Pope Francis held a meeting with the authorities, civil society and the Diplomatic Corps at the Government Palace of Mongolia, where he delivered his first speech.
Below, we offer you the full text of his speech:
Mr. President of the Republic,
Mr. President of the Grand Jural of the State,
Mr. Prime Minister,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I thank the President for the welcome and the words he addressed to me, and I greet each of you from my heart. I feel honored to be here, happy to have traveled to this fascinating and vast land, to this people who know well the meaning and value of the path. It is revealed by their traditional dwellings, the ger, beautiful itinerant houses. I imagine entering for the first time, with respect and excitement, into one of these circular tents that dot the majestic Mongolian land, to meet you and get to know you better. Here I am at the door, a pilgrim of friendship, arriving on tiptoe and with a happy heart, eager to enrich myself humanly with his presence.
When we enter a friend’s house it is beautiful to exchange gifts, accompanying them with words that evoke previous meetings. And if modern diplomatic relations between Mongolia and the Holy See are recent – this year marks the 30th anniversary of the signing of a letter to strengthen bilateral relations –, a long time ago, exactly 777 years ago, precisely between the end of August and at the beginning of September 1246, Brother John of Plano Carpini, papal envoy, visited Guyuk, the third Mongol emperor, and presented the Great Khan with the official letter of Pope Innocent IV. Shortly after, the response letter was written and translated into several languages, stamped with the seal of the Great Khan in traditional Mongolian characters. It is kept in the Vatican Library and today I have the honor to present you with an authentic copy, Made with the most advanced techniques to guarantee the best possible quality. May this be a sign of old friendship that grows and renews itself.
I have known that, from the gate of the ger, at dawn, children in the field scan the horizon to count the heads of cattle and report the number to their parents. It is also good for us to embrace with our gaze the broad horizon that surrounds us, overcoming narrow visions and opening ourselves to a broad mentality, as the gers that, born from the experience of nomadism in the steppe, have spread throughout the world, invite us to do. a vast territory, being an identifying element of the different neighboring cultures. The immense spaces of your regions, from the Gobi desert to the steppe, from the great grasslands to the coniferous forests, reaching the Altai and Jangai mountain ranges, with the innumerable meanderings of water courses, which seen from above seem refined decorations on precious antique fabrics, they are a reflection of the greatness and beauty of the entire planet, which is called to be a welcoming garden. Your wisdom, deposited in generations of prudent ranchers and farmers, always careful not to upset the delicate balances of the ecosystem, has much to teach those who today do not want to close themselves off in the search for a myopic personal interest, but want to deliver to posterity a land still welcoming and fertile. What for us Christians is creation, that is, the fruit of a benevolent design of God, you help us to recognize and promote with delicacy and attention, contrasting the effects of human devastation with a culture of care and foresight, which is reflected in responsible ecology policies. The ger are living spaces that today could be defined as smart and green, as versatile, multifunctional and with zero impact on the environment. Furthermore, the holistic vision of the Mongolian shamanic tradition and respect for all living beings from Buddhist philosophy represents a valid contribution to the urgent and urgent commitment to the protection of planet Earth.
The ger, present in both rural areas and urban centers, also testify to the precious marriage between tradition and modernity; In fact, they bring together the lives of the elderly and the young, expressing the continuity of the Mongolian people, who from ancient times to the present have known how to guard their own roots, opening themselves, especially in recent decades, to the great global challenges of development. and democracy. Certainly, today Mongolia, with its extensive network of diplomatic relations, its active membership in the United Nations, its commitment to human rights and peace, plays a significant role in the heart of the great Asian continent and on the international stage. I would also like to mention your determination to stop nuclear proliferation and present yourself to the world as a country without nuclear weapons. Mongolia is not only a democratic nation pursuing a peaceful foreign policy, but intends to play an important role for world peace. Furthermore – another favorable element that can be pointed out – the capital punishment has disappeared from your judicial system.
The ger, thanks to their ability to adapt to extreme climates, consent to live in very disparate territories, as occurred during the well-known epic of the Mongol empire, the largest to date with a united territory. I come to Mongolia, among other things, on an important anniversary for you, the 860th anniversary of the birth of Genghis Khan. For centuries, embracing distant and very different lands demonstrated the exceptional ability of your ancestors to recognize the best of the peoples that made up the immense imperial territory and to put them at the service of common development. This is an example that must be taken into account and reproduced in our days. Would to heaven that, on earth, devastated by so many conflicts, they also recreate today, in respect of international laws, the conditions of what was once the pax mongola, that is, the absence of conflict. Just as your proverb says: “the clouds pass, the sky remains”, may the dark clouds of war pass, may they be dissipated by the firm will of a universal brotherhood in which tensions are resolved on the basis of encounter and of dialogue, and that fundamental rights are guaranteed to all. Here, in your country, rich in history and sky, let us implore this gift from above and let us get to work to build together a future of peace. that they be dissipated by the firm will of a universal brotherhood in which tensions are resolved on the basis of encounter and dialogue, and that fundamental rights are guaranteed to all. Here, in your country, rich in history and sky, let us implore this gift from above and let us get to work to build together a future of peace. that they be dissipated by the firm will of a universal brotherhood in which tensions are resolved on the basis of encounter and dialogue, and that fundamental rights are guaranteed to all. Here, in your country, rich in history and sky, let us implore this gift from above and let us get to work to build together a future of peace.
