Wednesday, December 17, 2008

FINAL COMMUNIQUE ON THE 11TH CATHOLIC-MUSLIM COLLOQUIUM

VATICAN CITY, 17 DEC 2008 (VIS) - Today was made public the final communique on the 11th Colloquium organized by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the World Islamic Call Society (WICS), which took place in Rome from 15 to 17 December.

  The Catholic and Muslim participants, who briefly met with the Pope after today's general audience, agreed on the following:

1) The first and most important responsibility of religious leaders is one of a religious nature, according to their respective religious traditions, to faithfully fulfill them through teaching, good deeds and example, thus   serve their communities for the glory of God.

2) Considering the role religions can and should have in society, religious leaders also have a cultural and social role to play in promoting fundamental ethical values, such as justice, solidarity, peace, social harmony and the common good of society as a whole, especially the needy, the weak, migrants and the oppressed.

3) Religious leaders have a special responsibility towards youth, who require particular attention so that they do not fall victim to religious fanaticism and radicalism, receiving rather, a sound education thereby helping them to become bridge builders and peace makers.

4) Taking into consideration that crises of diverse nature, including in interreligious relations, are possible, on a national or international level, religious leaders should learn to prevent, cope with and remedy these particular situations, avoiding their degeneration into confessional violence. This requires a mutual respect and reciprocal knowledge, both cherishing personal relations and building confidence and mutual trust, so as to be able to confront together crises when they occur.
OP/CATHOLIC-MUSLIM COLLOQUIUM/TAURAN        VIS 20081217 (260)


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