"Terrorism, whatever its origin, is a wicked and cruel choice, which tramples on the sacred right of life and undermines the very foundations of any civil coexistence". "Together, Christians and Muslims, we have to rise up to the many challenges that our time is throwing at us". This was said this afternoon by Benedict XVI, as he met, in the archbishop’s palace in Cologne, about ten delegates from some Muslim communities of Germany (unabridged text), where about 3.2 million Muslims live, 2 million of whom have Turkish origins. "If together we manage to eradicate from the hearts this grudging feeling this is one of the most important challenges the Pope spoke of to oppose to any form of intolerance and to fight any manifestation of violence, we will curb the wave of cruel fanaticism that endangers so many people’s lives, hindering the peace process in the world. The task is awesome but not impossible. A believer knows he can rely, despite his weakness, on the spiritual strength of prayer". The Pope highlighted, "one concern is generated by the realisation of the rampant phenomenon of terrorism", which sows "death and destruction, plunging many of our brothers and sisters into grief and desperation": "The authors and the planners of these bombings he noted prove that they want to poison our relations, in any possible way, including religion, to oppose to all efforts towards a peaceful, fair and serene coexistence". (to be continued)” “
