In Cyprus, in the hope "our presence will help give a hand to the peace process that is now at a standstill". With these words, Marco Impagliazzo, president of Comunità di Sant’Egidio, explains in an interview with SIR why this year the meeting of religions and culture will be hosted by Cyprus from 15th to 18th November. "Cyprus says Impagliazzo is the only country in Europe to be militarily occupied and still divided by a wall". The Community will bring to the island a number of "effective proposals, such as the restoration of the Christian places of worship in the Turkish side and of the Muslim places of worship in the Greek-Orthodox side; we are also trying to move one of the workshops to the Turkish Cypriot side, and in the final celebration we will propose a gesture of reconciliation. This conflict is not religious, it is only political". In addition, the meeting will take place on the invitation of the Patriarch of Cyprus, Chrysostomos II, a man adds Impagliazzo "who is extremely sensitive and committed to the ecumenical issue". In addition, "the Orthodox Church of Cyprus is one of the sponsors of "Dream", a project for the treatment of Aids we are carrying out in ten African countries. It is a rare, positive example of cooperation between the Catholic and Orthodox Church: there is already a deep bond between the two Churches, even if there is no ecclesiological unity yet".
