World Conference on Dialogue Amang Religions and Civilizations:

“The contribution of religion and culture to peace, mutual respekt and cohabitation”

(october 26-28, 2007, Ohrid, Republic of Macedonia)

THERE CAN BE NO TRUE PEACE BETWEEN NATIONS

UNTIL THERE IS PEACE BETWEEN FAITHS.

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            I would like to begin by thanking you for your invitation and by offering warm greetings to the organizers and promoters of this conference especially to the Prime Minister His Excellency Nikola Gruevski.

            To all who are present I offer warm and friendly greetings. This initiative of the Government of Macedonia seems most opportune in this particular historical context. Mutual understanding is really the first,necessary step in securing the harmonious development of dialogue and a collaboration which is both lasting and useful.

            Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI (the sixteenth) clearly affirmed this in his meeting with representatives of some Muslim communities at Cologne on 20^th (twentieth) of August 2005. ”Religious and intercultural dialogue between Christians and Muslims”, he said, ”cannot be reduced to a whim of the moment. It is a vital necessity on which, to a great extent, our future depends.”

A. “The dialogue for peace, a challenge for our time” was the theme for the World Day for Peace in 1983.

            In this message the much respected Pope John Paul II expressed his profound conviction that dialogue-true dialogue-is an essential condition for peace and noted: ”Yes, this dialogue is necessary, not merely suitable, for this time; it is difficult but possible, despite the obstacles and the real situation that must be taken into consideration. It represents a real challenge and I invite you to accept it”. He added

That true dialogue ”presupposes the discovery of what is true,good and just for every man, each group and society as a whole”.

            Dialogue implies respect and respect is more than tolerance. Tolerance is a passive virtue which only recognizes the one with whom we dialogue with his own opinions. Respect is an active virtue….constructive tolerance….

Dialogue, therefore, requires:

1. A real openness and welcome.

2. Respect.

3. An understanding of the difference and the uniqueness of the other.

4. An acceptance of the other and of their diversity.

            Dialogue, at the same time, is the discovery of what is common to all men, even in the midst of tensions, oppositions and conflicts. We can say that true dialogue is the discovery of that which is good by peaceful means; it is the recognition of the inalienable dignity of man and is based on respect for human life.

B. “Dialogue between cultures for a civilization of love and peace” was the theme of the Message for the World Day of Peace in 2001.

            The clear understanding of other cultures, not conditioned by negative prejudices towards them, is an effective way of ensuring that our belonging to a particular culture does not lead to our being enclosed within it.

            Different cultures interpret reality differently. There is certainly a profound connection between them in the fundamental experience of the human condition, in questions arising from birth and death, work, sickness, social injustice, the safeguarding of the planet.

            Dialogue between cultures emerges as a necessity intrinsic to the very nature of man and of culture. It brings about a recognition of the richness of diversity which disposes people to accept each other.It opens up the possibility of an authentic collaboration. It responds to the original vocation to unity of the whole human race. As such, dialogue is a key instrument in realizing the civilization of love and peace that Pope Paul VI indicated was the ideal that should inspire the cultural, social, political and economic life of our time.

C. Believers united in the construction of peace

            In the Sacred Books of different religions, peace occupies a significant place in the treatment of the life of man and his relationship with God. In this context, observes Pope John Paul II, ”a religious life,if it is lived authentically, cannot but produce fruits of peace and fraternity”. We can easily understand the importance of prayer for peace.

            Let us recall, for a moment, the meeting at Assisi on 27^th (twenty-seventh October 1986), when the servant of God John Paul II placed the accent on the value of prayer in the construction of peace because, ”in the first place peace is constructed in hearts. The heart of man is the place where God intervenes”. In an atmosphere of great interest he asked everyone for authentic prayer, accompanied by fasting and expressed in pilgrimage, as a symbol of the journey towards a meeting with God. As he explained, ”prayer brings about,on our part,conversion of heart.”

D. Promotion and respect for Human Rights

            Peace becomes a reality and is strengthened when human rights are respected and observed as they should be.The promotion of the dignity of the human person constitutes the guiding principle that should inspire us when,above all,we seek the common good.

            The Universal Declaration of Human Rights takes as its fundamental affirmation that the recognition of the innate dignity of all members of the human family, as well as the equality and inalienability of their rights, is the basis for freedom, justice and peace in the world. Pope Benedict XVI in his message for the World Day of Peace this year, which took for its theme, ”the human person, the heart of peace”, has reemphasized that the defence of the universality and indivisibility of human rights is essential for the construction of a peaceful society and for the holistic development of individuals, peoples and nations. Among these rights I would like to refer specifically to two; the right to life and the right to religious liberty.

Alongside the right to life the Church places equally the right to religious liberty.

In his message for the World Day of Peace of 1999, John Paul II wrote that “religious liberty constitutes the very heart of human rights. It is so inviolable that it requires a person even to change their religion, if their conscience demands it. Each person must follow their own conscience in every circumstance and may not be constrained to act against it. Precisely for this reason, noone can be required forcibly to accept a particular religion, for whatever reason.”

Conclusion

            The basis for living together and for all dialogue between people must be a readiness to listen and for mutual understanding.

            May this conference contribute to a reciprocal understanding and respect among all who participate. May it help us to become tireless workers for peace in a world where God will not be seen as irrelevant or, worse still, opposed to the happiness of man, but, rather, the true friend of humanity which He gathers under His protection. In the Fatherly embrace of God, the family of man cannot but grow more free, prosperous and happy.

            May I conclude by thanking you all for your attention and recalling the example of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta who lived out the relations between religions and concretely served every man without distinction because every man is in the image of God.

            Mother Teresa said, ”I would be happy if a Buddhist were a good Budhist, a Hindu a good Hindu, a Christian a good Christian, a Moslem a good Moslem”.

            May that which is good always unite us;may we have more human relationships and when we meet each other on our way may we look at each other not as enemies but as friends, even though of different faiths.

Shkodra, 20 October 2007

Mons. Angelo Massafra OFM

Metropolitan Archbishop of Shkodra-Pult

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