St Egidio: remembering 9/11

September 11^th 2011 marks the tenth anniversary of the terror attacks on the United States. More than three thousand people died after planes highjacked by Islamic terrorists slammed into the twin towers in New York, the Pentagon in Washington DC, and a field in Pennsylvania.
It was an event that was to change the course of world history.

The Pope at the time was John Paul II who vigorously rejected claims that the fear and animosity generated by the attacks should lead to a clash of civilizations. Few will forget his impassioned plea – repeated so many times –that the name of God never be used to justify violence!!

In response to the 911 attacks, on January 24, 2002, Pope John Paul organized a World Day of Prayer for Peace, in Assisi. The event followed the initial World Day of Prayer in the same italian hilltown in 1986 and another, while the Balkan war raged, in 1993. Some 200 Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and other leaders of the world’s different faiths came together and denounced the use of violence in God’s name, and rejected the making of religion a cause for conflict in the 21st Century.

The Catholic lay community Sant’Egidio has helped in the organization of these World Days of Prayer for Peace – and similar initiatives around the globe.

The community is planning a meeting of religious and lay people from around the world who will gather in Munich Germany on this year’s anniversary of the 911 attacks to pray for world peace. St. Egidio’s international department chief Mario Giro told VR more about the initiative.
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