Call for a UN of Religion, World religious leaders kick off peace summit

[Shammu]

World religious leaders kick off peace summit

1 day ago

NAPLES, Italy (AFP) — Leaders of the world's main religions kicked off an annual inter-faith peace summit here Sunday with calls for a global organisation uniting their faiths.

Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Israel's chief rabbi Yona Metzger and the imam of the United Arab Emirates, Ibrahim Ezzedin, were among those attending the gathering.

"Civilisations don't dialogue directly, but through those who carry their traditions and cultural values. So we should not speak of a dialogue of civilisations, but a culture of dialogue," Bartholomew told the opening.

In a similar vein, Metzger proposed a "United Nations of Religions" that would "embrace the heads of religious communities that have a profound influence on their congregations."

"If we sit down together around one table... surely we could arrive at effective solutions," he said.

Ezzedin, too, advocated a formal structure linking world religions, saying: "This important grouping of God-fearing people cannot and should not limit itself to processions, conferences and seminars."

"We need to form a permanent and authorised executive machinery for ... executing any decisions we may make," he added.

The Muslim leader however spoke harshly of "unjustified provocations in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan and ... unfair dealings in Palestine" that have prompted "some Muslim individuals and groups (to go) astray and wrong themselves by violent actions."

He added: "We are dismayed by the behaviour of some great powers who continue to act aggressively against other countries, by means of military occupation under fabricated pretexts... forced regime changes and blunt interference in other countries' affairs."

The Sant'Egidio summits are meant to carry on the "spirit of Assisi" and were launched 21 years ago by John Paul II in the birthplace of Saint Francis.

The first summit, dubbed a World Day of Prayer for Peace, was attended by the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa and other religious leaders.

The pope, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, stayed away, reportedly out of concern that it put all religions on an equal footing.

Thus the timing of his pastoral visit to Naples has been billed as a "happy coincidence" by Sant'Egidio, a lay Catholic organisation that has mediated in several world conflicts.

The theme of this year's peace summit is "A World Without Violence: Faiths and Cultures in Dialogue," with topics to include AIDS, immigration, the plight of Africa and the quest for peace in the Middle East.

The Sant'Egidio community is the "bridge in this search for common points and continues to work for dialogue in all parts of the world to build peace," said the Reverend Gijun Sugitani, the supreme advisor of Tendai Buddhism in Japan.

Earlier Sunday, Benedict celebrated an open-air mass as rain fell on pilgrims huddled under umbrellas in Naples' main square.

Lamenting "the sad phenomenon of violence" in the impoverished city, the pontiff said: "It's not only a matter of the deplorable number of crimes of the Camorra (mafia), but also the fact that violence tends unfortunately to become a widespread mentality, insinuating itself into the fabric of society."

World religious leaders kick off peace summit

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Pope, evoking September 11, urges 'reconciliation among peoples'

by Gina Doggett Sun Oct 21, 11:30 AM ET

NAPLES, Italy (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday evoked the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, as he urged "reconciliation among peoples" ahead of an inter-faith summit in Naples.

"With respect for the differences between the various religions, we are all called to work for peace and ... reconciliation among peoples," Benedict said as he met with Muslim, Jewish, Orthodox and other Christian leaders.

The some 200 participants at the annual Sant'Egidio community peace meeting include Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I, the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Israel's chief rabbi Yona Metzger and the imam of the United Arab Emirates, Ibrahim Ezzeddin.

Recalling the 2002 Sant'Egidio summit following the September 11 attacks, the pope said his predecessor John Paul II called religious leaders together to "ask God to stop serious threats to humanity, notably through terrorism."

Meeting for the first time as pope with such a large gathering of world religious leaders, Benedict said: "In the face of a world torn by conflicts where violence is sometimes justified in the name of God, it is important to reiterate that religions can never become vehicles of hate."

The 80-year-old Benedict has stressed his commitment to "open and sincere dialogue" with followers of other religions.

The Sant'Egidio encounter follows an open letter sent to the pope and other Christian figures by 138 Muslim leaders, both Sunni and Shiite, which urged greater efforts to bring the two religions together.

Benedict set Muslim opinion aflame last year in a speech in which he seemed to link Islam with violence, but sought to win hearts and minds during his November 2006 trip to mainly Muslim Turkey.

