter and as a symbol of peaceful coexistence, where mutual respect and dialogue can be cultivated.

To this end, the specific multi-religious character, the spiritual dimension and the particular cultural identity of Jerusalem / Al-Quds Acharif must be protected and promoted.

It is our hope, therefore, that in the Holy City, full freedom of access to the followers of the three monotheistic religions and their right to worship will be guaranteed, so that in Jerusalem / Al-Quds Acharif they may raise their prayers to God, the Creator of all, for a future of peace and fraternity on the earth”.

Apostolic Visit to Morocco

Meeting with the Moroccan People, the Authorities, with Civil Society and with the Diplomatic Corps
30 March 2019

Your Majesty,
Your Royal Highnesses,
Distinguished Authorities of the Kingdom of Morocco,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Dear Friends,

As-Salam Alaikum!

I am pleased to set foot in this country so filled with natural beauty, while at the same time preserving the traces of ancient civilizations and bearing witness to a long and fascinating history. Before all else, I would like to express my deep gratitude to His Majesty King Mohammed VI for his kind invitation, for the warm welcome which he has given me in the name of the entire Moroccan people, and, in particular, for his gracious introduction.

This visit is for me an occasion of joy and gratitude, for it allows me to see at first hand the richness of your land, your people and your traditions. I am also grateful that my visit offers a significant opportunity for advancing interreligious dialogue and mutual understanding among the followers of our two religions, as we commemorate – at a distance of eight centuries – the historic meeting between Saint Francis of Assisi and Sultan al-Malik al-Kamil. That prophetic event shows that the courage to encounter one another and extend a hand of friendship is a pathway of peace and harmony for humanity, whereas extremism and hatred cause division and destruction. It is my hope that our mutual esteem, respect and cooperation will help strengthen the bonds of sincere friendship, and enable our communities to prepare a better future for coming generations.

In this land, a natural bridge between Africa and Europe, I would like to affirm once more our need for cooperation in giving new impetus to the building of a world of greater solidarity, marked by honest, courageous and indispensable efforts to promote a dialogue respectful of the richness and distinctiveness of each people and every individual. All of us are called to rise to this challenge, especially at the present time, when our differences and our lack of reciprocal knowledge risk being exploited as a cause for conflict and division.

If we wish, then, to share in the building a society that is open, fraternal and respectful of differences, it is vital to foster the culture of dialogue and adhere to it unfailingly, to adopt mutual cooperation as our code of conduct and reciprocal understanding as our method and standard (cf. Document on Human Fraternity, Abu Dhabi, 4 February 2019). We are called to pursue this path tirelessly, in the effort to help each other overcome tensions and misunderstandings, clichés and stereotypes that generate fear and opposition. In this way, we will encourage the growth of a fruitful and respectful spirit of cooperation. It is likewise essential that fanaticism and extremism be countered by solidarity on the part of all believers, grounded in the lofty shared values that inspire our actions. For this reason, I am happy that I will shortly visit the Mohammed VI Institute for the Training of Imams, Morchidines and Morchidates. Established by Your Majesty, the Institute seeks to provide effective and sound training to combat all forms of extremism, which so often lead to violence and terrorism, and which, in any event, constitute an offense against religion and against God himself. We know how important it is to provide a suitable preparation for future religious leaders, if we wish to awaken a genuinely religious spirit in the heart of future generations.

Authentic dialogue, then, makes us appreciate more fully the importance of religion for building bridges between people and successfully meeting the challenges that I mentioned above. While respecting our differences, faith in God leads us to acknowledge the eminent dignity of each human being, as well as his or her inalienable rights. We believe that God created human beings equal in rights, duties and dignity, and he calls them to live as brothers and sisters and to spread the values of goodness, love and peace. That is why freedom of conscience and religious freedom – which is not limited to freedom of worship alone, but allows all to live in accordance with their religious convictions – are inseparably linked to human dignity. In this regard, there is a constant need to progress beyond mere tolerance to respect and esteem for others. This entails encountering and accepting others in their distinctive religious beliefs and enriching one another through our diversity, in a relationship marked by good will and by the pursuit of ways we can work together. Understood in this way, creating bridges between people – from the point of view of interreligious dialogue – calls for a spirit of mutual regard, friendship and indeed fraternity.

