Manila, Philippines, Jan 18, 2015 / 16:24 pm
A Buddhist nun who experienced Pope Francis' visit to the Philippines voiced her gratitude to the pontiff for his efforts at unity and dialogue among religious communities.
"We see that the pope has brought a blessing and also unity," said Ven. Miao Jing of the Buddhist Fo Guang Shan community.
"We want to bring about a sincere form of dialogue," she told CNA during Pope Francis' visit to the Philippines.
Miao herself did not meet with the Pope. However, a leader of her community, Ven. Chueh Pei, came from Argentina to help represent the Buddhist community. Miao explained that the Vatican and Manila Cardinal Luis Tagle had invited them to an inter-religious meeting with the Pope.
The nun said they planned to invite the Pope to visit the Buddhist community.
"Since the Pope has been traveling around the world, especially for the last few months, we sincerely and humbly request that the Pope meet us," she said, adding that "the Buddhists are very excited to see the Pope."
Miao lauded and thanked the Pope for "bringing people together, especially with different backgrounds, religions, cultures, traditions."
"We see how the world is moving into the future, and we always see hope, especially for people with faith."
Alan Holdren contributed to this article.