The Catholic Church and many other religions, including the Muslim communities and religious leaders of the world, have shared their sorrow for the death of Pope Francis. He was a great Pope, so passionate who reminds us that we belong to the same “Human Fraternity”
The election of the new Pope Robert Francis Prevost, who chose the name Leo XIV, will continue Pope Francis’s legacy in the Church and the world.
We in the Silsilah Dialogue Movement see this new beginning with great hope. We welcome this new beginning and are touched by the first appearance of Pope Leo XIV, who started his first sharing saying: ” Peace be with you,” recalling Jesus’ greeting to the disciples. Jesus repeats this greeting many times to the point that this greeting has entered the liturgy of the Church, including during the celebration of the Holy Eucharist.
Here we recall some of the points that we have recorded from the first speech of Pope Leo XIV:
Peace be with you all!
Dear brothers and sisters, these are the first words spoken by the risen Christ, the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for God’s flock. I would like this greeting of peace to resound in your hearts, in your families, among all people, wherever they may be, in every nation and throughout the world. Peace be with you!
It is the peace of the risen Christ. A peace that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering. A peace that comes from God, the God who loves us all, unconditionally.
We can still hear the faint yet ever courageous voice of Pope Francis as he blessed Rome, the Pope who blessed Rome, who gave his blessing to the world, the whole world, on the morning of Easter. Allow me to extend that same blessing: God loves us, God loves you all, and evil will not prevail! All of us are in God’s hands. So, let us move forward, without fear, together, hand in hand with God and with one another other! We are followers of Christ. Christ goes before us. The world needs his light. Humanity needs him as the bridge that can lead us to God and his love. Help us, one and all, to build bridges through dialogue and encounter, joining together as one people, always at peace. Thank you, Pope Francis!…
I am an Augustinian, a son of Saint Augustine, who once said, “With you I am a Christian, and for you I am a bishop.” In this sense, all of us can journey together toward the homeland that God has prepared for us…
To all of you, brothers and sisters in Rome, in Italy, throughout the world: we want to be a synodal Church, a Church that moves forward, a Church that always seeks peace, that always seeks charity, that always seeks to be close above all to those who are suffering.
We in Silsilah are challenged to do more in the spirit of Dialogue and Peace.
This year, we are committed to spreading harmony and peace, and in a special way, promoting the Harmony Prayer that Silsilah started to share in 2000 when the president at that time declared a total war in Mindanao (Philippines.)
Today, conflicts and signs of wars are still visible in many parts of the world, and we are called to continue to say ” Peace be with you” as a greeting, but also with our lives.
Silsilah Dialogue Movement