ecumenism and dialogue" "
The European Council of Religious Leaders (ECRL), European branch of the World Council of Religions for Peace, has also taken a position on the law recently approved in France that prohibits the display of religious signs in public places. “Wearing religious dress and ornaments ought not to be considered a threat to the principles of secularism of any State”. “Such a ban says the ECRL jeopardizes the individual freedom to practice a religion and is therefore a violation of universal human rights”. These affirmations of principle are contained in the final message that the religious leaders issued at the end of a meeting held in Louvain, in Belgium, from 7 to 11 November. The participants included representatives of the Jewish communities (including the Grand Rabbi of Paris Sirat), Muslims (including Professor Tariq Ramadan), Sikhs, Buddhists and Christians: among the Orthodox exponents was also Metropolitan Kirill from Moscow, while Cardinals Puljic of Sarajevo and Danneels of Brussels were among the Catholic participants. The religious leaders had a series of meetings with representatives of the European Commission, Council of Europe and the UNO. In their final communiqué, the representatives of the various religions welcome the enlargement of Europe to 10 new member states, but ask to be taken into greater consideration by the authorities of the European institutions. “The European Union says the message has a need for partners of civil society” if the process of integration is to have success, and the European Council of Religious Leaders represents a composite reality of “churches, mosques, synagogues and temples” and as such can help the EU to “better understand the religious feelings prevalent in the various regions and traditions of Europe”. The final message of the meeting in Louvain also contains a strong condemnation of “recent acts of violence in Europe, including murders, and any act of violence. Violence committed in the name of religion is violence against religion and hatred expressed in the name of God is hatred against God”. The representatives of religions also express great concern about the growth of anti-Semitism, islamophobia and other expressions of racism in Europe, asking religious communities to “make greater efforts to combat racism through programmes of education and cultural exchanges between youth”. A lot of discussion at the Louvain meeting was also devoted to the situation in south-east Europe; the Interreligious Councils of Bosnia and Herzegoviana and Kosovo were encouraged to continue their efforts to heal the wounds caused by the war and build a just peace.