The International Conference on the rights of religious minorities in Muslim countries, held in Marrakech in January 2016, addressed this issue, and I am pleased to note that it condemned, in effect, any exploitation of religion as a means of discriminating against or attacking others. It also stressed the need to move beyond the concept of religious minority in favour of that of citizenship and the recognition of the value of the person, which must have a central place in every legal system.

I also see as a prophetic sign the creation in 2012 of the Al Mowafaqa Ecumenical Institute in Rabat. The Institute, an initiative of Catholics and other Christian denominations in Morocco, seeks to help promote ecumenism, as well as dialogue with culture and with Islam. This praiseworthy undertaking manifests the concern and the desire of the Christians living in this country to build bridges as a means of expressing and serving human fraternity.

All these are ways to halt the misuse of religion to incite hatred, violence, extremism and blind fanaticism, and the invocation of the name of God to justify acts of murder, exile, terrorism and oppression (Document on Human Fraternity, Abu Dhabi, 4 February 2019).

The genuine dialogue we want to encourage also leads to a consideration of the world in which we live, our common home. The International Conference on Climate Change, COP 22, also held here in Morocco, once more demonstrated that many nations are conscious of the need to protect this planet where God has placed us to live and to contribute to a true ecological conversion for the sake of integral human development. I express my appreciation for the progress being made in this area and I am gratified by the growth of authentic solidarity between nations and peoples in the effort to find just and lasting solutions to the scourges that threaten our common home and the very survival of the human family. Only together, in patient, judicious, candid and sincere dialogue, can we hope to devise adequate solutions for reversing the trend of global warming and to achieve the goal of eliminating poverty (cf. Laudato Si’, 175).

Similarly, today’s grave migration crisis represents an urgent summons for concrete actions aimed at eliminating the causes that force many people to leave country and family behind, often only to find themselves marginalized and rejected. Last December, once more here in Morocco, the Intergovernmental Conference on the Global Compact for safe, orderly and regular migration adopted a document intended to serve as a point of reference for the entire international community. At the same time, much still remains to be done, especially in passing from the commitments undertaken there, at least in principle, to concrete actions, and, more particularly, to a change of attitude towards migrants, one that sees them as persons, not numbers, and acknowledges their rights and dignity in daily life and in political decisions. You are aware of my great concern for the frequently grim fate of such people, who for the most part would not have left their countries were they not forced to do so. I trust that Morocco, which hosted that Conference with great openness and exceptional hospitality, will continue to be an example of humanity for migrants and refugees within the international community, so that here, as elsewhere, they can find generous welcome and protection, a better life and a dignified integration into society. When conditions permit, they can then decide to return home in conditions of safety and respect for their dignity and rights. The issue of migration will never be resolved by raising barriers, fomenting fear of others or denying assistance to those who legitimately aspire to a better life for themselves and their families. We know too that the consolidation of true peace comes through the pursuit of social justice, which is indispensable for correcting the economic imbalances and political unrest that have always had a major role in generating conflicts and threatening the whole of humanity.

Your Majesty, distinguished Authorities, dear friends! Christians are deeply appreciative of the place accorded them in Moroccan society. They wish to do their part in building a fraternal and prosperous nation, out of concern for the common good of its people. In this regard, I think of the significant work of the Catholic Church in Morocco in providing social services and in the field of education, thanks to its schools, which are open to students of every confession, religion and background. In thanking God for all that has been accomplished, allow me to encourage Catholics and all Christians to be servants, promoters and defenders of human fraternity here in Morocco.

Your Majesty, distinguished Authorities, dear friends! I thank you and all the Moroccan people once more for your warm welcome and your kind attention. Shukran bi-saf! May the Almighty, Gracious and Merciful, protect you and bless Morocco! Thank you.

Speech of King Mohammed VI of Morocco  Before Pope Francis
Rabat, 39 March 2019

(published by Morocco World News)

“Praise be to God, May peace and blessings be upon the Prophet, His Kith and Kin"

Your Holiness,
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is an exceptional day for two reasons. It is exceptional because of the visit of His Holiness Pope Francis. It is also exceptional because it reminds me of the historical visit the late Pope John Paul II paid to Morocco.

Today’s visit falls within the framework of the longstanding relations between Morocco and the Vatican.

