The Evangelical Pope | Meeting of the Minds

Each week we let Saint Pope John Paul II share meaningful signposts to spark socio-economic resolves through justice and righteousness combined with mercy and compassion; in short, love.

               "Christians' only ambition is to show that they understand personal and collective history as a meeting between God and humankind …" ¹

Friendship Hall, Khartoum, Sudan, 10 February 1993 | My visit to Sudan is a source of great satisfaction to me … to offer the message of reconciliation and hope, which I bring to all the Sudanese people, irrespective of different religious or ethnic origin.

Peace is always possible. Humankind is a rational being endowed with intelligence and will. Therefore,humanitycan find just solutions to situations of conflict, no matter how long they have been going on and no matter how intricate the motives which caused them. 

Only a legally guaranteed respect for human rights in a system of equal justice can create the right conditions for peaceful coexistence and cooperation in serving the common good. Two fundamental principles underlie the universal obligation to understand and respect the variety and richness of other peoples, societies, cultures, and religions. 

               First, the inalienable dignity of every human person, irrespective of racial, ethnic, cultural or national origin or religious belief, means that when people coalesce in groups, they have a right to enjoy a collective identity. Thus, minorities within a country have the right to exist with their language, culture, and traditions. The State is morally obliged to leave room for their identity and self–expression.

               Secondly, the fundamental unity of the human race, which takes its origin from God, the Creator of all, requires that no group should consider itself superior to another. It likewise requires that integration be built on practical solidarity and freedom from discrimination.

               Consequently, the State must respect and defend the differences among its citizens and permit their diversity to serve the common good. Experience shows that peace and internal security can only be guaranteed through respect for all those rights for whom the State has responsibility. 

In such a perspective, the freedom of individuals and communities to profess and practice their religion is an essential element for peaceful human coexistence. Freedom of conscience and freedom to seek the truth and act according to one's personal religious beliefs are so fundamentally human that any effort to restrict them almost inevitably leads to bitter conflict. 

               Where relations between groups within a Nation have broken down, dialogue and negotiation are the obligatory paths to peace. Reconciliation under justice and respect for the legitimate aspirations of all sectors of the national community must be the rule. To guarantee the participation of minorities in political life is a sign of a morally mature society. It brings honor to those nations where all citizens are free to share in national life in a climate of justice and peace. 

At this point, my good wishes for Sudan become an earnest prayer that God's gift of peace will become a reality in your midst. That harmony and cooperation between North and South, between Christians and Muslims, will take the place of conflict. That obstacles to religious freedom will soon be a thing of the past.

May the Most High God lead all the Sudanese along the paths of truth, justice, and peace. 

Baraka Allah as-Sudan … God, bless Sudan.

Excerpted from:

1. ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II TO THE DIPLOMATIC CORPS ACCREDITED TO THE HOLY SEE, Saturday, 16 January 1993

https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/1993/january/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19930116_corpo-diplomatico.html

2. PASTORAL JOURNEY TO BENIN, UGANDA, AND KHARTOUM (SUDAN), MEETING WITH GENERAL OMAR HASSAN AHMED AL-BASHIR, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE SUDAN, ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II, Friendship Hall, Khartoum (Sudan), Wednesday, 10 February 1993

https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/1993/february/documents/hf_jpii_spe_19930210_presidente-sudan.html