By Archbishop Ramiro Moliner Inglà©s
This is the third time that, in my capacity of Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, I have the deep pleasure and the honour to present to Your Excellency, at the beginning of the New Year, our most sincere best wishes, in the name of the entire Diplomatic Corps accredited to this friendly and beautiful Country.
I would like to express, first of all, our great appreciation for your kind invitation, to come together, this evening, to your House, giving us the opportunity to exchange, personally and reciprocally, in this joyful atmosphere, the formal “greetings” already sent to you.
The beginning of this New Year gives us a new opportunity, and compels us, to open wildly our eyes and to look ahead courageously, with a renewed spirit, a reinforced desire and stronger commitment, to write correctly each day to come the white page still granted to us, trying to avoid honestly eventual mistakes, committed in the past: “humanumesterrare” , used to say the Romans, but it would not be wise to persist, for long time, in the same error.
This is the time to offer the best of ourselves, to carry on our respective mission yes, with humility, but also with a strong conviction, generosity and solidarity, joining all those who try to build a better society, a better country, a better world, more just and human, more fraternal and peaceful; a world in which the fundamental rights of all, both, individuals and communities, finally be fully respected. This is the time to try to discover and appreciate, every positive aspect and goodness, in the life around us, in the people with whom we are living, as well as in those with whom we meet occasionally, to build new bridges, to encourage those things which unite, and to see differences as opportunities for growth in respect for all.
But this will be possible only through a patient and trusting dialogue, capable of embracing the values and accepting the good, which comes from the experience of others. It is good and wise to start the New Year, with a renewed faith in the natural goodness of the human being, with the strong conviction that, no matter how difficult it may be, reconciliation and peace are always possible. Peace, like goodness,is contagious: starting in our own hearts, then it expands in concentric circles to our families, to our communities, to our countries, and up to the entire world! We – diplomats, civil Authorities, politicians, deputies, civil servant… – should all be “men and women of peace” .
In fact, our natural and most genuine and authentic vocation, is to be “peace builders” , “peace makers” , “peace artisans” in our specific, ordinary or extraordinary work of every day, perhaps in a silent ad quite discrete way. For those who believe, true peace is the most precious and desired “gift” , that God may offer, as reward and mature fruit to those, men and women of good will, who dedicate their lives to work honestly, constantly and passionately for justice, with special preference in favour of the most vulnerable and needed people. “Blessed are the peace makers” – proclaims solemnly the Holy Gospel -,they will be called sons of God” .
But, as men and women of peace, we must believe absolutely that peace is possible. If we dare to doubt, then probably we will lack the necessary tenacity; and that may prevent us to become good enough peace builders… Allow me to mention, at this respect, only one event of extraordinary importance, that took place, very significantly, in Tirana at the beginning of September 2015. It was the “International Meeting” , organized by the well known “Saint Egidio Community” , with the collaboration of all Religious Communities present in Albania. The topic of such global event was precisely this: “Peace is always possible” – Religious and cultures in dialogue” .
That Meeting, configured in the so called “spirit of Assisi” , gathered hundreds of religious leaders representing the most important religions, coming from all over the world. The purpose was to keep alive, and to spread, the great movement of hearts and minds of willingness for peace, a peace movement that draws its inspiration from religious faith. In brief, “to live as a shared passion, for the growth of peaceful coexistence among all the peoples of the earth” . The last solemn ceremony of that global Meeting was hold, precisely in front of the “Piramid” , emblematic symbol of the atheistic ideology. From there, a clear and pondered Message of peace, was signed by all religious leaders, attending the ceremony and delivered to the world.
Among other, was reaffirmed that Religions consider peace as holy; that they teach to pray and strive for peace, and they do so, first of all, by addressing the hearts and minds of human beings, to transform them from the inside, to liberate from the domination of ego. The common language of religions is mutual respect, love and fraternity. Only the perversion of religion, being manipulated for ideological, fundamentalist and terrorist purposes, destroys completely peace. “The mission of religions – concluded Prof. Andrea Riccardi, the founder of the Saint Egidio Community – is to make human beings experience that love radiates light and life, that love re-establish the desire for peace for welcoming, for good. Human and spiritually energies for a better world are out there, to overcome war, to build a better world, together with all men and women of good
will. They testify that peace is always possible. With this strong conviction and great hope, we have to seek it, fearlessly” . One year before, Pope Francis, during his unforgettable visit to Tirana, had raised his voice to confirm that the experience in Albania shows that the peaceful and fruitful coexistence between persons and communities of believers of different religions …, is in fact an inestimable benefit to peace and harmonious human advancement… something of value which needs to be protected and nourished each day by providing an education which respects differences and particular identities, so that dialogue and cooperation for the good of all, may be promoted and strengthened by mutual understanding and esteem…
May Albania always continue to walk this path, offering to other countries an inspiring example” (Address of Pope Francis – Meeting with the Civil Authorities, Tirana, 21 Sept. 2014). [Three days ago Pope Francis in his Address to the Members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See stated again that such a “peaceful co-existence… is possible when religious freedom is recognized and practical cooperation in the pursuit of the common good, in spirit of respect for cultural identity of all parties, is effectively guaranteed” . And continued: Every authentic practice of religion cannot fail to promote peace.
Our recent celebration of Christmas reminds us of this” . We are well aware of your deep feeling and personal conviction at this regard. Indeed you have created and seized opportunities to open the doors of your House and express to all Religious Communities and their leaders your personal admiration and the institutional appreciation for the service accomplished; re-iterating your belief that “religion is an instrument of peace, love and affection” . Thank you, Your Excellency. We, as Representatives of our respective Countries, will continue to accompany very closely and with a special affection, the life and development of Albania, with particular attention to its process of integration to the EU. The Government has declared repeatedly that this is the “key issue” , and assured its commitment to carry on, as soon as possible, the necessary reforms requested, as pre condition, to proceed further.
We too, would like to encourage any effort to overcoming the persistent climate of political confrontation. Certainly, that requires all the parts directly involved to make great sacrifices with wisdom, courage and generosity. We are convinced that the wellbeing of Albania and the Albanian people deserves it. The President of the European Parliament Mr. Martin Schulz, in his Address to the Albanian Parliament on 14th July 2015, said: “We stand side by side in spirit of solidarity, with everybody in Albania, who wishes to build a peaceful, common future, work to bring about reforms, and search out to his or her neighbour, the hand of reconciliation, in order to live together in mutual respect and peace” .
May the “spirit of Assisi” and the exemplary religious harmony, happily existing in Albania, serve also as inspiration and further encouragement, to those who have been entrusted by their own people with the special political responsibility. I would like to conclude this address, renewing, in the name of all my Colleagues, and on my own, our best wishes of good health and prosperity, to you, to the Government and to the entire beloved Albanian people.
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Address by the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, Archbishop Ramiro Moliner Inglà©s, Apostolic Nuncio – Ambassador of the Holy See, at the New Year Reception given by H.E. Mr.BujarNishani, President of the Republic of Albania
