ecumenism and dialogue " "
Violence does not take place “outside” our daily life, our schools, communities and families. “We have to live with this violence every day, we suffer it, we are eye-witnesses of it”. So Christians must commit themselves to becoming promoters of “social links” wherever they live their daily life. The point was made by Jean-Arnold de Clermont, president of the Protestant Federation of France, on the conclusion of the “assizes” promoted every four years by the French Protestant Churches as a forum for dialogue and reflection. This year the meeting was held in Clermont-Ferrand on the theme “Overcoming violence”. It was attended by 300 delegates representing 17 churches and 78 Protestant associations. The President of the Federation invited the delegates to recognize the “violence that exists inside us” so that we may become “forces of mediation” and help heal the rifts of society with “projects of reconciliation”. In a message, the president of the World Council of Churches, Samuel Kobia, wrote: “Today peace seems a distant goal; violence surrounds us. We who are men of good will and believers cannot however be discouraged: it is still possible to believe in the power and promise of peace”. In their final declaration, the Protestant Churches indicate as privileged fields of action those armed conflicts in which religions are implicated, and recommend that projects be developed at the local level that may facilitate and permit understanding of other religions.
