“No one can invoke God’s name to foment contempt, hatred and violence towards others.”  Pope Francis strongly reaffirmed this stance on Wednesday August 7, 2024 as he met in the Vatican with members from the Afghan Community Association in Italy before his  General Audience.

The association is a network of Afghan men and women living in Italy engaged in supporting  the integration of Afghan refugees in Italian society and in promoting dialogue and the respect of human rights of all ethnic communities.

The "tragic" situation in Afghanistan

Opening his address, the Pope recalled the tragic events Afghanistan has endured in the past decades marked by instability, warfare, internal divisions and systematic violation of basic human rights that have forced many to exile.

He decried that the ethnic diversity that characterizes Afghan society is “sometimes used as a reason for discrimination and exclusion, if not outright persecution.”

“You have gone through a tragic time, with many wars.”

The Pope also referred to the critical situation on the borders with Pakistan where many Afghans have taken shelter, and where the ethnic Pashtun minority (the majority ethnic group in Afghanistan, ed. ) also endures abuse and discrimination. 

Religion should  help mitigate differences

In this difficult context, he noted, religion should help mitigate contrasts and create a space  where everyone is granted full citizenship rights  without discrimination. Instead,  “it is manipulated” and used as an instrument of hatred to fuel confrontation that leads to violence.

He, therefore, encouraged the members of the Afghan network to continue in their “noble endeavor to promote religious harmony" striving " to overcome misunderstandings between different religions in order to build paths of trusting dialogue and peace."

Promoting human fraternity, not hatred and violence

In this regard, Pope Francis recalled the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together he signed in Abu Dhabi on 4 February 2019 with Grand Iman of Al-Azhar. That historic document stated that  “religions must never incite war, hateful attitudes, hostility and extremism, nor must they incite violence or the shedding of blood”, which, it said, are the “consequence of a deviation from religious teachings” and “result from a political manipulation of religions.”

The Pope remembered that their appeal also applied to ethnic-linguistic-cultural differences which can live peacefully together by adopting a “culture of dialogue as the path; mutual cooperation as the code of conduct; reciprocal understanding as the method and standard.”

He  thus expressed his “fervent hope” that “these standards will become a common heritage and so influence people’s thinking and behavior”,  remarking that if they will be  applied in Pakistan they will also benefit the Pashtun community there.

“I have seen how in some African countries where there are two important religions - Islam and Catholicism – at Christmas Muslims go to greet Christians and bring lambs and other things, and for the Feast of Sacrifice Christians go to Muslims and bring them things for their celebration: this is true fraternity and this is beautiful.”

Building a society where no one is discriminated

Pope Francis concluded by invoking God to “assist government leaders and peoples in building a society where all are accorded full citizenship with equal rights; where everyone can live according to their own customs and culture, without abuses of power or discrimination."