Acta Benedicti Pp. XVI 465

ALLOCUTIONES

I

Ad Plenariam Sessionem Pontificii Consilii pro Dialogo inter Religiones.*

Eminence,

Dear Brothers Bishop,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased to have this opportunity to meet you at the conclusion of the

Tenth Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

To all of you taking part in this important gathering I extend cordial greet-

ings. I thank in particular Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran for his gracious

words.

«Dialogue in veritate et caritate: Pastoral orientations » - this is the theme

of your Plenary Assembly. I am happy to learn that during these days you

have sought to arrive at a deeper understanding of the Catholic Church's

approach to people of other religious traditions. You have considered the

broader purpose of dialogue - to discover the truth - and the motivation

for it, which is charity, in obedience to the divine mission entrusted to the

Church by our Lord Jesus Christ.

At the inauguration of my Pontificate I affirmed that « the Church wants

to continue building bridges of friendship with the followers of all religions, in

order to seek the true good of every person and of society as a whole ».1

Through the ministry of the Successors of Peter, including the work of the

Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and the efforts of local Ordin-

aries and the People of God throughout the world, the Church continues to

reach out to followers of different religions. In this way she gives expression

to that desire for encounter and collaboration in truth and freedom. In the

words of my venerable Predecessor, Pope Paul VI, the Church's principal

responsibility is service to the Truth - « truth about God, truth about man

* Die 7 Iunii 2008. 1 Address to Delegates of Other Churches and Ecclesial Communities and of Other Religious

Traditions, 25 April 2005.