Neo
26-Apr-2005, 12:23 PM
Pope lauds progress in Muslim dialogue
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,15086044%255E401,00.html
By Denis Barnett in Vatican City
25apr05
POPE Benedict XVI has welcomed the progress in inter-faith dialogue between Christians and Muslims, saying the Catholic Church wants to continue "building bridges of friendship" with all other religions.
The new leader of the Catholic Church, inaugurated as the 265th pope on Sunday, was speaking after he received leaders of other faiths in the first private audience of his pontificate.
He said he particularly wanted to recognise the presence of the Muslim community at his inaugural mass.
"I am particularly grateful for the presence in our midst of members of the Muslim community, and I express my appreciation for the growth of dialogue between Muslims and Christians, both at the local and international level," the Pope said.
"I assure you that the Church wants to continue building bridges of friendship with the followers of all religions, in order to seek the true good of every person and of society as a whole."
Shortly afterwards, the Pope, 78, asked pilgrims from his native Germany for their "understanding" if he made mistakes, asking for their help and trust as he began his pontificate.
"Let's walk together," he said as he addressed a rapturous crowd of 5000 pilgrims in his mother tongue during his first public audience as Pope.
"I trust in your help and I ask your understanding if I make mistakes, as happens to every man. I ask you to give me your trust."
Earlier, in his private audience with the leaders of other religions and Christian churches, he said the world "earnestly longs for peace, peace which is above all a gift from God, peace for which we must pray without ceasing", even though it was often marked by violence and war.
Peace was a "duty to which all peoples must be committed, especially those who profess to belong to religious traditions", the Pope said.
"Our efforts to come together and foster dialogue are a valuable contribution to building peace on solid foundations."
The Pope said it was "imperative to engage in authentic and sincere dialogue built on respect for the dignity of every human person created, as we Christians firmly believe, in the image and likeness of God".
He used the homily at his inaugural mass to issue a clarion call for Christian unity.
Among those he met today was the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the spiritual head of the 77-million-strong Anglican Communion, and Primate of the Church of England.
In a sermon at a eucharist in All Saints Church in Rome on Sunday night, the archbishop said it was God's wish "that we be one".
But he acknowledged that reconciliation, much less reunion, was not something that could be expected to happen overnight, whatever the good will.
Even if Christians could not see a "final horizon" on their journey, he warned against giving up.
The Anglican Communion grew out of the Church of England, as national churches sprang up in the footsteps of the British empire.
There are now 38 such churches around the world.
The Church of England, as it is commonly known, split from Rome in the 16th century.
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,15086044%255E401,00.html
By Denis Barnett in Vatican City
25apr05
POPE Benedict XVI has welcomed the progress in inter-faith dialogue between Christians and Muslims, saying the Catholic Church wants to continue "building bridges of friendship" with all other religions.
The new leader of the Catholic Church, inaugurated as the 265th pope on Sunday, was speaking after he received leaders of other faiths in the first private audience of his pontificate.
He said he particularly wanted to recognise the presence of the Muslim community at his inaugural mass.
"I am particularly grateful for the presence in our midst of members of the Muslim community, and I express my appreciation for the growth of dialogue between Muslims and Christians, both at the local and international level," the Pope said.
"I assure you that the Church wants to continue building bridges of friendship with the followers of all religions, in order to seek the true good of every person and of society as a whole."
Shortly afterwards, the Pope, 78, asked pilgrims from his native Germany for their "understanding" if he made mistakes, asking for their help and trust as he began his pontificate.
"Let's walk together," he said as he addressed a rapturous crowd of 5000 pilgrims in his mother tongue during his first public audience as Pope.
"I trust in your help and I ask your understanding if I make mistakes, as happens to every man. I ask you to give me your trust."
Earlier, in his private audience with the leaders of other religions and Christian churches, he said the world "earnestly longs for peace, peace which is above all a gift from God, peace for which we must pray without ceasing", even though it was often marked by violence and war.
Peace was a "duty to which all peoples must be committed, especially those who profess to belong to religious traditions", the Pope said.
"Our efforts to come together and foster dialogue are a valuable contribution to building peace on solid foundations."
The Pope said it was "imperative to engage in authentic and sincere dialogue built on respect for the dignity of every human person created, as we Christians firmly believe, in the image and likeness of God".
He used the homily at his inaugural mass to issue a clarion call for Christian unity.
Among those he met today was the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the spiritual head of the 77-million-strong Anglican Communion, and Primate of the Church of England.
In a sermon at a eucharist in All Saints Church in Rome on Sunday night, the archbishop said it was God's wish "that we be one".
But he acknowledged that reconciliation, much less reunion, was not something that could be expected to happen overnight, whatever the good will.
Even if Christians could not see a "final horizon" on their journey, he warned against giving up.
The Anglican Communion grew out of the Church of England, as national churches sprang up in the footsteps of the British empire.
There are now 38 such churches around the world.
The Church of England, as it is commonly known, split from Rome in the 16th century.