In a dramatic gesture, the pontiff assumed an attitude of Muslim prayer while standing beside Istanbul's Grand Mufti Mustafa Cagrici in Istanbul's Blue Mosque.

While there, the pope also met Barthomew I, spiritual leader of the world's 250 million Orthodox Christians.

Healing the nearly 10-century-old rift between the Eastern and Western Rites was one of the priorities -- along with reaching out to Muslims and Jews -- that Benedict set out for himself when he took up the papacy in April 2005.

The Sant'Egidio summits are meant to carry on the "spirit of Assisi" launched 21 years ago by John Paul II in the birthplace of Saint Francis.

A World Day of Prayer for Peace was attended by the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa and other religious leaders, but Benedict, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, stayed away, reportedly out of concern that it put all religions on an equal footing.

Thus the timing of his pastoral visit to Naples has been billed as a "happy coincidence" by Sant'Egidio, a lay Catholic organisation that has mediated in several world conflicts.

The theme of this year's peace summit is "A World Without Violence: Faiths and Cultures in Dialogue," with topics to include AIDS, immigration, the plight of Africa and the quest for peace in the Middle East.

The pope lunched with Sant'Egidio participants as well as Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi.

Sunday morning, Benedict celebrated an open-air mass as rain fell on pilgrims huddled under umbrellas in Naples' main square.

Lamenting "the sad phenomenon of violence" in the impoverished city, the pontiff said: "It's not only a matter of the deplorable number of crimes of the Camorra (mafia), but also the fact that violence tends unfortunately to become a widespread mentality, insinuating itself into the fabric of society."

The pope underscored "the importance of intensifying efforts for a serious strategy of prevention centring on schools, work and helping young people to manage their free time.

"Intervention is needed that involves everyone in the struggle against all forms of violence," he said.

Pope, evoking September 11, urges 'reconciliation among peoples'

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Cardinal signals firm Vatican stance with Muslims
October 20, 2007; 3:51

By Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor

PARIS (Reuters) - The top Vatican official for Islam has praised a novel Muslim call for dialogue but said real theological debate with them was difficult as they saw the Koran as the literal word of God and would not discuss it in depth.

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, in an interview on Friday with the French Catholic daily La Croix, also said Christians would have to discuss curbs on building churches in the Islamic world in the dialogue advocated by 138 Muslim scholars in the appeal.

His interview, coming after mostly positive comments by other Catholic Islam experts, signaled the world's largest Christian church wanted a serious dialogue with Muslims that did not avoid some fundamental issues dividing the religions.

"Muslims do not accept that one can discuss the Koran in depth, because they say it was written by dictation from God," Tauran said. "With such an absolute interpretation, it is difficult to discuss the contents of faith."

The fact that Muslims can build mosques in Europe while many Islamic states limit or ban church building cannot be ignored, he said. "In a dialogue among believers, it is fundamental to say what is good for one is good for the other," he said.

The appeal last week by 138 scholars representing a large majority of Islamic views invited Christian leaders to a dialogue based on their common belief that love of God and neighbor is the cornerstone of their religions.

It was unprecedented because Islam has no central authority to speak for all believers, especially not the silent majority that does not agree with radicals whose preaching of jihad and rejection of other faiths often dominates the headlines.

CATHOLIC RESPONSE IS KEY

The appeal was addressed to all leading Christian churches. Anglican, Lutheran and evangelical leaders and the World Council of Churches have all welcomed it.

But the reaction of the Roman Catholic Church, which makes up more than half of the world's two billion Christians, is key to any coordinated Christian response to the Muslim appeal.

Tauran praised the appeal as "an eloquent example of a dialogue of spiritualities" that showed good will by quoting not the Koran only -- as Muslims usually do -- but also the Bible.

The appeal avoided major differences such as the roles of Jesus and Mohammad, but Tauran brought up one about the Koran.

Muslims revere the Koran as the literal word of God while most Christian theologians -- and some Muslim intellectuals -- say sacred scriptures are the work of divinely inspired humans and can be challenged and reinterpreted.

Pope Benedict is a key figure because his Regensburg speech last year implying Islam was violent and irrational sparked bloody protests in the Muslim world and prompted the Muslim scholars to unite to seek better inter-faith understanding.

