Vatican City, 9 June 2014 (VIS) –
Yesterday afternoon the Vatican Gardens hosted the Invocation for
Peace, the initiative Pope Francis proposed to presidents Shimon
Peres and Mahmoud Abbas during his recent pilgrimage to the Holy
Land, to pray for the gift of peace for the Israeli and Palestinian
peoples. Peres and Abbas arrived in the Vatican at 6.15 and 6.30 p.m.
respectively, and were received by the Holy Father at the entrance of
the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where he spoke briefly first with the
Israel president, and then with the Palestinian.
Shortly after, they entered the Santa
Marta Hall where they were joined by the Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomaios I, and then transferred by car to the Vatican Gardens
where they were awaited by their respective delegations. The meeting
began with the following words: “May the Lord grant us peace! We
are gathered here, Israelis and Palestinians, Jews, Christians and
Muslims, to offer our prayer for peace for the Holy Land and for all
its inhabitants”.
As previously explained, the meeting
took place in three phases, followed by a conclusion. Following the
chronological order of the three religions, it began with the Jewish
community, followed by Christians, and finally Muslims. The first
phase, for the three communities, consisted of praise to God for the
gift of creation and for having made us members of one human family.
The second was a plea to God for forgiveness for not having acted
like brothers and sisters, and for our sins against God and
neighbour. The third invokes from God the gift of peace in the Holy
Land and the capacity to be converted into builders of peace. Each of
these phases was accompanied by a brief musical interlude. A longer
musical meditation concluded each of the three principal parts. At
the end, before exchanging handshakes and planting an olive tree as a
symbol of the common desire for peace between the Palestinian and
Israeli peoples, the Holy Father, President Shimon Peres and
President Mahmoud Abbas all gave brief discourses.
“Distinguished Presidents”, began
Pope Francis, “I greet you with immense joy and I wish to offer
you, and the eminent delegations accompanying you, the same warm
welcome which you gave to me during my recent pilgrimage to the Holy
Land. I am profoundly grateful to you for accepting my invitation to
come here and to join in imploring from God the gift of peace. It is
my hope that this meeting will be a path to seeking the things that
unite, so as to overcome the things that divide. I also thank Your
Holiness, my venerable Brother Bartholomaios, for joining me in
welcoming these illustrious guests. Your presence here is a great
gift, a much-appreciated sign of support, and a testimony to the
pilgrimage which we Christians are making towards full unity”.
“Your presence, dear Presidents, is a
great sign of brotherhood which you offer as children of Abraham. It
is also a concrete expression of trust in God, the Lord of history,
Who today looks upon all of us as brothers and Who desires to guide
us in His ways. This meeting of prayer for peace in the Holy Land, in
the Middle East and in the entire world is accompanied by the prayers
of countless people of different cultures, nations, languages and
religions: they have prayed for this meeting and even now they are
united with us in the same supplication. It is a meeting which
responds to the fervent desire of all who long for peace and dream of
a world in which men and women can live as brothers and sisters and
no longer as adversaries and enemies”.
“Dear Presidents, our world is a
legacy bequeathed to us from past generations, but it is also on loan
to us from our children: our children who are weary, worn out by
conflicts and yearning for the dawn of peace, our children who plead
with us to tear down the walls of enmity and to set out on the path
of dialogue and peace, so that love and friendship will prevail.
Many, all too many, of those children have been innocent victims of
war and violence, saplings cut down at the height of their promise.
It is our duty to ensure that their sacrifice is not in vain. The
memory of these children instils in us the courage of peace, the
strength to persevere undaunted in dialogue, the patience to weave,
day by day, an ever more robust fabric of respectful and peaceful
coexistence, for the glory of God and the good of all. Peacemaking
calls for courage, much more so than warfare. It calls for the
courage to say yes to encounter and no to conflict: yes to dialogue
and no to violence; yes to negotiations and no to hostilities; yes to
respect for agreements and no to acts of provocation; yes to
sincerity and no to duplicity. All of this takes courage, it takes
strength and tenacity”.
