Co-operation, peace and prosperity come when people know how to hold fast to their cultural and religious identities without ever denigrating or trying to deny the rights and identities of others, Pope Francis has said.
Twenty-five years after Azerbaijan, a predominantly Shia Muslim nation, proclaimed its independence from the Soviet Union, the Pope said that strong civic institutions and lasting economic growth would come only when attention is paid to the poorest sectors of society and only as long as the nation's multicultural identity is seen as a national treasure.