Tauran hinted Benedict might use a major inter-faith meeting in Naples on Sunday to respond to the appeal. "The pope will be there at the start and will certainly say something," he told La Croix without elaborating.

Father Samir Khalil Samir, an Egyptian Jesuit and leading Catholic expert on Islam, welcomed the appeal as reflecting a broad consensus among Sunnis and Shi'ites and showing a real understanding of Christianity by its signatories.

"With time, this document could create an opening and a greater convergence," he wrote on the AsiaNews website.

Cardinal signals firm Vatican stance with Muslims

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The fact that Muslims can build mosques in Europe while many Islamic states limit or ban church building cannot be ignored, he said. "In a dialogue among believers, it is fundamental to say what is good for one is good for the other," he said.

Dialog is useless, when the barn door is locked and the horses are out.

[Shammu]

World religious leaders kick off peace summit

Here is a list of events happening.

October 21, Sunday
10.00    

Piazza del Plebiscito
Solemn Eucharistic Celebration

Chairperson

S.S. BENEDETTO XVI
17:30    

Teatro S.Carlo e collegamento con la Piazza
Plenary Assembly

Chairperson

Lorella Cuccarini
Trenta Ore per la Vita, Italy

Opening Address

Crescenzio Sepe
Cardinal, Archbishop of Naples

Rosa Russo Jervolino
Mayor of Naples

Riccardo Di Palma
President of Provincia di Napoli

Antonio Bassolino
President of Regione Campania

Romano Prodi
President of the Council of Ministers

Introductory speech

Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete
President of the United Republic of Tanzania

Andrea Riccardi
Founder of the Community of Sant’Egidio

U Uttara
Buddhist monk, Burma

Ines Zimba
Physician, Mozambico

Music

MUSICAL INTERLUDE

Panelists

Bartholomaios I
Ecumenical Patriarch, Archbishop of Constantinople Nea Roma

Yona Metzger
Chief Rabbi of Israel

Ezzeddin Ibrahim
Founder of the University of the United Arab Emirates

Gijun Sugitani
Supreme Advisor to the Tendai Buddhist Denomination, Japan

Rafael Correa Delgado
President of the Republic of Ecuador

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
President of the Senate, Kazakhstan

October 22, Monday
09:30    

Auditorium - Hotel Royal Continental
A Soul for Europe

Chairperson

Michel Camdessus

Panelists

Jean-Arnold de Clermont
Presidente della Conferenza delle Chiese d'Europa (KEK)

Adriano Giannola

Heinrich Mussinghoff

Bogdan Tataru-Cazaban

Mario Soares

Vladimir Ivanovich Yakunin
09:30    

Sala Galatea, Stazione Marittima
Religions in Dialogue, a World without Violence

Chairperson

Jean-Louis Tauran

Panelists

Jean Dominique Durand

Ishmael Noko

Mehmet Paçaci

Gijun Sugitani
Supreme Advisor to the Tendai Buddhist Denomination, Japan

Din Syamsuddin

Oded Wiener
09:30    

Aula Magna - Università Federico II
The Urban Environment: Conflict or Coexistence?

Chairperson

Françoise Rivière

Panelists

Christine Boutin

Arrigo Levi

Mario Marazziti

Mario Orfeo

Isaia Sales

Marc Stenger
09:30    

Sala Italia - Castel dell’Ovo
Europe, Immigration, and the Future

Chairperson

Lucio Caracciolo

Panelists

Edgar Busuttil

Antonio Golini

Jörn-Erik Gutheil

Agostino Marchetto

Jean Claude Petit

Daniela Pompei
09:30    

Sala Dione - Stazione Marittima
Faiths and Reason

Chairperson

Massimo Franco

Panelists

Enzo Bianchi

Hasan Hanafi

Amos Luzzatto

Aldo Masullo

Ignazio Sanna

Silvio Suppa
09:30    

Sala Perseide - Stazione Marittima
The Scriptures in Monotheistic Faiths

Chairperson

Walter Kasper

Panelists

Mahmud Ghazi

Joachim Gnilka

Berl Lazar

Jean-Pierre Ricard

Rowan D. Williams
09:30    

Sala Agave - Stazione Marittima
Prayer, the Strength of Believers

Chairperson

Ignace Moussa Daoud

Panelists

Mohammed Esslimani

Itzhak Haleva

Salvatore Martinez

Andon Merdani

Serafim
16:30    

Auditorium - Hotel Royal Continental
Europe and Africa: Two Continents, One Future

