We will build the future together or there will not be a future

The enemy of fraternity is an individualism which translates into the desire to affirm oneself and one's own group above others.

During his historic visit to the UAE, Pope Francis signed the Abu Dhabi Document which declared that religions must never incite war, hateful attitudes and extremism. The Pontiff who received the first ever Human Fraternity Award, spoke of 'demilitarising the human heart' at the Human Fraternity Meeting on Februaty 4.
We bring you excerpts:
We cannot honour the Creator without cherishing the sacredness of every person and of every human life: each person is equally precious in the eyes of God, who does not look upon the human family with a preferential gaze that excludes, but with a benevolent gaze that includes. Thus, to recognise the same rights for every human being is to glorify the name of God on earth. In the name of God the Creator, therefore, every form of violence must be condemned without hesitation, because we gravely profane God's name when we use it to justify hatred and violence against a brother or sister.  No violence can be justified in the name of religion.
The enemy of fraternity is an individualism which translates into the desire to affirm oneself and one's own group above others. This danger threatens all aspects of life, even the highest innate prerogative of man, that is, the openness to the transcendent and to religious piety. True religious piety consists in loving God with all one's heart and one's neighbour as oneself. Religious behaviour, therefore, needs continually to be purified from the recurrent temptation to judge others as enemies and adversaries. Each belief system is called to overcome the divide between friends and enemies. I wish to express appreciation for the commitment of this nation to tolerating and guaranteeing freedom of worship, to confronting extremism and hatred. Even as the fundamental freedom to profess one's own beliefs is promoted - this freedom being an intrinsic requirement for a human being's self-realisation - we need to be vigilant lest religion be instrumentalised and deny itself by allowing violence and terrorism.
Human family and the courage of otherness
If we believe in the existence of the human family, it follows that it must, as such, be looked after. As in every family, this happens above all through a daily and effective dialogue. This presupposes having one's own identity, not to be foregone to please the other person. But at the same time it demands the courage of otherness, which involves the full recognition of the other and his or her freedom, and the consequent commitment to exert myself so that the other person's fundamental rights are always affirmed, everywhere and by everyone. Without freedom we are no longer children of the human family, but slaves. As part of such freedom, I would like to emphasise religious freedom. It is not limited only to freedom of worship but sees in the other truly a brother or sister, a child of my own humanity whom God leaves free and whom, therefore, no human institution can coerce, not even in God's name. 
Dialogue and Prayer
The courage of otherness is the heart of dialogue, which is based on sincerity of intentions. Dialogue is indeed compromised by pretence, which increases distance and suspicion: we cannot proclaim fraternity and then act in the opposite way. According to a modern author, "The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to such a pass that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others".
In all this, prayer is essential: while sincerely intended prayer incarnates the courage of otherness in regard to God, it also purifies the heart from turning in on itself. Without the Lord, nothing is possible; with him, everything becomes so! May our prayer - each one according to his or her own tradition - adhere fully to the will of God, who wants all men and women to recognise they are brothers and sisters and live as such, forming the great human family in the harmony of diversity".
There is no alternative: we will either build the future together or there will not be a future. Religions, in particular, cannot renounce the urgent task of building bridges between peoples and cultures. The time has come when religions should more actively exert themselves, to help the human family deepen the capacity for reconciliation, the vision of hope and the concrete paths of peace.
Education and justice
Let us return, then, to the initial image of the dove of peace. Peace, in order to fly, needs wings that uphold it: the wings of education and justice.
Education - in Latin it means "extracting, drawing out" - is to bring to light the precious resources of the soul. It is comforting to note how in this country investments are being made not only in the extraction of the earth's resources, but also in those of the heart, in the education of young people. It is a commitment that I hope will continue and spread elsewhere. Investing in culture encourages a decrease of hatred and a growth of civility and prosperity.  Young people, who are often surrounded by negative messages and fake news, need to learn not to surrender to the seductions of materialism, hatred and prejudice.  Justice is the second wing of peace, which often is not compromised by single episodes, but is slowly eaten away by the cancer of injustice.
No one, therefore, can believe in God and not seek to live in justice with everyone, according to the Golden Rule: "So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets" (Mt 7:12).
The desert that flourishes
Having spoken of fraternity as an ark of peace, I now want to take inspiration from a second image, that of the desert which surrounds us. Here, in just a few years, with farsightedness and wisdom, the desert has been transformed into a prosperous and hospitable place.  From being an unapproachable and inaccessible obstacle, the desert has become a meeting place between cultures and religions.  Here the desert has flourished, not just for a few days in the year, but for many years to come.  This country, in which sand and skyscrapers meet, continues to be an important crossroads between the West and East, between the North and South of the planet: a place of development, where once inhospitable spaces supply jobs for people of various nations.
I am delighted that here in Abu Dhabi last November the first Forum of the Interreligious Alliance for Safer Communities took place, whose theme was child dignity in the digital world. I thank, all the leaders who are engaged in this field, and I assure them of my support, solidarity and participation and that of the Catholic Church.
Here, in the desert, a way of fruitful development has been opened which, beginning from the creation of jobs, offers hope to many persons from a variety of nations, cultures and beliefs. Among them, many Christians too, whose presence in the region dates back centuries, have found opportunities and made a significant contribution to the growth and well-being of the country. In addition to professional skills, they bring you the genuineness of their faith. The respect and tolerance they encounter, as well as the necessary places of worship where they pray, allow them a spiritual maturity which then benefits society as a whole. I encourage you to continue on this path. I look forward to societies where people of different beliefs have the same right of citizenship and where only in the case of violence in any of its forms is that right removed.
A fraternal living, founded on education and justice; a human development built upon a welcoming inclusion and on the rights of all: these are the seeds of peace which the world's religions are called to help flourish. For them, perhaps as never before, in this delicate historical situation, it is a task that can no longer be postponed: to contribute actively to demilitarising the human heart. War cannot create anything but misery, weapons bring nothing but death!
Human fraternity requires of us, as representatives of the world's religions, the duty to reject every nuance of approval from the word "war".  Let us return it to its miserable crudeness. Its fateful consequences are before our eyes. I am thinking in particular of Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Libya. Together, as brothers and sisters in the one human family willed by God, let us commit ourselves against the logic of armed power, against the monetisation of relations, the arming of borders, the raising of walls, the gagging of the poor; let us oppose all this with the sweet power of prayer and daily commitment to dialogue. Our being together today is a message of trust, an encouragement to all people of good will, so that they may not surrender to the floods of violence and the desertification of altruism. God is with those who seek peace. From heaven he blesses every step which, on this path, is accomplished on earth.