Pope Benedict XVI will meet Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu leaders during his visit to Australia in July, organisers said Wednesday.The leader of the Roman Catholic church will speak with about 40 representatives from other faiths while in Sydney for World Youth Day, a six-day celebration of the Catholic faith aimed at young people.
Coordinator Bishop Anthony Fisher said the meeting was in keeping with the inclusive aims of World Youth Day, which he said was not just for Catholics, despite the fact it was hosted by the church.
"But like so much the church does... it seeks to serve all-comers," he said.
Fisher said many World Youth Day events would be open to non-Catholics and care had been taken that a reenactment of the last moments of Jesus Christ's life, including his death, did not arouse anti-semitic feelings.
"We're very conscious of the fear some people might have that enacting the Passion of Christ could incite anti-semitic feelings and so we've had a long dialogue about how we can minimise any risk of that," Fisher said.
"We want to make it very clear to people that the Passion of Christ... celebrated in the stations of the cross is not intended to be, is no excuse for being, an attack on anybody."
Fisher said the pope would also meet leaders from other Christian traditions including the Anglican, Protestant, Orthodox, Lutheran, Presbyterian and Eastern Rite churches during his July 15-20 visit.
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