GREAT RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS CAN CONTRIBUTE TO SEARCH FOR PEACE

VATICAN CITY, NOV 14, 2000 (VIS) - Made public today was a letter from Cardinal Angelo Sodano to Cardinal William Keeler, archbishop of Baltimore, U.S.A., who is taking part in the Interreligious Conference, currently underway in Washington. The four-day conference began November 11.

Writing on behalf of the Pope in the November 8 letter, the secretary of state asks Cardinal Keeler to convey the Holy Father's "warm greetings to the participants," especially Chiara Lubich and Imam W.D. Mohammed "who have inspired the efforts that have led to this meeting in mutual respect and friendship between Christians and Muslims."

"At a time of tension in the world," says the letter, "His Holiness has insisted that the great religious traditions of the world have a vital contribution to make to the search for peace, on the basis of the transcendent values found in them. Only true dialogue can open the way to a future worthy of the human family and only a falsification of religion can collude with violence. Dialogue presumes a desire for harmony, an acceptance of difference, a recognition of common humanity, a willingness to trust and a preparedness to listen."

JPII-LETTER;RELIGIONS; PEACE;...;KEELER; SODANO;VIS;20001114;Word: 200;