Chairperson

Jean-Pierre Kutwa

Panelists

Michel Camdessus

Maria da Luz Dai Guebuza

Kpakilé Felemou
Comunità di Sant’Egidio, Guinea Conakry

Jean-François Leguil-Bayart

Renato Raffaele Martino

Sami Tchak
16:30    

Sala Galatea - Stazione Marittima

Chairperson

Marco Impagliazzo

Panelists

Massimo D’Alema

Nabil Shaat

Meir gotcha2rit

Discussant

Oded Ben-Hur

Wlodek Goldkorn

Pierbattista Pizzaballa

Bernard Sabella
16:30    

Aula Magna - Università Federico II
Faith and Science an Issue for Our Time

Chairperson

Guido Trombetti

Panelists

Athanasios

Sayed Mohammed Mousavi Boujnourdi

Francesco Paolo Casavola

Riccardo Di Segni

Emma Fattorini
16:30    

Sala Italia - Castel dell’Ovo
Latin America a Future Without Violence

Chairperson

Roger Etchegaray

Key-note Speakers

Rafael Correa Delgado
President of the Republic of Ecuador

Adolfo Pérez Esquivel

Discussant

Jaime Aguilar

Donato Di Santo

Pierre Dumas
16:30    

Sala Dione - Stazione Marittima
A Space for God in the City

Chairperson

Vittorio Ianari

Panelists

Mahdi Al-Khalissi

David Albert Beetge

Theodore Edgar Mc Carrick

Lluis Martinez Sistach

Netanel Teitelbaum

Gérard Testard
President of Fondacio, France
16:30    

Sala Perseide - Stazione Marittima
Asia and Europe: Clash or Cooperation

Chairperson

Franco Mazzei

Key-note Speakers

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
President of the Senate, Kazakhstan

Panelists

Rajiv Dogra

Patrick C.P. Ho

Pierre Morel

Raj K. Srivastava

Gianni Vernetti
16:30    

Sala Calipso - Stazione Marittima
The Mediterranean Sea, Faiths and Coexistence

Chairperson

Antonio Ferrari
Columnist, Italy

Panelists

Elias Chacour

Pasquale Ciriello

Shear-Yashuv Cohen

Stanislav Hocevar

Jacques Huntzinger

Arben Xhaferri
16:30    

Sala Agave - Stazione Marittima
Earth and Humankind: Faiths and Cultures in Dialogue

Chairperson

Katherine Marshall

Panelists

Jean-Arnold de Clermont
Presidente della Conferenza delle Chiese d'Europa (KEK)

Emmanuel

Giuseppe Laras

Serge Latouche

Franco Pasquali

Wolfgang Sachs
17:30    

Ponticelli - Chiesa dei SS. Pietro e Paolo

Chairperson

Antonio Serra

Panelists

Alexander Ogorodnikov
17:30    

Scampìa - Auditorium
Islam and Peace

Chairperson

Paolo Battimiello

Panelists

Kone Idriss Koudouss

Ishaq Idriss Sakouta
18:00    

Pozzuoli - Auditorium del Seminario Maggiore
The Apostle Paul and the Cultures of the Mediterranean Sea

