Pope Benedict XVI will meet today with leaders of several of the world’s main religions on the sidelines of their annual gathering in Naples for an inter-faith peace summit.The pope is making a pastoral visit to the impoverished southern Italian city at the same time as the summit organised by the Sant’Egidio community, in what the lay Catholic association called a "happy coincidence."
The pontiff will meet with the heads of the delegations to the summit including include 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.
The encounter follows an open letter to Benedict and other Christian figures from 138 Muslim leaders urging the two faiths to "come to a common word between us."
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the pontifical council for inter-religious affairs, termed the October 11 letter a "positive initiative" in an interview published Friday by the French daily La Croix.
"What especially struck me was that, perhaps for the first time, a text signed by Muslims presents the Jesus of the Gospels with citations from the New Testament and not the Koran," Tauran said.
He also was heartened by the fact that the letter was signed by both Sunni and Shiite religious leaders.
Benedict has repeatedly stressed his commitment to "open and sincere dialogue" with followers of other religions, even if he set opinion in the Muslim world aflame with a September 2006 speech in which he appeared to link Islam to violence.
He helped quell much of the outrage with a visit to Istanbul’s Blue Mosque, when he faced Mecca and assumed a classic Muslim prayer position standing alongside Grand Mufti Mustafa Cagrici.
The pope is to celebrate an open-air mass in Naples’ main piazza, to be shown on giant screens around the city for the expected spillover crowd.
The three-day Sant’Egidio summit has the theme, "For a World Without Violence: Religions and Cultures in Dialogue," and is expected to draw more than 200 delegates.
The Tanzanian and Malawian presidents, Jakaya Mikwete and Bingu Wa Mutharika, will be among the speakers, with topics to include AIDS, immigration, conflict resolution in the Middle East and the overall plight of the African continent. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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