VATICAN CITY, 13 NOV 2008 (VIS) - Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, yesterday participated in the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, with an address dedicated to the theme of the "Culture of Peace".
"By its nature and mission the United Nations should be a school of peace", he began. Here we must "learn to think and act while always bearing in mind the legitimate interests of all sides". Member States, "in striving to overcome the simplistic logic of the power of force and replace it with the power of law and the wisdom of peoples, become 'builders of peace'", he said.
The cardinal highlighted how "in this demanding task, individual believers and communities of believers have their place and their role to play. Religions, despite the weaknesses and contradictions of their members, carry a message of reconciliation and peace".
Cardinal Tauran stressed that believers must be "coherent and credible", pointing out that "they cannot use religion to attack freedom of conscience, justify violence, spread hatred and fanaticism or undermine political and religious authority".
He went on: "Believers, in contributing to public debate and participating in the societies to which they belong, feel themselves called to co-operate in promoting the common good, which rests on a platform of values shared by everyone, believers and non-believers alike: the sacredness of life and the dignity of human beings, respect for liberty of conscience and of religion, practice of responsible freedom, acceptance of different opinions, correct use of reason, appreciation for democratic life and care for natural resources, to mention but a few".
"May all of us together - without renouncing our cultural and religious identity - find the path to a safer and more united world", he concluded. "Let us not rest content with mere tolerance and vague commitments, let us make fraternity more than an ideal, a reality!"
.../PEACE CULTURE/U.N.:TAURAN VIS 20081113 (330)
"By its nature and mission the United Nations should be a school of peace", he began. Here we must "learn to think and act while always bearing in mind the legitimate interests of all sides". Member States, "in striving to overcome the simplistic logic of the power of force and replace it with the power of law and the wisdom of peoples, become 'builders of peace'", he said.
The cardinal highlighted how "in this demanding task, individual believers and communities of believers have their place and their role to play. Religions, despite the weaknesses and contradictions of their members, carry a message of reconciliation and peace".
Cardinal Tauran stressed that believers must be "coherent and credible", pointing out that "they cannot use religion to attack freedom of conscience, justify violence, spread hatred and fanaticism or undermine political and religious authority".
He went on: "Believers, in contributing to public debate and participating in the societies to which they belong, feel themselves called to co-operate in promoting the common good, which rests on a platform of values shared by everyone, believers and non-believers alike: the sacredness of life and the dignity of human beings, respect for liberty of conscience and of religion, practice of responsible freedom, acceptance of different opinions, correct use of reason, appreciation for democratic life and care for natural resources, to mention but a few".
"May all of us together - without renouncing our cultural and religious identity - find the path to a safer and more united world", he concluded. "Let us not rest content with mere tolerance and vague commitments, let us make fraternity more than an ideal, a reality!"
.../PEACE CULTURE/U.N.:TAURAN VIS 20081113 (330)
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