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Guarantee Security: World Today and Lithuanian Capital

guarantee security: Speaking outside the presidential palace in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, Francis recalled that until the arrival of totalitarian ideologies in the 20th century, Lithuania had peacefully been home to a variety of ethnic and religious groups, including Christians, Jews and Muslims, according to CTV. He said the world today is marked by political forces that exploit fear to justify violence and intolerance of others, proclaiming that the only way possible to guarantee security and the continued existence of a culture is to try to eliminate, cancel or expel others. Francis was greeted by Lithuanian President Dalia Grybuskaiteova at the airport and immediately launched into a hectic schedule of political meetings and visits with Lutheran and Russian Orthodox leaders and ordinary Catholics, who are a majority in Lithuania but minorities in Latvia and Estonia. In a reference to the spread of anti-immigrant, populist forces in Europe and beyond, Francis said Lithuania could be a model of openness, understanding, tolerance and solidarity. Francis was travelling to the region to mark their 100th anniversaries of independence and to encourage the faith in the Baltics, which saw five decades of Soviet-imposed religious repression and state-sponsored atheism. You have suffered 'in the flesh' those efforts to impose a single model that would annul differences under the pretense of believing that the privileges of a few are more important than the dignity of others or the common good, he said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.