“History teaches that our own powers
do not suffice. More than once we have been on the verge of peace,
but the evil one, employing a variety of means, has succeeded in
blocking it. That is why we are here, because we know and we believe
that we need the help of God. We do not renounce our
responsibilities, but we do call upon God in an act of supreme
responsibility before our consciences and before our peoples. We have
heard a summons, and we must respond. It is the summons to break the
spiral of hatred and violence, and to break it by one word alone: the
word 'brother'. But to be able to utter this word we have to lift our
eyes to heaven and acknowledge one another as children of one
Father”.
“To him, the Father, in the Spirit of
Jesus Christ, I now turn, begging the intercession of the Virgin
Mary, a daughter of the Holy Land and our Mother. Lord God of peace,
hear our prayer! We have tried so many times and over so many years
to resolve our conflicts by our own powers and by the force of our
arms. How many moments of hostility and darkness have we experienced;
how much blood has been shed; how many lives have been shattered; how
many hopes have been buried… But our efforts have been in vain.
Now, Lord, come to our aid! Grant us peace, teach us peace; guide our
steps in the way of peace. Open our eyes and our hearts, and give us
the courage to say: 'Never again war!'; 'With war everything is
lost'. Instil in our hearts the courage to take concrete steps to
achieve peace. Lord, God of Abraham, God of the Prophets, God of
Love, You created us and You call us to live as brothers and sisters.
Give us the strength daily to be instruments of peace; enable us to
see everyone who crosses our path as our brother or sister. Make us
sensitive to the plea of our citizens who entreat us to turn our
weapons of war into implements of peace, our trepidation into
confident trust, and our quarrelling into forgiveness. Keep alive
within us the flame of hope, so that with patience and perseverance
we may opt for dialogue and reconciliation. In this way may peace
triumph at last, and may the words 'division', 'hatred' and 'war' be
banished from the heart of every man and woman. Lord, defuse the
violence of our tongues and our hands. Renew our hearts and minds, so
that the word which always brings us together will be 'brother', and
our way of life will always be that of: Shalom, Peace, Salaam! Amen”.
President Shimon Peres then addressed
those present: “I have come from the Holy City of Jerusalem to
thank you for your exceptional invitation”, he said. “The Holy
City of Jerusalem is the beating heart of the Jewish people. In
Hebrew, our ancient language, the word Jerusalem and the word for
peace share the same root. And indeed peace is the vision of
Jerusalem. As it is said in the Book of Psalms: Pray for the peace of
Jerusalem. May those who love you be secure. May there be peace
within your walls and security within your citadels. For the sake of
my family and friends, I will say, 'Peace be within you'. For the
sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your prosperity”.
“During your historic visit to the
Holy Land, you moved us with the warmth of your heart, the sincerity
of your intentions, your modesty, and your kind ways. You touched the
people’s hearts – regardless of their faith or nation. You
emerged as a bridge-builder of brotherhood and peace. We are all in
need of the inspiration which accompanies your character and your
way. Thank you”.
“Two peoples – Israelis and
Palestinians – still are aching for peace. The tears of mothers
over their children are still etched in our hearts. We must put an
end to the cries, to the violence, to the conflict. We all need
peace. Peace between equals. Your invitation to us to join you in
this momentous ceremony to call for peace, here in the Vatican
garden, in the presence of Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Druze
leaders,graciously reflects your vision of the aspiration we all
share: Peace. On this moving occasion, brimming with hope and full of
faith, let us all raise with you, Your Holiness, a call for peace
between religions, between nations, between communities, and between
fellow men and women. Let true peace become our legacy soon and
swiftly”.
“Our Book of Books commands upon us
the way of peace, demands of us to toil for its realization. It is
said in the book of Proverbs: 'Her ways are ways of grace, and all
her paths are peace'. So too must our ways be. Ways of grace and
peace. It is not by chance that Rabbi Akiva captured the essence of
our Torah in one sentence: 'Love your neighbour like thyself'. We are
all equal before the Lord. We are all part of the human family. For
without peace, we are not complete, and we have yet to achieve the
mission of humanity. Peace does not come easy. We must toil with all
our strengths to reach it. To reach it soon. Even if it requires
sacrifice or compromise. The Book of Psalms tells us: 'Whoever loves
life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil and do good, seek
peace and pursue it'”.
