European Jewish Press
‘Violence is always a defeat for all of us’
ROME (AFP)-October 24, 2007- Violence committed in God’s name is "blasphemy," dignitaries of the world’s main religions said as they wrapped up a "peace summit" in Naples on Tuesday
"We can say with more emphasis than before that whoever uses God’s name to hate others, to commit violent acts, to make war, blasphemes the name of God," the some 300 Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist and Hindu leaders and political figures said in a joint declaration.
The three-day summit on the theme "A World Without Violence: Faiths and Cultures in Dialogue," is an annual event organised by the Rome-based lay Catholic community Sant’Egidio.
Topics this year included AIDS, immigration, the plight of Africa and the quest for peace in the Middle East.
"As (Pope) Benedict XVI told us (on Sunday): ’Never, evoking the name of God can one justify evil and violence’," the statement said.
The pope addressed the inter-faith meeting while on a pastoral visit to the southern Italian city on Sunday, calling on them to "promote reconciliation among peoples ... with respect for the differences among various religions."
Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I, the Ashkenazi great rabbi of Israel Yona Metzger, imam Ibrahim Ezzedin of the United Arab Emirates, Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams and the head of the Ecumenical Council of Churches Samuel Kobia attended, as well as several Catholic cardinals.
Before parting ways on Tuesday, the delegations prayed separately at various venues in Naples, then took part in a "peace procession" attended by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano.
In the declaration, they said violence was a "contagious disease" that "takes the form of war, terrorism, poverty and despair, and exploitation of the planet."
Violence "strikes innocents (and) disfigures humanity," they said, adding that "violence is always a defeat for all of us."
Sant’Egidio’s next inter-faith summit will take place in Cyprus, the organisers said.