” “"A long history of collaboration among the different religions, in many fields of public life": it is the characteristic of the United States of America which Pope Benedict XVI recalled while he talked to different religious exponents during the interreligious meeting taking place at the Rotunda Room of the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington yesterday afternoon. "In urban areas pointed out the Pope , the people with different religions and cultural backgrounds use to commit themselves one beside the other, every day, in trading, social and educational environments. Today, in classrooms all over the country, young Christians, Hebrews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and children of all religions are sitting side by side, learning together and from each other". Encouraging "all the religious groups in America to go on collaborating and thus enriching public life with the spiritual values", stimulating their actions: Benedict XVI underlined how that diversity generated "new challenges, which aroused a deepest reflection on the fundamental principles of a democratic society". "A united society he stated may derive from numerous peoples, provided that all of them acknowledge religious freedom as a fundamental civil right". (To be continued)
