On Tuesday afternoon, while Pope Francis’s body was venerated in private in Rome, religious referents of the different creeds present in Argentina congregated in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Buenos Aires to offer an inter -religious prayer encounter for the eternal rest of the Holy Father, who had the dialogue between the different religions among the priorities of his papacy.
On behalf of the Catholic Church, the Archbishop of Mendoza and president of the Argentine Episcopal Conference, Mons. Marcelo Colombo, and the local archbishop, Mons. Jorge García Cuerva, accompanied by Rabbi Daniel Goldman, representing Judaism; the Sheij Salim Delgado Dassum and Omar Abboud, for Islam; and on behalf of the Orthodox churches, by the Armenian Church, Kissag Mouradian.
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On behalf of the Protestant evangelical churches, the Methodist shepherd Mariel Pons was present, and by the Pentecostal evangelical churches, Pastor Norberto Saracco.
Monscar Ojea, Bishop Emeritus of San Isidro and member of the Episcopal Commission of Ecumenism and Relations with Judaism, Islam and Religions, and officials of the National Government and the City Government.
We are all brothers
The host Archbishop thanked the presence of the faithful who filled the cathedral, “house of all”, as Jorge Bergoglio wanted, and recalled Francisco’s message about the dialogue between religions, and pointed out that the Pontiff thought that “when we get to heaven we will take an incredible surprise, because we are all brothers, and as you look at us with the heart, the love of God is.
Within that framework, he recalled that the dialogue between religions is essential for the common good, especially for the poorest.
“The great guide of our time”
Rabbi Daniel Goldman, who co-presides over the Institute for Interreligious Dialogue (IDI), acknowledged that “dismissing a man of Pope Francis’s magnitude exceeds any word that can be said or written.”
Therefore, he wanted to highlight “three edges of his wise action, of which I can testify in this hour of sadness and thanks for having had Jorge Bergoglio with us in the streets of this city and in the bridges of this diverse universe”.
The rabbi underlined Francisco’s commitment to migrants and refugees; The commitment to interreligious dialogue, a topic in which it has been “the great guide of our time”; And his commitment to the environment, through an ecological but also social approach, calling to listen to “both the clamor of the earth and the clamor of the poor.”
One of the voices that are scarce is going
In turn, Omar Abboud, who in 2014 starred along with Pope Francis and Rabbi Abraham Skorka a hug before the wax wall, said: “On the one hand it is a huge sadness: a type of voice leaves, of the voices that are scarce,”
“This type of voice, that of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, is indispensable in the dialogue experience,” he said. “I could witness how it was received in some Islamic countries and the affection provided by people, especially on the trip, in the pilgrimage we made to the Holy Land, where many people from the monotheistic cults in the area gave them a lot of affection,” he recalled.
Finally, he considered that a central value of Bergoglio’s identity was “having an arm that reaches beyond and is also able to hug others.”
“Holy Father, pray for us”
Monsignor Kissag Mouradian, Emeritus Bishop of the Armenian Apostolic Church, recalled one of the most repeated phrases by Pope Francis: “Rehend for me.”
“Today that he is no longer with us in this world physically, we are going to repeat what he said: please, Holy Father, pray for us and for the peace of the world and the coexistence of all humanity.”
“Pope Francis facilitated God’s task”
Pastor Mariel Pons, of the Argentine Methodist evangelical Church, shared in the name of her church “the same sense of orphanage.”
“I think that Pope Francis was a great facilitator of life, I think that humbly facilitated personal contact, he facilitated a dialogue that replicates in so many parts of the world at this time and of which we humbly are part of here, and I also say with great humility and respect: I think that Pope Francis also facilitated the task to God.”
“Gestures are stronger than words”
Pastor Norberto Saracco, of the Evangelical Church, said that “the gestures are stronger than the words” and recalled that months before being elected Pope, at the Pentecost Mass of 2012, Cardinal Bergoglio invited two shepherds to participate in the celebration.
In that context, the then Archbishop said: “I brought my friends to apologize for what we did,” a request for forgiveness that “sprouted from his heart, a heart committed to unity, with tending bridges, doing it not only in word but with gestures.”
“Living memory among us”
At the conclusion of the meeting, he took the word Mons. Colombo, who thanked the moment “of deep communion, dialogue, approach, of reciprocal knowledge.”
Then, he recalled three dimensions of Francisco’s legacy: “The service especially to the poorest, the cause of peace as a horizon and goal of our work and the care of the common house so that we all have life.”
The Prelate asked those present to bring a hand to the heart to offer a common prayer, saying: “We all have something to thank God of Francisco’s life, something that is in our hearts and there we want to take care of him as a memory that lives between us.”
Julieta Villar
I am a journalist, a graduate in Communication from the National University of La Matanza in Argentina. I have work experience in non -governmental organizations. Since 2016 I dedicate myself to Catholic journalism, first in the Argentine Catholic Information Agency (AICA) and, since 2022, as a correspondent for ACI Press for Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Bolivia.