ROME – On the second annual Day of Human Fraternity both religious and secular leaders have joined voices calling for greater brotherhood and solidarity, saying faith implies respect for all people regardless of their traditions or beliefs. These leaders include Pope Francis, the Grand Imam of Egypt’s prestigious Al-Azhar mosque and university, Ahmed al-Tayeb, and United States President Joe Biden. In a video message marking the Feb. 4 anniversary, Pope Francis said fraternity “is one of the fundamental and universal values that ought to undergird relationships between peoples.” “In a mutual and shared spirit of fraternity, all of us must work to promote a culture of peace that encourages sustainable development, tolerance, inclusion, mutual understanding and solidarity,” he said… These and other global challenges are “too great for any one nation or group of people to solve,” he (Biden) said, insisting that problems such as the coronavirus pandemic, climate change, and violent conflicts “require us to speak with one another in open dialogue to promote tolerance, inclusion, and understanding.”… Al-Tayeb insisted that “God willing, I will keep pursuing the commenced peace efforts, along with fellow religious leaders and lovers of goodness around the world, towards achieving peace and world fraternity and fellow feeling, and removing all the stimuli of hate, conflicts, and wars.” “We are really in bad need of amity, cooperation, and solidarity to encounter the genuine challenges threatening humanity and compromising its stability,” he said, and prayed that Allah would “always unite us for good purposes, for He alone can do that.” – SOURCE

Continue reading →