(Vatican) As Hindus worldwide celebrate Deepavali or Diwali, the festival of lights, the Vatican has called on Hindus, Christians, followers ‎of other religions and people of good to foster together a culture of inclusion  for ‎a just and peaceful society.‎  In a message released on Monday,  the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue wished Hindus worldwide for this year’s Diwali on Oct. 23.   “In the face of increasing discrimination, violence and ‎exclusion throughout the world, ‘nurturing a ‎culture of inclusion’ can be rightly ‎seen as one of the most genuine aspirations of people everywhere,‎” wrote Council president, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran ‎who signed the message.  Despite the several blessings of globalization, the message said that peoples, particularly the poor and marginalized have been excluded from the ‎benefits of globalization, leading to various manifestations of discontent, discontent, uncertainty and insecurity.  Widespread ‎materialism and consumerism have made people more self-absorbed, ‎power-hungry and indifferent to the rights, needs and ‎sufferings of others, leading to a “‘globalization of indifference’ ‎ and a ‎‎’culture of exclusion’. The exploitation of children and ‎women, the neglect of the elderly, sick, differently-abled, migrants and ‎refugees, ‎and the persecution of minorities are sure indicators of this culture of exclusion.‎   The Vatican thus urged all to join hands to foster a culture of inclusion for ‎a just and peaceful society.‎

Below is the full text of the message:

MESSAGE FOR THE FEAST OF DEEPAVALI , ‎2014 ‎

Vatican City

Dear Hindu Friends,‎

‎1.‎         The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue joyfully greets all of you ‎on the festive occasion of Deepavali, celebrated on 23 October this year. May the ‎Transcendent Light illumine your hearts, homes and communities, and may all ‎your celebrations deepen the sense of belonging to one another in your families ‎and neighbourhoods, and so further harmony and happiness, peace and ‎prosperity.‎

‎2.‎         We wish to reflect with you this year on the theme “Fostering together a ‎culture of ‘inclusion'”. In the face of increasing discrimination, violence and ‎exclusion throughout the world, ‘nurturing a culture of inclusion’ can be rightly ‎seen as one of the most genuine aspirations of people everywhere.‎

‎3.‎         It is true that globalization has opened many new frontiers and provided ‎fresh opportunities to develop, among other things, better educational and ‎healthcare facilities. It has ushered in a greater awareness of democracy and ‎social justice in the world, and our planet has truly become a ‘global village’ due ‎in large part to modern means of communication and transportation. It can also ‎be said, however, that globalization has not achieved its primary objective of ‎integrating local peoples into the global community. Rather, globalization has ‎contributed significantly to many peoples losing their sociocultural, economic ‎and political identities.‎

‎4.‎         The negative effects of globalization have also had an impact on religious ‎communities throughout the world since they are intimately related to ‎surrounding cultures. In fact, globalization has contributed to the fragmentation ‎of society and to an increase in relativism and syncretism in religious matters, as ‎well as bringing about a privatization of religion. Religious fundamentalism and ‎ethnic, tribal and sectarian violence in different parts of the world today are ‎largely manifestations of the discontent, uncertainty and insecurity among ‎peoples, particularly the poor and marginalized who have been excluded from the ‎benefits of globalization.‎

‎5.‎         The negative consequences of globalization, such as widespread ‎materialism and consumerism, moreover, have made people more self-absorbed, ‎power-hungry and indifferent to the rights, needs and sufferings of others. This, ‎in the words of Pope Francis, has led to a “‘globalization of indifference’ which ‎makes us slowly inured to the suffering of others and closed in on ourselves” ‎‎(Message for the World Day of Peace, 2014). Such indifference gives rise to a ‎‎’culture of exclusion’ (cf. Pope Francis, Address to the Apostolic Movement of ‎the Blind and the Little Mission for the Deaf and Mute, 29 March 2014) in which ‎the poor, marginalized and vulnerable are denied their rights, as well as the ‎opportunities and resources that are available to other members of society. They ‎are treated as insignificant, dispensable, burdensome, unnecessary, to be used ‎and even discarded like objects. In various ways, the exploitation of children and ‎women, the neglect of the elderly, sick, differently-abled, migrants and refugees, ‎and the persecution of minorities are sure indicators of this culture of exclusion.‎

‎6.‎         Nurturing a culture of inclusion thus becomes a common call and a shared ‎responsibility, which must be urgently undertaken. It is a project involving those ‎who care for the health and survival of the human family here on earth and which ‎needs to be carried out amidst, and in spite of, the forces that perpetuate the ‎culture of exclusion.‎

‎7.‎         As people grounded in our own respective religious traditions and with ‎shared convictions, may we, Hindus and Christians, join together with followers ‎of other religions and with people of good will to foster a culture of inclusion for ‎a just and peaceful society.‎

We wish you all a Happy Deepavali!‎

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran

‎           President