PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version: nian.htm
THE APPEAL OF ST. EGIDIO CONFERENCE
NAPLES, ITALY
OCTOBER 23, 2007
Men and women of different religions, from many parts of the world, we have
gathered here in Naples to forge bonds of brotherhood, and call to God for
the great gift of peace. The name of God is peace.
In the heart of the Mediterranean Sea and in this extraordinary city, which
is well acquainted with poverty and greatness of heart, we stooped down upon
the wounds of the world. There is an illness that pollutes every thing and
its name is violence. Violence is the grim daily companion of too many men
and women on our planet. Violence becomes war, terrorism, poverty and
despair, exploitation of our planet. It is fuelled by contempt, it stuns
people with hatred, it kills hope and sows fear, it strikes down the
innocent, and debases humanity. Violence seduces the hearts of human beings
and tells them, "nothing can change". This pessimism makes people believe
that living together is impossible.
>From Naples we can say, stronger than before, that anyone who uses the name
of God to hate the other, to practice violence, or to wage war, is cursing
the name of God.
As Benedict XVI told us, "Never can evil and violence be justified by
invoking the name of God".
We focused on our diverse religious traditions, we heard the sorrow of the
South of the World, and we felt the burden of pessimism rising from the 20th
century with its weight of war and shattered illusions. We need the strength
that comes from the spirit of love, which helps rebuild and mend the unity
of humankind. The power of the spirit changes the hearts of men and women
and transforms history.
In the depths of our religious traditions we have discovered that a world
without dialogue is a world without hope, where people are fated to fear
each other. Dialogue does not cancel differences. Dialogue enriches life and
dispels pessimism that makes one see the other as a threat. Dialogue is not
the illusion of the weak, it is the wisdom of the strong, who rely on the
weak power of prayer. And prayer changes the world and the destiny of
humankind. Dialogue weakens no-one’s identity, and it encourages everyone to
see the best in the other. Nothing is lost with dialogue, everything is
possible through dialogue.
To those who still kill, to those who still sow terrorism and wage war in
the name of God, we say: "Stop! Do not kill! Violence is always a defeat".
We commit ourselves to learn the art of living together and to offer it to
our fellow believers. There is no alternative to the unity of the human
family. We need brave builders, in all cultures, and in all religious
traditions. We need the globalization of the spirit, which reveals to us
what we no longer see: the beauty of life and of the other, in all
circumstances, even the hardest.
Our religious traditions teach us that prayer is an active power in history,
and it moves peoples and nations. Humbly, we offer this ancient wisdom to
the service of all peoples, of every man and every woman, to open a new era
of freedom from fear and contempt for the other. It is the spirit of Assisi,
and here, from Naples, full of courage and strength, it challenges violence
and any abuse of religion as a pretext for violence.
Following in this path, confident that peace can be a gift to the whole
world, we commit ourselves to the Most High.