I was keen to make sure the place and the date of the visit reflect the symbolic depth, the historical significance and the civilizational importance of this Meeting.

The place where we are meeting today is an embodiment of openness, passage and cross-cultural fertilization; it is, in itself, a symbol of balance and harmony.

Aptly located where the Bouregreg River meets the Atlantic Ocean, this place is aligned with the Al-Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech and with the Giralda in Seville – it constitutes a spiritual, architectural and cultural link between Africa and Europe.

I also wanted this visit to coincide with the holy month of Rajab – a month that witnessed one of the most iconic episodes in the history of Islam and Christianity.

It was in this month that, at the behest of Prophet Muhammad – may Peace and Blessings be upon Him – Muslims, fleeing persecution, left Mecca to take refuge with the Negus, the Christian King of Abyssinia.

This was the first welcoming, during which Islam and Christianity made acquaintance with each other.

Today, we are commemorating that act of getting to know each other, for the sake of the future and that of the coming generations.

Your Holiness,
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Your Holiness’s visit to Morocco is taking place at a time when the Community of Nations – just like that of all Believers – is facing a number of challenges.

We need to tackle these new ills which feed on treachery as much as on the instrumentalization of the Divine Message by advocating the denial of the Other and similar wicked theories.

In a world in search of direction, the Kingdom of Morocco has never stopped proclaiming, teaching and experiencing, on a daily basis, Brotherhood among the Sons of Abraham. This is a founding pillar of the exceptionally rich diversity underpinning Moroccan civilization.

The symbiotic relationship uniting Moroccans – beyond faiths – is an eloquent example in this regard.

This symbiosis is a fact of life in my country. It is reflected by the mosques, churches and synagogues which have coexisted in the cities of the Kingdom since time immemorial.

As King of Morocco and Commander of the Faithful, I am the Guarantor of the free practice of religion. I am Commander of all believers.

And, as Commander of the Faithful, I cannot speak of the Land of Islam, as if only Muslims lived there. I am keen to ensure freedom to practise the religions of the Book and I am the guarantor of that freedom. I protect Moroccan Jews as well as Christians from other countries, who are living in Morocco.

Your Holiness,
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I have never ceased to seek God – beyond silence, beyond words and beyond the comfort of dogmas – so that our religions may remain crucial, illuminating bridges, and so that the lessons and messages of the Islamic enlightenment may live on.

Given the reality of today’s world, it is clear the dialogue between the Abrahamic religions is insufficient. At a time when paradigms are shifting everywhere and concern all matters, inter-religious dialogue must evolve too.

The dialogue centered on tolerance has been going on for a long time now; and yet, it has not achieved its goal. The three Abrahamic religions were not created to be tolerant of one another out of some unavoidable fate, or out of courtesy to one another.

The reason they exist is to open up to one another and to know one another, so as to do one another good:

“O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other (not that you may despise (each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you”. The Word of God is Truth.

Radicalism – whether it is motivated by religion or not – is due to failure to know one another, to ignorance of the other, and to ignorance pure and simple.

Knowing one another eliminates radicalism – all types of radicalism. Knowing one another is precisely what is going to help us rise to the challenges of our tormented times.

“To each among you have we prescribed a law and an open way. If Allah had so willed, He would have made you a single people, but (His plan is) to test you in what He has given you: so strive as in a race in all virtues”. The Word of God is Truth.

To tackle radicalism, the solution is neither military nor financial; that solution has but one name: Education.

My plea for education is an indictment of ignorance. It is binary conceptions and the fact of not knowing one another well enough that are threatening our civilizations; it is certainly not religion.

That is why, as Commander of the Faithful, I am advocating today that we give back to religion its rightful place in education.

That is why I cannot speak to these young people without warning them against the phenomena of radicalization and of stepping into violence.

What all terrorists have in common is not religion, but rather ignorance of religion.

Today, religion should no longer be an alibi for ignorant people, for ignorance or for intolerance.

That is because religion is Light; religion is Knowledge; religion is Wisdom. And because religion is Peace, it calls for diverting the energy spent on weapons and other misguided races towards loftier pursuits.

For this reason, I set up the Mohammed VI Ulema Foundation.

I have also responded favorably to requests from several African and European countries to take young people from these nations into the Mohammed VI Institute for the training of imams and male and female religious guides.