Chairperson

Gennaro Pascarella

Panelists

Chrysostomos II

Armand Puig
18:00    

Nola - Interporto Campano
The spirit of Assisi

Chairperson

Gennaro Ferrara

Panelists

Homi Dhalla

Jean Dominique Durand

Jürgen Johannesdotter

Leone Paserman

Mohammad Sammak
17:30    

Ercolano - Villa Campolieto
Christians and Peace

Chairperson

Nino Daniele

Panelists

Paul Grossrieder

Voitto Huotari

Seraphim

cont'd next post

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18:00    

Torre Annunziata - Parrocchia Santa Teresa di Gesù
Women: Faith versus Violence

Chairperson

Rosanna Russo

Panelists

Marguerite Barankitse

Sylvie Bukhari de Pontual

Tamara Chikunova
17:30    

Benevento - Villa dei Papi
Religions in Dialogue

Chairperson

Filippo Bencardino

Panelists

Mohammed Amine Smaili

Vsevolod Chaplin

George H. Freeman

Amos Luzzatto

Tritan Shehu
18:00    

Aversa - Cattedrale
The Orthodox Church and the Future of Ecumenism

Chairperson

Mario Milano

Key-note speeches

Kirill di Smolensk
18:00    

Avellino - Sala Camera di Commercio
Jerusalem, Everyone’s Tragedy and a Hope for All

Chairperson

Francesco Marino

Greetings

Francesco Alfano

Giovanni D'Alise

Panelists

Sami Michael

Emile Shoufani
18:00    

Capua - Sede dell’Università

Chairperson

Raffaele Martone

Greetings

Bruno Schettino

Panelists

Jesus Delgado

Aldo Giordano

Joseph Levi

Yahya Sergio Yahe Pallavicini
17:00    

Amalfi - Palazzo Municipale e Cattedrale
Honorary Citizenship of Amalfi and delivery of the relic of St. Andrew to His Holiness Bartholomaios I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople

October 23, Tuesday
09:30    

Auditorium - Hotel Royal Continental
Hiv/AIDS: a Challenge We Can Win

Chairperson

Theodore Edgar Mc Carrick

Panelists

Mark Dybul

Paola Germano

Magid Noorjehan Abdul

Israel Singer
09:30    

Sala Galatea - Stazione Marittima
The Word of God in Christians’ Life

Chairperson

Oscar Luigi Scalfaro

Panelists

Aram I

Enzo Bianchi

Chrysostomos II

Ole Chr. M. Kvarme

Gregorios III Laham

Telesphore Placidus Toppo
09:30    

Aula Magna - Università Federico II
“Widespread Violence”: a Disquieting Question

Chairperson

John J. DeGioia

Panelists

Sylvie Bukhari de Pontual

Luigi Fusco Girard

Ezzeddin Ibrahim
Founder of the University of the United Arab Emirates

Adolfo Pérez Esquivel

Ceija Stojka

Celestin Twizere
09:30    

Sala Italia - Castel dell’Ovo
The Civilization of Coexistence

Chairperson

Arrigo Levi

Panelists

Aisha Al-Menn'ai

Marguerite Barankitse

Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim

Mario Giro
Comunità di Sant’Egidio

Sami Michael

Françoise Rivière
09:30    

Sala Dione - Stazione Marittima
Faiths, War and Peace

Chairperson

Renato Raffaele Martino

Panelists

Asma Benkada

Jonas Jonson

Samuel Kobia

Arthur Schneier

Mohammed Ahmed Sherif
09:30    

Sala Perseide - Stazione Marittima
Family, a Resource for Everyone

Chairperson

Angelo Scelzo

Panelists

Jakov Ebert

Siti Musdah Mulia

Filipp Osacenko

Savino Pezzotta
Presidente della Fondazione per il Sud, Italia
09:30    

Sala Calipso - Stazione Marittima
A World Without Violence: the Task of Japanese Religions

Chairperson

Agostino Giovagnoli

Panelists

Korei Hamanaka
President of Tendai Buddhist Denomination, Giappone

Gensho Hozumi

Takao Ina

Moriyasu Ito

Eiju Matsuda

Keishi Miyamoto

Nobuo Nagao

Masamichi Tanaka

Yautaka Watanabe
09:30    

Università degli Studi di Napoli “L’Orientale” Aula del Rettorato, Via Chiatamone
Conferment of the Honoris Causa Degree
to His Holiness Bartholomaios I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople

17:30    

in luoghi diversi, per confessione religiosa, intorno a Piazza del Plebiscito
Prayer for Peace

19:00    

dai differenti luoghi di preghiera, in corteo, verso il palco di Piazza del Plebiscito
Procession of Peace

19:30    

Piazza del Plebiscito
Final Ceremony

Key-note speeches

Panelists
~~~~~~~~

This as I see it, is still yet another sign of prophecy fulfillment. An establishment of a One World Religion that will occur after we've been raptured.