The patience of dialogue

All religious leaders attending the Meeting promoted by the Community of Sant’Egidio in Cyprus (November 15-18) on “The Culture of Peace: religions and cultures in dialogue” issued a joint declaration stating that “all injustices, all wars, all evil deeds must be uprooted soon” so as that we may all return to be “brothers”, starting from Cyprus “up to the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and extending to the whole world”. After days of workshops, contacts and dialogue the Meeting, conceived as the encounter of peoples and cultures, closed with a final prayer. Under the banner of “unity in diversity”, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists held their prayers in different areas open to everyone. A sign in the sign was the choice of Christians – Orthodox, Lutherans, Calvinists and Reformed – to hold a common prayer. The appeal, undersigned in the square of the Archbishopric in the Old city, reiterates that “no hatred, no conflict, no wall, can resist prayer, the patient love that becomes dialogue and forgiveness”. Since “nothing is lost with dialogue and everything is possible”.United Europe, divided Nicosia. The other main protagonist of this year’s meeting was Orthodox Patriarch Chrysostomos II, archbishop of Cyprus, who made a final appeal to “world humanism” since “here in Cyprus we cannot tolerate injustices and the violation of human rights”. The Patriarch, who had expressed the wish that the Meeting be held in his island, recalled, “while Europe is united, Nicosia is divided by the wall of occupation”. “We have no right to return to our homes”, he claimed. “Patriarch Chrysostomos also mentioned the ethnic separation and colonization policies endorsed by Turkey and the destruction of over 500 Churches. “How can there be peace in these circumstances?” he asked, and appealed to “everyone’s religious sentiments, so that we may reach a state of justice and peace”. Meeting with the negotiators. The “concrete” results of the Meeting include the encounter of the delegation of religious dignitaries who entered the Turkish part of the city on Sunday with two peace negotiators from Cyprus, one representing the Turkish-Cypriot area and the other the Greek-Cypriot area. A “working-track” was thus identified especially addressing the question of the restoration of the religious sites (churches and mosques), since “throughout history, ethnic strife always entailed acts of violence against churches and holy areas”, Andrea Riccardi declared. Ecumenism, path of peace. During the days of the event in Cyprus, participants repeatedly underlined the connection between inter-religious and ecumenical dialogue and peace. During the round table on ecumenism, Setriakor Nyomi, Secretary General of the Reformed Churches Alliance, asked if in a situation marked by “wars and injustices” the church can speak with a “credible” voice since “our divisions are so visible”. Gregorios, Orthodox archbishop of Tiatira and Great Britain, claimed that “there will be no peace until the church is divided” while Theodoros II, pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, underlined: “unity cannot result from compromises and appeasement, nor can it result from the yearning to reach a conclusion or from the imposition of unacceptable decisions.Jews and Catholics. As relates to inter-religious dialogue, Msgr. Ambrogio Spreafico, dean of the Urbaniana Pontifical University, pointed out: “the irreversible achievements of Jewish-Christian dialogue cannot be denied, especially since the Second Vatican Council. Our task is to avoid that faux pas undermine the precious path of reflection undertaken in recent years”. “Our dialogue is unavoidable”, declared Cardinal Theodore Edgar Mc Carrick, bishop emeritus of Washington, since “for most of our history we have been spiritually one”. Europe and Islam. Also dialogue with Islam is crucial, as Msgr. Guy Harpigny said, bishop of Tournai (Belgium), given that according to “the latest 2008 survey, a third of Brussels’ population is Muslim. This means that in 2015, half of Brussels’ population will be Muslim”. “Politicians – the bishop declared – are starting to be aware of this, not without concerns”. Starting from this assumption, the bishop referred to the rejection of “the Christian roots of the Continent” on the part of a number European representatives, in view of the redaction of the Constitutional treatise, and guarded against the risk of “ascribing to the Muslim religion only, the responsibility of manifesting that each religion has a public impact on social life”.