Vatican
City, 26 June 2013
(VIS) - The Islamic-Catholic Liaison Committee held its 19th meeting
in Rome on 18 – 19 June 2013, corresponding to 9 – 10 Shaban 9,
1434. The assembly was presided over—for the Catholic side—by
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for
Interreligious Dialogue, and—for the Muslim side—by Dr Hamid bin
Ahmad Al-Rifaie, president of the International Islamic Forum for
Dialogue.
The
theme of the meeting was: “Believers Confronting Materialism and
Secularism in Society”. After listening to the papers presented by
Catholic and Muslim scholars and exchanging views about the above
mentioned theme, the participants agreed upon the following: that
Christianity and Islam affirm the inseparability and complementarity
between the material and the spiritual domains and that our
responsibility as believers is to reconcile these dimensions of life;
that many people today suffer from the loss of spiritual and
religious roots, a phenomenon that weakens both the inner and moral
dimensions of individuals and societies; and that the world today is
facing many kinds of crises. Our common responsibility as believers
in God is to do all that is possible to protect vulnerable people at
this time.
Pope
Francis received participants in the meeting in audience, encouraging
them to continue their efforts on the path of “respectful and
fruitful dialogue between believers for the peace and prosperity of
our world”.
The
violence in Syria was also strongly condemned in the meeting and an
appeal was made to the regional and international organizations to do
everything possible to stop the bloodshed, according to International
Law.
The
Committee will hold its next meeting in Tatwan, Morocco. It will be
preceded by a preparatory event to be organized by the Muslim side.
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