His Holiness the Dalai Lama with fellow Nobel Peace Laureates at the Summit
Photo: Brian Luca Bianco
His Holiness the Dalai Lama is once again in headlines regarding the two-day Nobel Peace Laureates Summit held in Rome. In what some media outlets are referring to as a snub, the Vatican declined the Dalai Lama’s request for a private meeting with Pope Francis.
“The Vatican administration says it’s not possible because it could cause inconveniences,” His Holiness explained to reporters, saying that he had been looking forward to the get-together. The Dalai Lama’s last meeting with a pope was in 2006, with Pope Benedict XVI.
A spokesman from the Vatican was quoted as saying: “Pope Francis obviously holds the Dalai Lama in very high regard but he will not be meeting any of the Nobel laureates.” The spokesman explained that the decision was “not taken out of fear but to avoid any suffering by those who have already suffered.” This is in reference to on-going religious persecutions against Catholics in China. There are an estimated 6 million Catholics in China meeting in clandestine churches around the country, and Pope Francis has made it clear that one of his main missions is to improve the relationship between the Vatican and the Government of China.
The summit, entitled “Peace. Living it”, began on Friday, December 12 and was dedicated to the life-long work of Nelson Mandela. Nobel Laureate and other expert panellists discussed their experiences, and what they see as necessary change for a more peaceful world.
One panelist, 1997 laureate Jody Williams, had some choice words regarding the Vatican’s decision to not meet the Dalai Lama: “Where is morality, when the spiritual leader in Rome bows in one way or another to economic pressure from China? That is another kind of warfare.”
This comes on the heels of South Africa’s refusal to give His Holiness a visa to attend the summit which was originally scheduled to take place in Cape Town in September, and which prompted many laureates to drop out in protest, causing the event’s move from Cape Town to Rome.
His Holiness with the Mayor of Rome Ignazio Marino, and the Mayor of Capetown, Patricia de Lille
Photo: Olivier Adam
Also In attendance was the mayor of Cape Town, Patricia De Lille, who apologised to the Dalai Lama for her government’s actions, and extended to His Holiness an open invitation to visit her in Cape Town.
The opening day ended with a speech from His Holiness, who stressed the importance of compassion, and that peace is more than just the lack of war.
Unable to attend the summit was 1984 laureate, South African ex-bishop Desmond Tutu, who has been battling cancer for some time. Tutu, a close friend of His Holiness, was one of the more outspoken voices condemning South African’s actions, saying he was “ashamed to call this lickspittle bunch my government.”
The laureates put together a declaration that was read on the final day of the summit. The declaration emphasised the organisation’s belief in education as the ultimate solution. They also touched upon the damage of climate change, calling for immediate action; the growing number of people living in poverty and the importance of sustainable development in these places; and a call for nuclear disarmament.
The final day included a one-minute silence in memory of the ebola victims who have died during the past year, and finished with a post conference with all the laureates who attended. The summit took place two days after the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize was presented in Oslo to Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012, and Kailash Satyarthi, for his activism against child labour in India.
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