The ‘4th International Meeting of Catholics and Shiites - "facing the challenges of the contemporary world’ has just been held in Rome, reviewing ten years of dialogue promoted by the Community of Sant'Egidio and the Imam Al-Khoei Institute.
Four years have passed since Pope Francis' visit to Iraq and the historic meeting with Ayatollah al-Sistani in the holy city of Najaf, as recalled by the Secretary General of the Imam Al-Khoei Institute, Jawad Al-Khoei, who also observed: ’Ten years ago we ambitiously raised the question: can the seed of dialogue bear fruit? Looking back over the years, we can see the success of this collaboration for peace in various fields'.
The conference, opened with a tribute to the recently died Cardinal Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, former Prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, saw the participation of scholars from Italy and Iraq, but also from Kuwait, Lebanon and Pakistan. During the inaugural session, Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, Prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, invited everyone to ‘walk together, building an alliance between young and old’, aware that ‘the values of all religions are based on peace’. The founder of the Community of Sant'Egidio, Andrea Riccardi, underlined that peace is at the very heart of the religious message: ‘Religious communities are, for the world of men and women, true reservoirs of humanity. The moral reasons which kindle the imagination of peace and which support the commitment to expand the culture of living together are preserved in the treasure chests of their faith and their wisdom’.
The four sessions covered a range of topics: faith and peace building, sacred texts and the construction of a new humanism, religions and cultures in the face of globalisation. Among others, Abu Al-Qasim Dibaji, secretary general of the World Pan-Islamic Jurisprudence, expressed the need for religions to speak ‘an inclusive language that reflects our search for justice and tolerance’. The president of the Community of Sant'Egidio, Marco Impagliazzo, underlined the importance of the spirit of Assisi and of Pope Francis' meeting with Ayatollah al-Sistani in Najaf , which was made possible thanks to the ongoing dialogue between Shiites and Catholics. He emphasised that “no war is holy, only peace is holy”.
During the conference, special thoughts were addressed to Pope Francis. A prayer vigil was organised for him on Thursday 27th February in the basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere, which was also attended by Shia religious representatives in an atmosphere of great respect.
