INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE: HOPE FOR BROTHERHOOD AND PEACE

VATICAN CITY, NOV 8, 2005 (VIS) - In a communique made public today, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity announced the second international conference on the theme: "Peace and Tolerance - Dialogue and Understanding in South East Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia."

  The meeting, due to be held in Istanbul, Turkey, from November 7 to 9, is being promoted by His Holiness Bartholomew I, ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople, and by Rabbi Arthur Schneider, president of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation of New York. The event is being held under the patronage of Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, and aims "to promote collaboration between the three great monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam, in order to favor reciprocal respect and mutual acceptance, and to achieve peaceful coexistence in a world that has suffered so cruelly through wars and conflicts."

  As his representative at the meeting, Benedict XVI has sent Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and of the Holy See Commission for Religious Relations with Jews. The cardinal will be accompanied by the secretary of the same commission, Fr. Norbert Hofmann S.D.B., and by Archbishop Antonio Maria Veglio, secretary of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.

  In a message to Cardinal Kasper, the Holy Father expresses his best wishes to the participants meeting in Istanbul, and his "appreciation for their strong commitment to fostering understanding and cooperation between the followers of different religions."

  The message continues: "The themes of peace and tolerance are of vital importance in a world where rigid attitudes so often give rise to misunderstanding and suffering and can even lead to deadly violence. Dialogue is clearly indispensable if solutions are to be found to the harmful conflicts and tensions that cause so much damage to society. Only through dialogue can there be hope that the world will become a place of peace and fraternity.

  "It is the duty of every person of good will, and especially of every believer, to help build a peaceful society and to overcome the temptation towards aggressive and futile confrontation between different cultures and ethnic groups. Each of the world's peoples has a responsibility to make its own particular contribution to peace and harmony by placing its spiritual and cultural heritage and its ethical values at the service of the human family throughout the world. This goal can only be achieved if at the heart of the economic, social and cultural development of each community is a proper respect for life and for the dignity of every human person.

  "A healthy society always promotes respect for the inviolable and inalienable rights of all people," writes the Pope, who goes on to quote the Encyclical 'Evangelium vitae,' affirming: "'Without 'an objective moral grounding, not even democracy is capable of ensuring a stable peace.' In this sense, moral relativism undermines the workings of democracy, which by itself is not enough to guarantee tolerance and respect among peoples."

  Benedict XVI then highlights the importance of education in truth and of fostering "reconciliation wherever there has been injury. Respect for the rights of others, bearing fruit in sincere and truthful dialogue, will indicate practical steps that can be taken."

  He continues: "Every person of good will has a duty to work towards this goal. It is all the more urgent, however, for those who recognize in God the One who is Father of all, Whose mercy is freely offered to all, Who judges with justice and offers to all His life-giving friendship. For Christians, the Creator's generosity is visible in ... Christ, our peace and our true reconciliation."

  The Pope concludes his message by asking Cardinal Kasper, on the occasion of the forthcoming meeting, "to reaffirm the Catholic Church's strong commitment to work tirelessly for cooperation between peoples, cultures and religions."
MESS/INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE/KASPER                VIS 20051108 (650)