PAPAL MESSAGE TO WORLD CONFERENCE ON RELIGION AND PEACE

VATICAN CITY, NOV 29, 2000 (VIS) - Made public today was a Message from John Paul II to Cardinal Peter Seiichi Shirayanagi on the occasion of the 30th anniversary celebrations in Tokyo, Japan, of the founding of the World Conference on Religion and Peace. The Message to the archbishop emeritus of Tokyo for the November 27-28 commemorative event was dated November 1.

Lauding the organization's efforts "in building a world of peace," the Pope added: "In recent years, the World Conference on Religion and Peace has been particularly involved in reconciling communities which are divided due to conflicts and wars. Your efforts to heal those affected by hatred and violence express a truth which I too have sought to affirm on many occasions, that religion is not and must not become a pretext for hostility, in particular when religious, cultural and ethnic identities coincide."
"Faced with the pressing problems of today's global society," affirmed the Holy Father, "all religions must feel called to fresh efforts to cooperate in order to promote human life in its dignity, to defend the family, to alleviate poverty, to bring about justice, to help preserve the eco-system of our earth. We would do well to remember the words of the Message from the participants in the Interreligious Assembly held in the Vatican in October 1999: 'Collaboration among the different religions must be based on the rejection of fanaticism, extremism and mutual antagonism which lead to violence. We are aware of the importance of education as a means for promoting mutual understanding, cooperation and respect'."

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