Catholic World News News Feature

Pope tells reporters: inter-faith cooperation is key to peace May 08, 2009

In an exchange with reporters who accompanied him on the plane flight from Rome to Amman, Jordan on May 8, Pope Benedict XVI said that the best reliable route toward peace in the troubled Middle East is the path of interfaith dialogue.

While he reiterated his statement that he was traveling to the Holy Land as a pilgrim, not as a diplomat or political activist, the Holy Father said that he hoped nonetheless to make "a concrete contribution to the peace process." He would make that contribution, he continued, through his efforts to build bridges to people of all faiths. In answer to separate questions about the relations between the Church and the Jewish and Islamic worlds, the Pope said that mutual understanding and respect is essential to the process through which the different parties involved in conflict can recognize each other's legitimate aspirations.

Speaking more specifically about how his pilgrimage could advance the peace process, the Pope said that he would rely on three things:

First, the Pope said, he would pray, and call others to pray as well-- thus opening hearts to divine guidance and encouraging a humble recognition of God's sovereignty.

Second, he said, he would challenge the consciences of all people of good will, urging them to rally against injustice and oppression wherever they found it.

Third, he concluded, he would appeal to the reason of all parties, insisting that they approach their problems logically and acknowledge their duty to resolve conflicts by negotiation rather than force. Through reason, he added, leaders of different faiths could find common ground. He suggested that the three great monotheistic religions could build upon their shared roots in the Old Testament.