Benedict XVI to Open Interreligious Meeting

 

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 2, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI will open the 21st International Encounter of Peoples and Religions, organized by the Catholic lay Sant'Egidio Community and the Archdiocese of Naples.
The Pope will celebrate an opening Mass on Oct. 21, in Naples' Piazza del Plebiscito.
This year's meeting has the theme "Toward a World Without Violence: Religions and Cultures in Dialogue."
The international encounters were inspired by the World Day of Prayer for Peace convened by Pope John Paul II in Assisi in October 1986.
Benedict XVI will meet with participants, including Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I; the Anglican archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams; Israel's chief rabbi, Yona Metzger; and the rector of the Al-Azhar University in Egypt, Ahmad Al-Tayyeb.
A statement from the Rome-based Sant'Egidio Community said, "In an age so marked by terrorism and war, as well as efforts at dialogue and reconciliation, the world’s religions have assumed a relevant role in the public arena."