Your Holiness,
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

In my capacity as Commander of the Faithful, I believe, just like the Holy Father, in an active spirituality that seeks to serve the common good.

Spirituality is not an end in itself. Our faith translates into concrete actions. It teaches us to love our fellow human beings and to help them.

One fact is essential: God forgives. “God is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful”. And since God is mercy, generosity and kindness are at the center of my action.

Because God is love, I have tried to make sure my reign is characterized by closeness to citizens as well as by assistance to the poorest and most vulnerable people.

That is the spirit of the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH) which I launched 14 years ago to improve the lives of people in precarious or fragile situations, integrate those who are excluded, put a roof over the heads of the homeless and kindle faith in a dignified future.

That is also the philosophy behind the immigration and asylum policy which I have instituted and which is fundamentally based on solidarity.

It is in line with the Marrakech Compact, which the international community adopted on 10 December 2018.

Your Holiness,
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Our meeting attests to a mutually held belief that the values of monotheism contribute to rationalization, to reconciliation and to improving the world order.

As Commander of the Faithful, and just like Your Holiness, I am against all forms of indifference and I wish, in this respect, to salute the courage of the Leaders who do not shy away from the defining questions of our time.

I have been following with interest and appreciation Your Holiness’s efforts to serve peace in the world, as well as your regular calls to promote education and dialogue, to end violence, to combat poverty and corruption, to tackle climate change – to fight the ills plaguing human societies.

As Commander of the Faithful and as Holy Father, we are called upon to be both idealistic and pragmatic, to be realistic and to set an example.

Our messages do not concern our time only; they are eternal. They call upon people to embrace the values of moderation, to fulfil the imperatives of knowing one another and to raise awareness of otherness.

By doing this, Your Holiness, you and I “will speak with one voice” – a voice which is not to be reduced to a mere consensus based on compromise.

I see this – in my daily life – as a common message conveyed by Muslims, Christians and Jews to all of humankind.

That is precisely what has brought us together today and what should unite us in the future.

Wassalamu alaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh”.

Address of Pope John Paul to Young Muslims in Morocco
19 August 1985
Casablanca, Morocco

Dear Young People,

1. I give thanks and glory to God who has granted that I should meet with you today. His Majesty the King did me the honour of visiting me in Rome some years ago, and he had the courtesy to invite me to visit your country and meet you. I joyfully accepted the invitation from the Sovereign of this country to speak with you in this Year of Youth.

I often meet young people, usually Catholics. It is the first time that I find myself with young Muslims.

Christians and Muslims, we have many things in common, as believers and as human beings. We live in the same world, marked by many signs of hope, but also by multiple signs of anguish. For us, Abraham is a very model of faith in God, of submission to his will and of confidence in his goodness. We believe in the same God, the one God, the living God, the God who created the world and brings his creatures to their perfection.

It is therefore towards this God that my thought goes and that my heart rises: it is of God himself that, above all, I wish to speak with you; of him, because it is in him that we believe, you Muslims and we Catholics. I wish also to speak with you about human values, which have their basis in God, these values which concern the blossoming of our person, as also that of our families and our societies, as well as that of the international community. The mystery of God, is it not the highest reality from which depends the very meaning which man gives to his life? And is it not the first problem that presents itself to a young person, when he reflects upon the mystery of his own existence and on the values which he intends to choose in order to build his growing personality?

For my part, in the Catholic Church, I bear the responsibility of the successor of Peter, the Apostle chosen by Jesus to strengthen his brothers in the faith. Following the Popes who succeeded one another uninterruptedly in the passage of history, I am today the Bishop of Rome, called to be, among his brethren in the world, the witness of the Christian faith and the guarantee of the unity of all the members of the Church.

Also, it is as a believer that I come to you today. It is quite simply that I would like to give here today the witness of that which I believe, of that which I wish for the well-being of the people, my brothers, and of the people, my brothers, and of that which, from experience, I consider to be useful for all.

2. First of all, I invoke the Most High, the all-powerful God who is our creator. He is the origin of all life, as he is at the source of all that is good, of all that is beautiful, of all that is holy.

