L'Osservatore Romano

Pope Urges Dialogue: Says 'A Child Can Do It'

Before General Audience Francis Meets Participants of Meeting With “Royal Institute for Interfaith Studies” in Amman, Jordan

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If you want friendship, you have to start with dialogue.
Before his Wednesday General Audience this morning, Pope Francis underscored this to participants of the meeting with the “Royal Institute for Interfaith Studies” in Amman, Jordan, organized by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall.
Francis began his visit by saying what fond memories he has of visit to Jordan, and applauded the group’s efforts to advance interreligious dialogue.
“The work you do is a work of construction,” the Pope said, lamenting, “We live in a time when we have become accustomed to destruction that makes war.”
In order to build and construct, the Pope urged, there must be dialogue and approaching one another.
“And dialogue is coming out of one’s self, with words, and listening to the words of the other. The two words come together, the two thoughts meet. It is the first step of a journey.”
So Simple Children Can Do It
The Pontiff went on to explain that once there’s dialogue, hearts meet, hands are shaken and friendship follows.
“Word, heart, hands. It is simple! A child can do it … Why can’t we?”
The Pope reminded the participants, “We all have a common Father, we are brothers,” and concluded, thanking them for their presence and asking them to pray for him.
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Full Translation:
On ZENIT’s Web page: https://zenit.org/articles/popes-address-to-royal-institute-for-interfaith-studies/

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Deborah Castellano Lubov

Deborah Castellano Lubov is Senior Vatican & Rome Correspondent for ZENIT; author of 'The Other Francis' ('L'Altro Francesco') featuring interviews with those closest to the Pope and preface by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin (currently published in 5 languages); Deborah is also NBC & MSNBC Vatican Analyst. She often covers the Pope's travels abroad, often from the Papal Flight (including for historic trips such as to Abu Dhabi and Japan & Thailand), and has also asked him questions on the return-flight press conference on behalf of the English-speaking press present. Lubov has done much TV & radio commentary, including for NBC, Sky, EWTN, BBC, Vatican Radio, AP, Reuters and more. She also has contributed to various books on the Pope and has written for various Catholic publications. For 'The Other Francis': http://www.gracewing.co.uk/page219.html or https://www.amazon.com/Other-Francis-Everything-They-about/dp/0852449348/

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