The Mediterranean for peace ” “

“A year after 11 September”. That’s the title adopted by the French bishops for a statement released yesterday, a year after the terrorist attacks on the USA to reiterate their “unconditional condemnation of every form of terrorism”. The text, signed by Archbishop Jean-Pierre Ricard of Bordeaux and president of the French Episcopal Conference, also denounces the causes of such “unjustifiable” terrorist acts: “The gap between the rich and poor countries has grown still wider. Combating poverty is one of the means of overcoming the terrorist temptation. The defence of the common good should be understood as the defence of the common good of the whole world and particularly of those deprived of the minimum resources”. In the struggle against terrorism, conclude the French bishops, “the true winners will only be those who work for peace, justice and reconciliation”. This conviction also inspires the interreligious colloquium on the theme “Dialogue and truth”, now being held in Marseilles (until 13 September); the host city is in the frontline in the dialogue with Islam. The meeting is organized by the Institute of sciences and theology of religions (ISTR) in collaboration with the international Federation of Catholic universities (FLUC). Not only a secular State. “A year after the events of 11 September, the work of the ISTR, hitherto devoted exclusively to the ecclesial sphere, is also calling into question the public authorities”. So says Father Jean-Marc Aveline, founder and director of the institute, in presenting the interreligious colloquium. “France, a secular State – continues Father Aveline – cannot exclude the religious question from its political agenda”. That’s why, in the view of the Institute’s director, “the ISTR, building on its own experience in the field of interreligious dialogue and on its conventions with the universities of Rabat (Morocco) and Beirut (Lebanon), is proud to be able to welcome to this meeting personalities of the Catholic Church, such as Cardinal Roger Etchegaray and Bishop Michael Fitzgerald, of the Protestant and Orthodox churches, such as the theologians Marc Boss and Georges Contogeorgis, the rabbi of Nimes, Philippe Haddad, exponents of the Islamic and Buddhist communities, and also representatives of the European institutions, such as Gérard de Puymége, director of the Mediterranean Programme of Unesco, and French minister of health, Jean-François Mattéi”. An observatory for peace. “Creating a Euro-Mediterranean observatory for peace”. That, in Father Aveline’s view, is the main objective of the meeting. “Interreligious dialogue – he explains – is not only a means of theological, philosophical and ideological debate, but especially a process that fosters the interaction of persons, groups and institutions”. This year’s meeting, benefiting from its collaboration with the international Federation of Catholic universities, may give a multi-disciplinary perspective to dialogue. It is just this new approach that could give rise to another project, no less ambitious: the establishment of a pilot project that would foster relations between all the religions of the planet. The organizers, moreover, intend to stress “the commitment that religions can make to peace and justice in the world. That’s why the meeting will conclude with the reading of the Charter for peace and with a symbolic gesture for peace by the children of Marseilles and the representatives of the Mediterranean countries”. Marseilles, laboratory of dialogue. Holding the interreligious colloquium in Marseilles was not a casual choice. First, ISTR itself is based in the Frrench city. Marseilles, euro-mediterranean metropolis, represents, moreover, a unique laboratory: it’s a city of exchange, of inter-ethnic dialogue, of a plurality of confessions. So – as Father Aveline recalls – “when Archbishop Emeritus Coffy of Marseilles closed the local seminary in 1991, he asked me to organize another centre of formation that could draw on the city’s confessional multiplicity. It was then that I proposed the creation of a university institute whose principal objective would be to promote dialogue and reciprocal understanding between the religions”. At the present tine ISTR forms part of the Catholic University of Lyons and has four separate departments: licence in theology, ongoing formation, interreligious studies, research and publication. It has over 350 fully-enrolled students and, during its conferences and courses of formation, hosts over 1400 people. Maryvonne Gasse – Paris