He separated the light from the darkness. He caused the whole universe to grow in a marvellous order. He willed that the plants should grow and bear fruit, just as he willed that the birds of the sky, the animals of the earth and the fish of the sea should multiply.

He made us, us men, and we are from him. His holy law guides our life. It is the light of God which orientates our destiny and enlightens our conscience. He renders us capable of loving and of transmitting life. He asks every man to respect every human creature and to love him as a friend, a companion, a brother. He invites us to help him when he is wounded, when he is abandoned, when he is hungry and thirsty, in short, when he no longer knows where to find his direction on the pathways of life.

Yes, God asks that we should listen to his voice. He expects from us obedience to his holy will in a free consent of mind and of heart.

That is why we are accountable before him. It is he, God, who is our judge; he who alone is truly just. We know, however, that his mercy is inseparable from his justice. When man returns to him, repentant and contrite, after having strayed away into the disorder of sin and the works of death, God then reveals himself as the One who pardons and shows mercy.

To him, therefore, our love and our adoration! For his blessing and for his mercy, we thank him, at all times and in all places.

3. In a world which desires unity and peace, and which however experiences a thousand tensions and conflicts, should not believers favour friendship between the men and the peoples who form one single community on earth? We know that they have one and the same origin and one and the same final end: the God who made them and who waits for them, because he will gather them together.

For its part, the Catholic Church, twenty years ago at the time of the Second Vatican Council, undertook in the person of its bishops, that is, of its religious leaders, to seek collaboration between the believers. It published a document on dialogue between the religions ("Nostra Aetate"). It affirms that all men, especially those of living faith, should respect each other, should rise above all discrimination, should live in harmony and serve the universal brotherhood (cf. document cited above, n. 5). The Church shows particular attention to the believing Muslims, given their faith in the one God, their sense of prayer, and their esteem for the moral life (cf. n. 3). It desires that Christians and Muslims together "promote harmony for all men, social justice, moral values, peace, liberty" (ibid.).

4. Dialogue between Christians and Muslims is today more necessary than ever. It flows from our fidelity to God and supposes that we know how to recognize God by faith, and to witness to him by word and deed in a world ever more secularized and at times even atheistic.

The young can build a better future if they first put their faith in God and if they pledge themselves to build this new world in accordance with God's plan, with wisdom and trust.

Today we should witness to the spiritual values of which the world has need. The first is our faith in God.

God is the source of all joy. We should also witness to our worship of God, by our adoration, our prayer of praise and supplication. Man cannot live without prayer, any more than he can live without breathing. We should witness to ourhumble search for his will; it is he who should inspire our pledge for a more just and more united world. God's ways are not always our ways. They transcend our actions, which are always incomplete, and the intentions of our heart, which are always imperfect. God can never be used for our purposes, for he is above all.

This witness of faith, which is vital for us and which can never tolerate either infidelity to God or indifference to the truth, is made with respect for the other religious traditions, because everyone hopes to be respected for what he is in fact, and for what he conscientiously believes. We desire that all may reach the fullness of the divine truth, but no one can do that except through the free adherence of conscience, protected from exterior compulsions which would be unworthy of the free homage of reason and of heart which is characteristic of human dignity. There, is the true meaning of religious liberty, which at the same time respects God and man. It is the sincere veneration of such worshippers that God awaits, of worshippers in spirit and in truth.

5. We are convinced that "we cannot truly pray to God the Father of all mankind, if we treat any people in other than brotherly fashion, for all mankind is created in God's image". (Decl. Nostra Aetate, n. 5).

Therefore we must also respect, love and help every human being, because he is a creature of God and, in a certain sense, his image and his representative, because he is the road leading to God, and because he does not fully fulfil himself unless he knows God, unless he accepts him with all his heart, and unless he obeys him to the extent of the ways of perfection.

Furthermore, this obedience to God and this love for man should lead us to respect man's rights, these rights which are the expression of God's will and the demands of human nature such as it was created by God.

Therefore, respect and dialogue require reciprocity in all spheres, especially in that which concerns basic freedoms, more particularly religious freedom. They favour peace and agreement between the peoples. They help to resolve together the problems of today's men and women, especially those of the young.

6. Normally the young look towards the future, they long for a more just and more human world. God made young people such, precisely that they might help to transform the world in accordance with his plan of life. But to them, too, the situation often appears to have its shadows.

