Christians and Muslims Called by God to Work Together

(06 Nov 08 - RV) The three day forum on Catholic-Muslim dialogue has ended, with delegates signing a joint declaration on “Love of God and Love of Neighbour” Thursday afternoon at the Pontifical Gregorian University...

Earlier in the day Pope Benedict XVI met with the group of Catholic and Muslim scholars in the Vatican where he emphasised the global interest generated by the seminar and praised its emphasis on the Dignity of the Human Person and Mutual respect between the two religions.



Despite their theological differences, Christians and Muslims are called by God to work together in promoting respect for human dignity and upholding fundamental human rights. That was the heart of Pope Benedict’s message on Thursday to participants at a three day seminar organised by the new Catholic-Muslim forum here in the Vatican. Some two dozen Muslim scholars have been meeting with a similar number of Catholic experts to discuss the theme ‘Love of God, Love of Neighbour: the dignity of the human person and mutual respect:
“I was pleased to learn that you were able at this meeting to adopt a common position on the need to worship God totally and to love our fellow men and women disinterestedly, especially those in distress and need. God calls us to work together on behalf of the victims of disease, hunger, poverty, injustice and violence. For Christians, the love of God is inseparably bound to the love of our brothers and sisters, of all men and women, without distinction of race and culture”.
In his words to participants in the Catholic-Muslim forum, Pope Benedict said respecting and defending life as a gift from God must form the common ground for building a more fraternal world in which confrontations are peacefully settled and the devastating power of ideologies is neutralised:
“My hope, once again, is that these fundamental human rights will be protected for all people everywhere. Political and religious leaders have the duty of ensuring the free exercise of these rights in full respect for each individual’s freedom of conscience and freedom of religion. The discrimination and violence which even today religious people experience throughout the world, and the often violent persecutions to which they are subject, represent unacceptable and unjustifiable acts, all the more grave and deplorable when they are carried out in the name of God. God’s name can only be a name of peace and fraternity, justice and love. We are challenged to demonstrate, by our words and above all by our deeds, that the message of our religions is unfailingly a message of harmony and mutual understanding”
In conclusion, Pope Benedict said failure to overcome past prejudices and promote a message of peace and harmony will weaken the credibility and effectiveness not only of interfaith dialogue but also of religions themselves.