POPE CONDEMNS HATE AND VIOLENCE IN THE NAME OF GOD AND RELIGION
"To
hate no man."
St Benedict, Rule No 4
"No
religion is from God which contradicts our sense of
right and wrong"
Card. Newman
NAPLES,
Italy, OCT. 21, 2007 (Compiled from various news
sources):
Pope Benedict
XVI urged the world's religious leaders not to allow
God's name to be used to justify violence.
"Faced with a world lacerated by conflicts," the Holy
Father said, "where at times violence is justified in
the name of God, it is important to re-emphasize that
religion can never be a vehicle of hate; never, in
the name of God, can we justify evil and violence."
"On the contrary," he added, "because they speak of
peace to the human heart, religions can offer
precious resources for building a peaceful humanity."
"In 2002, after the dramatic events of Sept. 11 of
the previous year, the same John Paul II again called
religious leaders to Assisi to ask God to stop the
grave threats to humanity that were looming,
especially because of terrorism.
"In respect of the differences of the various
religions, we are all called to work for peace and to
an active commitment to promote reconciliation
between peoples. It is this authentic 'spirit of
Assisi' which is opposed to every form of violence
and abuse of religion as a pretext for violence."
The pope's statements coincided with a three-day
meeting of religious leaders from around the world on
the role of religion and culture in creating a
violence-free world.
In attendance were Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I,
the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Israel's
chief rabbi Yona Metzger and the imam of the United
Arab Emirates, Ibrahim Ezzeddin.
