Peace, war and religious freedom were some of the main topics of Pope Francis' first public speech during his trip to Mongolia.
The Pope opened his address at the State Palace to the country's top government authorities by gifting the President an authenticated copy of a letter in the Vatican Museums. The letter dates back to the year 1246 when Mongolia's third ruler sent a response to Pope Innocent IV after he sent papal envoys to the country to gain understanding of the growing empire.
After gifting the letter as a sign of friendship, Pope Francis praised Mongolia's long-lasting and historical dedication to religious freedom.
POPE FRANCIS
It was almost natural that you arrived at the freedom of thought and of religion now enshrined in your Constitution. Having left behind, without bloodshed, the atheist ideology that thought it could eliminate religion, deeming it a hindrance to development, you have come to acknowledge and respect the fundamental importance of harmonious cooperation between believers of different faiths.
Speaking just a few hundred miles away from the borders of both Russia and China, Pope Francis also emphasized the importance of Mongolia's peaceful approach to foreign policy.
POPE FRANCIS
I would also like to mention your determination to halt nuclear proliferation and to present yourselves before the world as a country free of nuclear weapons.
dark clouds of war pass, be swept away by the firm will for a universal fraternity in which tensions are resolved on the basis of encounter and dialogue
Lastly, before departing for his address to the priests and missionaries who serve the country's tiny Catholic population, Pope Francis encouraged the Mongolian politicians to continue their noble efforts of upholding human dignity.
AT
