400 South Adams Ave. Rayne, La 70578
337-334-2193
stjoseph1872@diolaf.org

On arriving in Sarajevo the Pope encourages dialogue and cooperation in order to heal the wounds of the past- From conflict to encounter

On arriving in Sarajevo the Pope encourages dialogue and cooperation in order to heal the wounds of the past- From conflict to encounter

From the “Jerusalem of
the West”, the ancient cradle of coexisting cultures, ethnicities and
religions, Pope Francis admonished war, calling “patience and trust” essential
to such dialogue in order to heal the wounds of the past. On arriving in
Sarajevo — a city which still bears signs of destruction from the bloody
conflict 20 years ago — the Pontiff urged the entire community of Bosnia and
Herzegovina to look to the future with hope, setting aside ancient grievances.
The Holy Father pointed to the “culture of encounter” as the only way to fight
“the barbarity of those who would make of every difference the occasion and pretext
for further unspeakable violence”.

To the members of the Presidency and the highest
political, diplomatic, civil and religious authorities of the country — who met
in the Presidential Palace on Saturday morning, 6 June, after arriving at the
airport — Francis introduced himself “a pilgrim of peace and dialogue”.
Recognizing the progress made since the 1995 agreement in Dayton, the Pontiff
explicitly asked the international community, especially Europe, to favour the
already-begun peace process.

A horizon of trust which the Pope underlined once again
during the Mass celebrated in Koševo
Stadium in the presence of tens of thousands of people. After denouncing the
horrors of war and admonishing the trafficking of arms, the Pontiff recalled
that “crafting peace is a skilled work”. “It requires passion, patience,
experience and tenacity” and must be sown with an attitude and action of
service, brotherhood, dialogue and mercy. It is a work “to be carried forward
each day, step by step, without ever growing tired. making peace is the work of
artisans”.

The address to authorities 

The homily at the Koševo Stadium 

Tags: ,