In this world there are frontiers and divisions between men, as also misunderstandings between the generations; there are, likewise, racism, wars and injustices, as also hunger, waste and unemployment. These are the dramatic evils which touch us all, more particularly the young of the entire world. Some are in danger of discouragement, others of capitulation, others of willing to change everything by violence or by extreme solutions. Wisdom teaches us that self-discipline and love are then the only means to the desired renewal.

God does not will that people should remain passive. He entrusted the earth to them that together they should subdue it, cultivate it, and cause it to bear fruit.

You are charged with the world of tomorrow. It is by fully and courageously undertaking your responsibilities that you will be able to overcome the existing difficulties. It reverts to you to take the initiatives and not to wait for everything to come from the older people and from those in office. You must build the world and not just dream about it.

It is by working in harmony that one can be effective. Work properly understood is a service to others. It creates links of solidarity. The experience of working in common enables one to purify oneself and to discover the richness of others. It is thus that, gradually, a climate of trust can be born which enables each one to grow, to expand, and "to be more". Do not fail, dear young people, to collaborate with the adults, especially with your parents and teachers as well as with the "leaders" of society and of the State. The young should not isolate themselves from the others. The young need the adults, just as the adults need the young.

In this working together, the human person, man or woman, should never be sacrificed. Each person is unique in God's eyes. Each one ought to be appreciated for what he is, and, consequently, respected as such. No one should make use of his fellow man; no one should exploit his equal; no one should contemn his brother.

It is in these conditions that a more human, more just, and more fraternal world will be able to be born, a world where each one can find his place in dignity and freedom. It is this world of the twenty-first century that is in your hands; it will be what you make it.

7. This world, which is about to come, depends on the young people of all the countries of the world. Our world is divided, and even shattered; it experiences multiple conflicts and grave injustices. There is no real North-South solidarity; there is not enough mutual assistance between the nations of the South. There are in the world cultures and races which are not respected.

Why is all this? It is because people do not accept their differences: they do not know each other sufficiently. They reject those who have not the same civilization. They refuse to help each other. They are unable to free themselves from egoism and from self-conceit.

But God created all men equal in dignity, though different with regard to gifts and to talents. Mankind is a whole where each one has his part to play; the worth of the various peoples and of the diverse cultures must be recognized. The world is as it were a living organism; each one has something to receive from the others, and has something to give to them.

I am happy to meet you here in Morocco. Morocco has a tradition of openness. Your scholars have travelled, and you have welcomed scholars from other countries. Morocco has been a meeting place of civilizations: it has permitted exchanges with the East, with Spain, and with Africa. Morocco has a tradition of tolerance; in this Muslim country there have always been Jews and nearly always Christians; that tradition has been carried out in respect, in a positive manner. You have been, and you remain, a hospitable country. You, young Moroccans, are then prepared to become citizens of tomorrow's world, of this fraternal world to which, with the young people of all the world, you aspire.

I am sure that all of you, young people, are capable of this dialogue. You do not wish to be conditioned by prejudices. You are ready to build a civilization based on love. You can work to cause the barriers to fall, barriers that are due at times to pride, but more often to man's feebleness and fear. You wish to love others, without any limit of nation, race or religion.

For that, you want justice and peace. "Peace and youth go forward together", as I said in my message for this year's World Day of Peace. You do not want either war or violence. You know the price that they cause innocent people to pay. Neither do you want the escalation of armaments. That does not mean that you wish to have peace at any price. Peace goes side by side with justice. You do not want anyone to be oppressed. You want peace in justice.

8. First of all, you wish that people should have enough on which to live. Young people who have the good fortune to pursue their studies have the right to be solicitous about the profession that they will be able to exercise on their your own behalf. But they also must concern themselves with the living conditions, often more difficult, of their brothers and sisters who live in the same country, and indeed in the whole world. How can one remain indifferent, in fact, when other human beings, in great numbers, die of hunger, of malnutrition or lack of health help, when they suffer cruelly from drought, when they are reduced to unemployment or to emigration through economic laws that are beyond their control, when they endure the precarious situation of refugees, packed into camps, as a consequence of human conflicts? God has given the earth to mankind as a whole in order that people might jointly draw their subsistence from it, and that every people might have the means to nourish itself, to take care of itself; and to live in peace.

