” “"We need such pedagogy more than ever", went on the Pope, "in the areas of the world affected by conflicts, where men are raised to feel hatred and revenge, in ideological settings in which the seeds of ancient grudges are cultivated and the souls are prepared to future violence. Such barriers must be pulled down and exchanges must be promoted". However, not to fall into "syncretistic interpretations, based on relativistic concepts", and "steer clear of inappropriate misunderstandings", "prayer must be carried out according to those different paths that belong to each religion": "The convergence of the different highlighted the Pope must not give the impression of giving in to that relativism which denies the sense of truth and the possibility of drawing on it". Then, the Holy Father mentioned Saint Francis, "the beacon of all those who, even today, cultivate the ideal of peace, of the respect of nature, of dialogue among people, among religions and cultures". However, it is important to remember, went on the Pope, that it was "Christ’s radical choice" that gave Francis "the key to understand the brotherhood to which all men are called". Then, Benedict XVI recalled that this year, as well as being the 20th anniversary of the initiative of the prayer for peace launched by John Paul II, "is also the eight hundredth anniversary of Saint Francis’s conversion".” “