Upon entering a traditional ger, the gaze rises towards the center, to the highest part, where there is a round window that lets in light and allows you to admire precisely the sky. I would like to emphasize this fundamental attitude that your tradition helps to discover: knowing how to direct our gaze upward. Raising your eyes to heaven—the eternal blue sky that you have always revered—means remaining in an attitude of docile openness to religious teachings. There is indeed a deep spiritual connotation in the fibers of your cultural identity and it is beautiful that Mongolia is a symbol of religious freedom. In the contemplation of the vast horizons, sparsely populated by human beings, a propensity for the spiritual aspect has been honed in your people, which is accessed by giving value to silence and interiority. Faced with the solemn predominance of the land that surrounds them with its innumerable natural phenomena, a feeling of amazement is born, which suggests humility and frugality, opting for what is essential and being able to detach oneself from everything that is not essential. I think about the danger represented by today’s consumerist spirit, which in addition to creating many injustices, leads to an individualism that forgets others and the good traditions received. Religions, on the contrary, when they are inspired by their original spiritual heritage and are not corrupted by sectarian deviations, are to all intents and purposes reliable supports for the construction of healthy and prosperous societies, in which believers spare no effort to the end. that civil coexistence and political projects are always at the service of the common good, also representing as a brake on the dangerous worm of corruption. This effectively constitutes a serious threat to the development of any human group, feeding on a utilitarian and unscrupulous mentality that impoverishes entire countries. It is the sign of a gaze that moves away from heaven and flees from the vast horizons of fraternity, locking the person in himself and putting everything before his own interests.
On the other hand, the protagonists of that gaze upwards and of a broad vision were many of your leading ancestors, who demonstrated an exceptional ability to integrate different voices and experiences, even from a religious point of view. A respectful and conciliatory attitude was also reserved for the multiple sacred traditions, as witnessed by the different places of worship – including a Christian one – protected in the ancient capital Karakorum. Therefore, for you it was almost natural to reach freedom of thought and religion, sanctioned in your current Constitution; that it has overcome the ideology without bloodshed, the atheist ideology that believed itself obliged to extirpate religious sentiment, considering it a brake on development. Today it is recognized in this essential value of harmony and synergy between faithful of different faiths,
In this sense, the Mongolian Catholic community is pleased to continue to give its contribution. It began to celebrate her faith just over thirty years ago, precisely within a ger, and even the current cathedral, which is located in this great city, evokes its form. They are signs of the desire to share one’s work with the Mongolian people, who are his people, in a spirit of responsible and fraternal service. Therefore, I am happy that the Catholic community, even though it is small and discreet, participates with enthusiasm and commitment in the country’s path of growth, spreading the culture of solidarity, respect for all and interreligious dialogue, and dedicating itself to cause of justice, peace and social harmony. I hope that, thanks to far-sighted legislation that is attentive to concrete needs, local Catholics, Helped by consecrated men and women necessarily coming mostly from other countries, they have no difficulty in always being able to offer Mongolia their human and spiritual contribution, for the benefit of this people. In this regard, the ongoing negotiations to stipulate a bilateral agreement between Mongolia and the Holy See represent an important channel to achieve the basic conditions for the development of the ordinary activities in which the Catholic Church is engaged. Among them, in addition to the more specifically religious dimension of worship, the numerous initiatives for integral human development stand out, also articulated in the sectors of education, health, assistance, research and cultural promotion. These bear witness to the humble, fraternal and supportive spirit of the Gospel of Jesus,
The motto chosen for this Journey is “Wait together,” and it expresses precisely the potential inherent in walking with others, in reciprocal respect and synergy for the common good. The Catholic Church, an ancient institution widespread in almost all countries, is witness to a noble and fruitful spiritual tradition, which has contributed to the development of entire nations in many fields of human life, from science to literature, from art to politics. I am sure that Mongolian Catholics are and will be willing to make their own contribution to a prosperous and secure society, in dialogue and collaboration with all those who inhabit this great land kissed by heaven.
“Be like heaven.” With these words, a famous poet invited to transcend the expiration of earthly ups and downs, imitating the magnanimity inspired precisely by the immense and smooth blue sky that is contemplated in Mongolia. We too today, pilgrims and guests in this country that can offer so much to the world, wish to respond to this invitation, translating it into concrete signs of compassion, dialogue and common planning. That the different members of Mongolian society, represented here, can continue to offer the world the beauty and nobility of a unique people. That, like your writing, they can remain “on their feet” and lift up so many who suffer around them, reminding everyone of the dignity of every human being, called to inhabit the earthly home embracing heaven. Bayarlalaa! [Thank you!]