9. But important as the economic problems may be, man does not live on bread alone, he needs an intellectual and spiritual life; it is there that he finds the soul of this new world to which you aspire. Man has need to develop his spirit and his conscience. This is often lacking to the man of today. Forgetfulness of values and the crisis of identity which frustrate our world oblige us to excel ourselves in a renewed effort of research and investigation. The interior light which will thus be born in our conscience will enable meaning to be given to development, to orientate it towards the good of man, of every man and of all men, in accordance with God's plan.

The Arabs of the Mashriq and the Maghrib, and Muslims in general, have a long tradition of study and of erudition: literary, scientific, philosophic. You are the heirs to this tradition, you must study in order to learn to know this world which God has given us, to understand it, to discover its meaning, with a desire and a respect for truth, and in order to learn to know the peoples and the men created and loved by God, so as to prepare yourselves better to serve them.

Still more, the search for truth will lead you, beyond intellectual values, to the spiritual dimension of the interior life.

10. Man is a spiritual being. We, believers, know that we do not live in a closed world. We believe in God. We are worshippers of God. We are seekers of God.

The Catholic Church regards with respect and recognizes the quality of your religious progress, the richness of your spiritual tradition.

We Christians, also, are proud of our own religious tradition.

I believe that we, Christians and Muslims, must recognize with joy the religious values that we have in common, and give thanks to God for them. Both of us believe in one God the only God, who is all Justice and all Mercy; we believe in the importance of prayer, of fasting, of almsgiving, of repentance and of pardon; we believe that God will be a merciful judge to us at the end of time, and we hope that after the resurrection he will be satisfied with us and we know that we will be satisfied with him.

Loyalty demands also that we should recognize and respect our differences. Obviously the most fundamental is the view that we hold on the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth. You know that, for the Christians, this Jesus causes them to enter into an intimate knowledge of the mystery of God and into a filial communion by his gifts, so that they recognize him and proclaim him Lord and Saviour.

Those are important differences, which we can accept with humility and respect, in mutual tolerance; there is a mystery there on which, I am certain, God will one day enlighten us.

Christians and Muslims, in general we have badly understood each other, and sometimes, in the past, we have opposed and even exhausted each other in polemics and in wars.

I believe that, today, God invites us to change our old practices. We must respect each other, and also we must stimulate each other in good works on the path of God.

With me, you know what is the reward of spiritual values. Ideologies and slogans cannot satisfy you nor can they solve the problems of your life. Only the spiritual and moral values can do it, and they have God as their fundament.

Dear young people, I wish that you may be able to help in thus building a world where God may have first place in order to aid and to save mankind. On this path, you are assured of the esteem and the collaboration of your Catholic brothers and sisters whom I represent among you this evening.

11. I should now like to thank His Majesty the King for having invited me. I thank you also, dear young people of Morocco, for having come here and listened with confidence to my witness.

But still more, I would like to thank God who permitted this meeting. We are all in his sight. Today he is the first witness of our meeting. It is he who puts in our hearts the feelings of mercy and understanding, of pardon and of reconciliation, of service and of collaboration. Must not the believers that we are reproduce in their life and in their city the Most Beautiful Names which our religious traditions recognize for him? May we then be able to be available for him, and to be submissive to his will, to the calls that he makes to us! In this way our lives will find a new dynamism.

Then, I am convinced, a world can be born where men and women of living and effective faith will sing to the glory of God, and will seek to build a human society in accordance with God's will.

I should like to finish by invoking him personally in your presence:

O God, you are our creator.
You are limitlessly good and merciful.
To You is due the praise of every creature.
O God, You have given to us an interior law by which we should live.
To do Your will is to perform our task.
To follow Your ways is to find peace of soul.
To You we offer our obedience.
Guide us in all the steps that we undertake on earth.
Free us from evil inclinations which turn our heart from Your will.
Do not permit that in invoking Your Name we should ever justify the human disorders.
O God, you are the One Alone to whom we make our adoration.
Do not permit that we should estrange ourselves from You.
O God, judge of all mankind, help us to belong to Your elect on the last day.
O God, author of justice and peace, grant us true joy and authentic love, as also a lasting fraternity among all peoples.
Fill us with Your gifts for ever. Amen!