NAPLES, Italy, OCT. 23, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran told leaders representing world religions that the rejection of violence and the promotion of peace is the road map for interreligious dialogue.
The president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue explained his proposal Monday in Naples at the round-table discussion "Religions in Dialogue for a World Without Violence." The cardinal was participating in the 21st International Encounter of Peoples and Religions, organized by the Catholic lay Sant'Egidio Community and the Archdiocese of Naples. The encounter ends today.
Cardinal Tauran said, "We have our road map that we have to follow: to make for religions a name of peace. Terrorism covers its followers with shame. All violence justified in the name of faith is a profanation of the name of God."
Noting that some factions are still committing crimes that appeared to be disappearing after World War II -- ethnic cleansing, concentration camps -- the cardinal reflected that there is still hope, reflected in "an army of men and women who believe in peace and raise their hands toward heaven."
"They do this because they are convinced that the situations of violence can be overcome when they are contrasted with goodness," he added.
According to the cardinal, who for many years was secretary for Vatican relations with states, "dialogue is for all a pilgrimage and a risk. With dialogue, as a matter of fact, I place myself in a position to listen to different situations and risk myself before the questions of others."
