A few days after his controversial comments in Singapore, where he called every religion, “a path to God,” Pope Francis gave a video address to a group of young people gathered for the Mediterranean Meeting (MED24) in the Albanian capital of Tirana. In his brief address, the pontiff said,
I invite you to learn together to discern the signs of the times. Contemplate the difference of your traditions like a richness, a richness God wants to be. Unity is not uniformity, and the diversity of your cultural and religious identities is a gift of God. Unity in diversity. Let mutual esteem grow among you, following the witness of your forefathers.
The young people at the meeting represented “the five shores of the Mediterranean,” and were, on that score alone, “diverse.” The question is whether this was a diversity of religious custom within the true Church (which does exist in the area in question), or whether it was in inter-religious “diversity.”
Later in his address to the group he made specific references to two very Catholic Albanian realities:
- Our Lady of Good Counsel — an icon of the Mother of God which was miraculously transported from Albana to Italy; and
- Blessed Maria Blessed Maria Taci (a.k.a., Tuci) — a Catholic young lady martyred in 1950 by the Albanian communist regime.
This could be read to mean he was addressing himself to Catholics from diverse regions of the Mediterranean world, which interpretation is given support by this posting:
It was a group of young Catholics, not interreligious https://t.co/H3yLQ72G6a pic.twitter.com/IBfxJly9Tw
— Pinesap🌲🍯✝️☦️🇻🇦 (@Pinesap3wasc) September 17, 2024
And this one:
The individuals listening to Pope Francis’ message appear to be Catholic.
He mentions Blessed Maria Taci (Taigi) and directs them to the Blessed Mother and the power of her intercession. He also says to follow the footsteps of “your martyrs.”
In light of that, I don’t see much…
— The Catholic Bard (Max) (@Rogue0572E) September 17, 2024
While the MED24 meeting is actually interreligious in character, it does appear as if Pope Francis was addressing himself to a group of fifty Catholics who were part of the larger event.
Did his audience understand this “diversity of your cultural and religious identities” described by the pontiff as “a gift of God” to be a part of Catholic unity, or something “broader” — something implying the heresy of indifferentism?
That is a question we can answer. Further clarifications are welcome in the comments.
