Israeli government sources claim Francis is apparently thinking of
calling a meeting between leaders and faithful of the world’s three
biggest monotheistic religions, in Rome, to launch a message of peace,
countering violence and the use of God’s name to justify hatred and
terrorist acts.
The sources say the Pope announced his intentions
during an Audience on April 30, but there was no mention of this in the
communique the Holy See’s issued after the Audience.
President
Shimon Peres of Israel “told the pope that there are people who use
God’s name to justify terrorism” and religious leaders should “say out
loud that God did not give anyone permission to kill their neighbor.”
According
to the information contained in a summary of the Audience received by
the Israeli government, Francis told Peres he “whole-heartedly
supported” his appeal against violence and that “he wanted to promote a
meeting between religious leaders and faithful of the three major
religions” founded by Abraham, “in Rome”.
The aim would be to “make
people see” that the religions “oppose violence and terrorism.”
If
these statements were indeed made during the Audience, it looks like
the pope is thinking about possible peace initiatives that would be
restricted to the world’s three major monotheistic faiths.
It
would not be an interreligious meeting involving all faiths, like the
Assisi gatherings organised by John Paul II and then by Benedict XVI in
2011.
Readers will remember that in January 2002, just a few months
after the 9/11 attacks in the United States, Pope John Paul II convened a
special meeting of religions in Assisi, in order to make it crystal
clear that in no way could violence and terrorism be justified on
theological grounds.
But in Israel, there are those who would
like religions to nudge politicians to come up with viable solutions to
the conflict in the Middle East.
Rabbi David Rosen, president of
the International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ, has asked the
pope to help leaders of the Jewish and Muslim religions to promote an
initiative for peace in the Holy Land.
Speaking to a group of
Italian journalists, Rosen suggested the pope convene a meeting between
the Holy Land’s religious leaders, in Jerusalem, to pray for peace in
the region.
“2015 could be a perfect time to do this as it will
mark the fiftieth anniversary of the promulgation of “Nostra Aetate”,
the Second Vatican Council declaration on the Relation of the Church
with Non-Christian Religions.
Rosen said an initiative like this was important because it would “boost political efforts to resolve conflicts in the region.”