The meeting "Catholics and Shiites Facing the Future", the third international conference organised by the Community of Sant'Egidio together with the Al-Khoei Institute of Najaf, the holy city of the Shiite world, ended on March 9th at the the Chaldean Patriarchate in Baghdad, welcomed by Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako.
" It meant opening a path to overcome the globalisation of indifference. Religions can play a great role to reach and achieve the globalisation of love that overcomes conflicts, creates dialogue and new spaces of humanity in the world". As Marco Impagliazzo says in the video interview we publish on this page.
Fraternity, prayer, poor and peace among the themes of reference of this new stage in the friendship between Catholics and Shiites that is part of a journey that began in January 2004. Then a delegation of Sant'Egidio invited to Najaf by Shiite religious in the spirit of Assisi met the Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani. Pope Francis has sent him a personal message delivered by Cardinal Ayuso to relaunch the themes of their meeting two years ago.
Andrea Riccardi, referring also to Pope Francis' message sent to "Dear Brother" Al Sistani for this occasion, recalled the challenges that believers can face together in this spirit of fraternity: "the war in Ukraine, climate change, religious extremism, terrorism. We have not come together for a dogmatic fusion", concluded the founder of Sant'Egidio, "but for an act of co-responsibility".
INSIGHTS:
Dialogue, fraternity, prospects for peace in Iraq (Osservatore Romano) (IT)
