Opening Remarks at Interreligious Earth Day Dialogue 2025

Ms Janet Ang, Non-Resident Ambassador to Holy See

Rev Monsignor Peter Zhang, Vicar General of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore for Interreligious and Ecumenical Relations

Ms Agnes Liew, Chairman, Caritas Singapore

Religious Leaders, Interfaith Leaders, Representatives, and Distinguished Guests

Introduction

1. Yesterday, on Easter Monday, our world lost a beacon, a light on a hill – His Holiness Pope Francis.

2. Papa Francesco was well loved, cherished and respected. And I think I speak for all of us to say that we all mourn his passing deeply and as a whole community.

3. We witnessed an outpouring of messages and condolences by leaders and representatives from all different faiths, not just across the world, but also in Singapore. I think you have seen them on social media online, as well as many messages that different faith leaders have also shared amongst their faith community.

4. Pope Francis visited Singapore last year – his last overseas in fact, and he chose to come to Singapore. Many of us were privileged to meet with him, interact with him, spend time with him, and hear him speak.

5. And all who did were moved by his humility, and his love for others.

6. That’s why I thought it timely to rewrite my speech last night, to pay special tribute to him, to pay special homage to him, as we celebrate our Interreligious Earth Day this morning.

7. In life, Pope Francis reminded us to be good stewards: to be good stewards of Earth, to be good stewards of love, and to be good stewards of life.

Stewards of Earth

8. In his encyclical Laudato si’, he reminded us of our moral responsibility to care for the Earth as stewards of God’s creation. He said that “the world is a gift which we have freely received and must share with others. Since we are part of nature, we must use our talents to protect it, not to exploit it”.

9. His message has resonated worldwide, reminding us that protecting the environment is not just an economic or scientific endeavour or issue, but a deeply moral and spiritual one as well.

10. Our faith communities also care for the environment. In fact, every faith tradition represented here today teaches us to respect nature in our own special way:

    1. Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism speak of stewardship, caring responsibly for creation.

    2. Islam teaches us about being khalifah fil ard, stewards of the Earth, responsible for the environment.

    3. Buddhism, Taoism, and Hinduism emphasise harmony with nature and all living things.

    4. Sikh, Jain, and Baha’i teachings remind us of interconnectedness between humanity and the environment.

11. Different faiths, different expressions, but one shared message: that we must care for our planet.

12. As we mark Earth Day, today, we do so as a united community of many faiths, coming together.

13. And may I encourage all of us to continue to play our part for our environment this 60th year that we’re celebrating our independence, SG60.

14. Let me do a few pitches.

15. First, please join NParks’ One Million Trees Movement and community efforts to bring nature back into our city, to strengthen Singapore’s resilience to climate change, one tree at a time.

16. Second, please use our SG Eco Fund for your ground-up sustainability initiatives.

    1. Since we launched the SG Eco Fund in 2020, it has supported over 300 individuals and organisations.

    2. To commemorate SG60, we have raised the maximum grant for projects submitted this year from an initial $8,000 now to $30,000, so you can do much, much more.

17. So please work together with us and together with different faith groups to play our part for the environment. Do it together as a united community of many faiths – many faiths that love and respect one another, and many faiths that love and respect our planet, our Earth.

Stewards of Love

18. So even as we steward our Earth, we must also be good stewards of love. The love that we receive, the love that we cherish, and the love that we get to share with others.

19. In his 2022 homily, Pope Francis highlighted Jesus’ commitment: “Even as I have loved you, so you must love one another”. Pope Francis made it his life work to encourage people to love one another, regardless of their religious affiliations, as well as their backgrounds.

20. In Singapore, his interfaith dialogue with youths left a profound impact on us. I think many of us here have attended or have read about his interactions with our youths.

    1. He made a call at Catholic Junior College (CJC). I was privileged to be there, Janet (Non-Resident Ambassador to Holy See) and many others were there too. He made a call for different races and religions to live harmoniously together; and

    2. He urged Singaporeans to pass on our interfaith practice to future generations.

21. Shukul Raaj Kumar, you are here today. We all remember what he said to you at CJC last year, and to the youths, the interfaith youths that you had hosted the dialogue with Pope Francis with. Raaj, you were candidly sharing about some of your struggles with what you called “armchair critics”, about some impediments in your interfaith work. You posed that question to Pope Francis, and Pope Francis encouraged you. He said: “A young person who is afraid and doesn't take risks is an old person.” Remember that?

22. So we must be stewards of love. Loving and encouraging one another. Lifting up one another as we practice our faiths. Build understanding and pass this special practice to generations after generations.

23. Today’s tree planting and dialogue, and the youth and interfaith representations among us, are testament and evidence of why Pope Francis chose to come to Singapore – because of our commitment to interreligious harmony, not just in words, but in actions, in deeds.

24. In fact, Singapore was born 60 years ago because we could not countenance a society that is not multiracial and multireligious. And for 60 years, our faith leaders and communities have worked closely together to build a society that respects and loves one another.

25. Today, we see and continue to encourage our churches, temples, mosques, gurdwaras and synagogues to come together, to work together to steward our planet.

Stewards of Life

26. Finally, stewards of life. I talked about stewards of the Earth, stewards of love, and now stewards of life.

27. In life, Pope Francis reminded us to be good stewards of life. He reminded us that: “Life is not measured by what we have, but the love we give. The things we accumulate won’t follow us into eternity. What matters is how we live, how we love, and how we serve.”

28. He said that we are just pilgrims passing through this life, and he encouraged us not to waste time on what does not matter. He called those that does not matter as fleeting things, and he encouraged us to live for what truly matters.

29. So what we do today, the literal seeds we are planting later on for future generations, are not fleeting. They matter. They symbolise our stewardship for our future, and our commitment to those who come after us.

Conclusion

30. My dear friends, this morning, as we remember Pope Francis' call to be good stewards, we are reminded of the many good stewards among us who have made this morning happen. Please join me to thank:

    1. The organisers, Caritas Singapore;

    2. The Archdiocesan Catholic Council for Interreligious Dialogue;

    3. And all of you for coming here this morning.

31. This unity across faiths is exactly what Singapore is about, a light on the hill. So let’s carry this spirit forward, not just today, but every single day, connecting, contributing, and caring deeply for our planet.

32. Like the trees we will plant shortly, may the roots grow deep, and for many years later we will enjoy the shade that they bring. Together we can nurture a greener Singapore and a healthier planet.

33. Friends, let us charge forward. Let us be good stewards of Earth, let us be good stewards of love, and let us be good stewards of life.

34. Thank you very much.