Vatican launches public dialogue with atheists

(25 March, 2011) The Vatican launched a series of public dialogues with non-believers on Thursday, choosing leading intellectual institutions in Paris, France, to present its belief that modern societies must speak more openly about God. The decision to start the series in France, where strong secularism has pushed faith to the fringes of the public sphere, reflects Pope Benedict XVI's goal of bringing religious questions back into the mainstream of civic debates. The dialogues, called "Courtyard of the Gentiles" after the part of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem where Jews and non-Jews engaged in debates and dialogue, will continue in at least 16 cities in Europe and North America over the next two years. Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, the president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Culture, told participants at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) the dialogue was meant not to confront believers and atheists but to seek common ground. Rather it was "an invitation to non-believers ... to start a voyage with believers through the desert," he said. The meeting was due to continue on Friday with sessions at the Sorbonne university and the Institut de France, home of the prestigious Academie Francaise. The discussions are due to end on Friday evening with a youth rally outside Notre Dame Cathedral highlighted by a video address by the pope from Rome. Further dialogue meetings are planned in Italy, Albania, Sweden, Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, Spain, Russia and the United States.