“This is to say, we are commanded to
pursue after peace. All year. Every day. We greet each other with
this blessing. Shalom. Salam. We must be worthy of the deep and
demanding meaning of this blessing. Even when peace seems distant, we
must pursue it to bring it closer. And if we pursue peace with
perseverance, with faith, we will reach it. And it will endure
through us, through all of us, of all faiths, of all nations, as it
is written: 'They will beat their swords into plowshares and their
spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against
nation, nor will they train for war any more'. The soul is elated
upon the reading of these verses of eternal vision. And we can –
together and now, Israelis and Palestinians – convert our noble
vision to a reality of welfare and prosperity. It is within our power
to bring peace to our children. This is our duty, the holy mission of
parents. Let me end with a prayer: He who makes peace in the heavens
shall make peace upon us and upon all of Israel, and upon the entire
world, and let us say Amen”.
Finally, the president of Palestine,
Mahmoud Abbas, said: “It is indeed a great honour for us to meet
again with His Holiness Pope Francis in fulfilment of his kind
invitation to relish his spiritual and noble presence, and listen to
his opinion and crystal wisdom, which emanate from a sound heart,
vibrant conscience, as well as an elevated ethical and religious
sense. I thank your Holiness from the bottom of my heart for
initiating this important gathering here in the Vatican.
Simultaneously, we highly appreciate your visit to the Holy Land
Palestine, and in particular to our Holy city Jerusalem and to
Bethlehem, the city of love and peace, and the cradle of Jesus
Christ. The visit is a sincere expression of your belief in peace and
a truthful attempt to achieve peace between Palestinians and
Israelis”.
“Oh God, we ever praise You for
making Jerusalem our gate to heaven. As said in the Holy Quran,
'Glory to Him who made His servant travel by night from the sacred
place of worship to the furthest place of worship, whose surroundings
we have blessed'. You made pilgrimage and prayer in it as the best
acts the faithful can make in your praise, and made your truthful
promise in your say: 'Let them enter the Masjid as they did for
the first time'. God Almighty has spoken the truth”.
“O, Lord of Heaven and Earth, accept
my prayer for the realisation of truth, peace and justice in my
country Palestine, the region, and the globe as a whole. I beseech
You, O Lord, on behalf of my people, the people of Palestine -
Muslims, Christians and Samaritans – who are craving for a just
peace, dignified living, and liberty, I beseech you, O Lord, to make
prosperous and promising the future of our people, and freedom in our
sovereign and independent state; Grant, Oh Lord, our region and its
people security, safety and stability. Save our blessed city
Jerusalem; the first Kiblah, the second Holy Mosque, the third of the
two Holy Mosques, and the city of blessings and peace with all that
surround it.
“Reconciliation and peace, O Lord,
are our goal. God in His Holy Book has addressed the faithful: 'Make
peace among you'. Here we are, O God, inclined to peace. Make firm
our steps and crown our efforts and endeavours with success. You are
the promoter of virtue and preventer of vice, evil and aggression.
You say and you are the most truthful, 'And if they incline to peace,
incline thou also to it, and trust in Allah. Lo! He is the Hearer,
the Knower'. In the saying of Prophet Muhammad, 'Spread the peace
among you'.
“Today, we reiterate after Jesus
Christ addressing Jerusalem: 'If only you had known the path of
peace this day'. Also let us remember the words of Saint John Paul
II when he said: 'If peace is achieved in Jerusalem, peace
will be witnessed in the whole world" Simultaneously, in
our prayer today, we repeatedly call after those who advocate peace:
'Blessed are the peace makers', and 'Call for
the peace of Jerusalem', as came in the Holy Scriptures”.
“Accordingly, we ask You, O Lord, for
peace in the Holy Land, Palestine, and Jerusalem together with its
people. We call on you to make Palestine and Jerusalem in particular
a secure land for all the believers, and a place for prayer and
worship for the followers of the three monotheistic religions
Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and for all those wishing to visit it
as it is stated in the Holy Quran”.
“O Lord, You are the peace and peace
emanates from You. O God of Glory and Majesty grant us security and
safety, and alleviate the suffering of my people in home town and
diaspora. O Lord, bring comprehensive and just peace to our country
and region so that our people and the peoples of the Middle East and
the whole world would enjoy the fruit of peace, stability and
coexistence. We want peace for us and for our neighbours. We seek
prosperity and peace of mind for ourselves and for others alike. O
Lord, answer our prayers and make successful our endeavours for you
are most just, most merciful, Lord of the Worlds. Amen!”