Francis Fernandes
Pope Francis, Spiritual Head of the Catholic Church, created a wave of humanity out of total humility when he washed and kissed the feet of Muslim, Orthodox, Hindu and Catholic refugees on the outskirts of Rome on Maundy Thursday, March 29, 2018. In a touching ceremony several of the migrants wept through the process.
Pope Francis used the occasion to urge people of all religions to unite in peace. In his homily he said “all of us together Muslims, Hindus, Catholics, Copts, Evangelicals are brothers and sons of the same God who want them to live in peace and in unity”. The Pope apart from being the Spiritual Head of the Catholic Church is also the Head of the Vatican City which is a sovereign state within Rome and sends strong message to the world at large and to the world leaders in particular that only in unity of all faiths there can be peace and prosperity since the world has been torn apart with ethnic violence across all the continents at a time when humanity should have prospered without famine, hunger and war.
The 20th century had witnessed ample inventions and innovations for humanity to live and enjoy life peacefully but it has also been witness to two bloody World Wars which should have taught us enough lessons. 20th century is also witness to the invention of nuclear arsenal which has been used on Japan.
Humanity has now advanced in the 21st century where there should have been peace and prosperity. Instead it is a century which has seen reversal of civilisation, where one per cent of the world population owns 35% of all the world’s wealth.
Terrorism had always existed to attain freement and public properties. Terrorism became more pronounced following the end of the 2nd World War when state sponsored terrorism or International terrorism was unleashed by a few nations to achieve their own selfish goals of asserting supremacy by aggression/revenge or vendetta on other weaker nations where there have been deaths of ordinary civilians. But terrorism took the ugliest turn in this century which today is spreading across the world of killing innocent civilians by spraying bullets or bulldozing or sabotaging human lives in public places.
Nations in Europe like France, Belgium, Germany and Turkey which have been subjected to such wild bloody attacks may not be able to take any more humiliations of their civilians simply being crushed to death by a voice vote of ethnicity on their own soils. It is in this regard the Holy Father may have used the words Muslims, Hindus, Catholics, Copts, Evangelicals are brothers and sons of the same God to usher and foster unity among all the religions to live in peace and happiness.
