Every meeting of religious leaders brings new hope for humanity, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed el-Tayeb said during the Seventh Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions. According to him, the world is still recovering from the coronavirus pandemic, as new challenges emerge. Therefore, it is important to consolidate to address them. Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb also stressed the importance of ‘Religious brotherhood’, which he views as a prerequisite for global international brotherhood.
“At present, humanity is under pressure due to unexpected changes in nature and climate, which are expressed in warming, forest fires, the threat of flooding of cities and mudslides, the drying up of some rivers, as well as the fall of a large number of living creatures and much more. We are all witnessing this. It is all due to the inattentive and soulless attitude of people towards these issues,” Ahmed el-Tayeb said.
Pope Francis also called on all the inhabitants of the planet to unite and make peace. To do this, people need to free themselves from destructive ideas and cruelty, showing more compassion for each other, he said.
“In addition to the challenges of the pandemic and of peace, let us now turn to a third challenge, that of fraternal acceptance. Today we find it hard to accept the human being. Each day children, born and unborn, migrants and elderly persons, are cast aside, discarded. There exists a throwaway culture. Many of our brothers and sisters die sacrificed on the altar of profit, amid clouds of the sacrilegious incense of indifference. Yet every human being is sacred. “Homo sacra res homini”, the ancients said. It is above all our task, the task of the religions, to remind the world of this,” said Pope Francis.
