No church by its own standards, but a minimum level of respect for the principles of a liberal society: humanists are calling on Pope Francis to ensure that the church acts as a prudent and tolerant actor in a globalized world. The President of the Humanist Association Germany, Frieder Otto Wolf, has made this clear in a first letter to Francis. In writing to the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Wolf is the first German representative of non-religious people to pick up the thread of the “Courtyard of Peoples” initiative. The initiative, which was developed by the Church around four years ago, aims to bring believers and non-believers closer together and promote mutual understanding. To date, around a dozen and a half series of events have been held in various places around the world, bringing together representatives of the church, atheists and agnostics. The last series of events entitled “Experiences of freedom with and without God” took place in Berlin at the end of November. The President of the Humanist Association has now publicly responded to the initiative with this letter. In his short, seven-page letter to Francis, Wolf began by outlining to the Argentinian-born Pope the lines of tradition in which the members of the relatively young ideological community see themselves. Wolf emphasizes that the demand to create sustainable foundations for peaceful and tolerant coexistence is an elementary core of their humanistic worldview. And one of the foundations of peace is open dialog, according to Wolf. Theological or philosophical disputes are not discussed in the letter, however. Instead, the focus is on specific moral, cultural and political issues and problem areas. The acceptance of evolution, the right to self-determination in all important phases and levels of life, as well as the affirmation of the need for reform in the attitude towards human sexuality, which has also been noted by many church members, form the canon of topics in which the church must act with particular care and diligence if it wants to promote peace between people. Wolf also addresses the discrimination and persecution of non-religious people worldwide and asks Pope Francis to intervene in the case of the well-known Indian rationalist Sanal Edamaruku, who had to flee to distant Scandinavia in 2012 after being accused by representatives of the Catholic Church in India. He had previously debunked a supposed miracle. Finally, in the third section, the letter proposes concrete topics in which the Church and non-believers or people of other faiths should find a consensus on humane minima and common demands in order to overcome conflicts and confrontations and thus contribute to the development of a sustainable culture for humanity. The letter concludes with three personal wishes on the question of how the Church can contribute to improving the lives of all people. “In addition to overheated disputes in the media and debates whipped up by competition, I believe it is essential that we keep a specificum humanum in mind: reasonable discourse that is open to understanding and practical agreement,” said Frieder Otto Wolf on the first letter to Pope Francis.
“Of course, I don’t even know today whether the new head of the Catholic Church will even take note of my words. But I think that the globalized present and a changed presence of churches and religions compared to the European past generally demand a new self-awareness from humanists. I also wanted to express this insight once again,” Wolf continued. However, he emphasized that letters could only supplement and complete the concrete work that humanists do every day on the basis of their convictions for a free and peaceful society, but not replace it. And yet it is always possible, even in everyday life, to engage in the concrete dialog desired by the church: Anyone and everyone can participate here according to their possibilities, quite simply through direct contact with local people. Frieder Otto Wolf: “It is good when people turn directly to members of the church, but also of other religions, who are open to discussion, and seek an exchange about the most urgent problems as well as opportunities to find the possibility and meaning of working together for a better world, despite individual and sometimes fundamental differences. The many major challenges facing humanity and ourselves cannot do without the bonds between all people of reason.”
