RELIGION MUST NOT BE AN EXCUSE FOR VIOLENCE

VATICAN CITY, MAR 23, 2000 (VIS) - This afternoon, the Holy Father travelled from the apostolic delegation to the Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center Pontifical Institute where, at 5:45 p.m. an interreligious meeting took place with Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders and children from the three religions.

The French Augustinian Fathers of the Assumption began the construction of the 'Notre Dame de France' center in 1884, with the aim of assisting French pilgrims in the Holy Land. The building was completed in 1904. In 1948, during the first Arab-Israeli conflict, it was seriously damaged. On December 13, 1978 John Paul II made the center a Pontifical Institute, giving it its present name. Today, it is considered a holy and ecumenical place and constitutes a territorial prelature whose prelate is the apostolic delegate in Jerusalem and Palestine. The center has 144 rooms, 2 meeting halls and a 500-seat auditorium. A community of Carmelite Fathers attends to spiritual animation and the welcome of pilgrims.

In his speech, the Holy Father underlined that "for all of us Jerusalem, as the name indicates, is the 'City of Peace.' ... We must find in our respective religious traditions the wisdom and the superior motivation to ensure the triumph of mutual understanding and cordial respect."

"Love of our brothers and sisters involves an attitude of respect and compassion, gestures of solidarity, cooperation in service to the common good. Thus, concern for justice and peace does not lie outside the field of religion but is actually one of its essential elements."

John Paul II emphasized that "when we love our neighbor we are showing love for God, and when we hurt our neighbor we offend God. This means that religion is the enemy of exclusion and discrimination, of hatred and rivalry, of violence and conflict. Religion is not, and must not become, an excuse for violence, particularly when religious identity coincides with cultural and ethnic identity. Religion and peace go together! Religious belief and practice cannot be separated from the defence of the image of God in every human being."

"We must do all we can to turn awareness of past offenses and sins into a firm resolve to build a new future in which there will be nothing but respectful and fruitful cooperation between us."

The Pope affirmed that "The Catholic Church wishes to pursue a sincere and fruitful interreligious dialogue with the members of the Jewish faith and the followers of Islam. Such a dialogue is not an attempt to impose our views upon others. What it demands of all of us is that, holding to what we believe, we listen respectfully to one another, seek to discern all that is good and holy in each other's teachings and cooperate in supporting everything that favors mutual understanding and peace.
"The Jewish, Christian and Muslim children and young people present here are a sign of hope and an incentive for us."

The Holy Father concluded by stating that "if the various religious communities in the Holy City and in the Holy Land succeed in living and working together in friendship and harmony, this will be of enormous benefit not only to themselves but to the whole cause of peace in this region. Jerusalem will truly be a City of Peace for all peoples."

Following the meeting, the Pope returned to the apostolic delegation where he dined and spent the night.

PV-ISRAEL;INTERRELIGIOUS MEETING;...;JERUSALEM;VIS;20000324;Word: 570;