VATICAN CITY, MAY 3, 2007 (VIS) - Made public today was the text of a talk delivered on April 24 by Msgr. Franco Follo before the 176th session of the executive council of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The council was meeting to discuss the "medium-term strategic project 2008-2013," and to consider the importance of inter-confessional and inter-religious dialogue for promoting respect and dialogue between cultures.
Msgr. Follo, who is the Holy See permanent observer to UNESCO, delivered an address entitled "inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue is a vital necessity," a phrase pronounced by Benedict XVI on August 20, 2005, during a meeting with representatives of Muslim communities in Cologne, Germany. "Despite the fact that different cultures have different interpretations of reality," said the permanent observer, "they share the fundamental experience of the human condition: ... birth, death, work, sickness, social injustice, the environment, the protection of our planet."
"Cultural exchanges," he went on, "also involve giving consideration to religions, ... because religious experience is often engraved in the very heart of culture." And "although religions have sometimes been the cause of violence in the history of humanity, ... it is also important to highlight how much they have contributed and can still contribute to social cohesion, to reconciliation and to peace."
"If we turn to look at history," said Msgr. Follo, "we become aware of how much we owe to those who, in their way, favored communication between very different peoples." These include such figures as "St. Augustine, who after fifteen centuries appears to us as a 'bridge' between cultures: between ancient Africa and Rome, between the Greek east and the Latin world, between antiquity and the Middle Ages, and even between antiquity and modernity."
"Figures such as these," concluded Msgr. Follo, "must encourage us to follow the path of cultural exchange. The mixing of peoples is right in an era of universalization. The future of humanity is at stake. Whatever differences there may be, all mankind forms a single family and this family has the vocation to live in unity and peace."
DELSS/INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE/FOLLO:UNESCO VIS 20070503 (360)
Msgr. Follo, who is the Holy See permanent observer to UNESCO, delivered an address entitled "inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue is a vital necessity," a phrase pronounced by Benedict XVI on August 20, 2005, during a meeting with representatives of Muslim communities in Cologne, Germany. "Despite the fact that different cultures have different interpretations of reality," said the permanent observer, "they share the fundamental experience of the human condition: ... birth, death, work, sickness, social injustice, the environment, the protection of our planet."
"Cultural exchanges," he went on, "also involve giving consideration to religions, ... because religious experience is often engraved in the very heart of culture." And "although religions have sometimes been the cause of violence in the history of humanity, ... it is also important to highlight how much they have contributed and can still contribute to social cohesion, to reconciliation and to peace."
"If we turn to look at history," said Msgr. Follo, "we become aware of how much we owe to those who, in their way, favored communication between very different peoples." These include such figures as "St. Augustine, who after fifteen centuries appears to us as a 'bridge' between cultures: between ancient Africa and Rome, between the Greek east and the Latin world, between antiquity and the Middle Ages, and even between antiquity and modernity."
"Figures such as these," concluded Msgr. Follo, "must encourage us to follow the path of cultural exchange. The mixing of peoples is right in an era of universalization. The future of humanity is at stake. Whatever differences there may be, all mankind forms a single family and this family has the vocation to live in unity and peace."
DELSS/INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE/FOLLO:UNESCO VIS 20070503 (360)
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