RIMINI (ITALIA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Since 7 October, after the Hamas attack on Israel, the Holy Land has been devastated by a conflict so profound that reconciliation appears like a utopia. This was one of the issues addressed during the inaugural meeting of the 45th Meeting for Friendship between Peoples, in Rimini.
The President of the Meeting Foundation for Friendship among Peoples, Bernhard Scholz discussed the latest developments with Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. “We are in a decisive moment for dialogue. I hope that with the ongoing negotiations we will arrive at something, I have my doubts, but it is the last train” to reach a ceasefire, said Cardinal Pizzaballa. “What is happening in Gaza is something never seen before, it has an impact on feelings that were already there, but have now become common language. There is this inability to recognize each other’s existence and this refusal has become something that is experienced every day. It is something dramatic. The war will end, but rebuilding from hatred and mistrust will require enormous effort,” he added.
“Today inter-religious dialogue is in crisis,” underlined the cardinal. “The representatives of religions find it difficult to talk to each other, at least in a public way.” “At this moment we are unable to meet,” he continued. “Over the years, inter-religious dialogue has produced very important documents, and what has been done so far should not be thrown away, but a lot of work will have to be done, provided that in the future the dialogue should be less elite and look more at real situations and the communities”.
“We need to relate,” he underlined, “and this by accepting each other for who we are. The impression is that we have returned to being islands, but we need to look up and understand that we are not islands”. “Never in the history of our humanity have cultural, social, technological and political changes been as pervasive and accelerated as the changes we are experiencing in this historical moment. But how is it possible to face these changes without naively accessing their fascinating but ambiguous aspects? How is it possible to build peace in the midst of such atrocious and ongoing wars? These questions led us to choose the title of the Meeting”, underlined Scholz as he opened the Meeting, which this year has the theme, “If we are not looking for the essential, then what are we looking for?” We must “rediscover what is essential, what allows us to be free, in solidarity with any authority and power”, he added.
“We hope that peace can be found to silence the weapons, and we hope that diplomacy helps at an international level. However, the fundamental theme remains: how to reconcile peoples; above all we talk about this in the Meeting, that is, creating moments of meeting and reconciliation and hopefully also forgiveness that will allow people to build a different future together. This is the most important part in building peace and we will talk about this at the Meeting”, Scholz explained to Italpress on the sidelines of the first day of the event.
“The challenges are to understand what is changing in the economy, in culture, in politics, in social life, we must then find a way to address the problems that arise. What is the possibility of creating an economy that serves the common good? What are the criteria with which we try to educate our children so that they can face the many issues of the future? What is the possibility of creating a welfare system that serves the good of everyone? Because the essential thing that this Meeting talks about is not a reduction to some necessary remnants, but to take all opportunities we have to create in the future”, he continued.
“The theme of this edition expresses the cultural roots of the Meeting by offering an open look at the extraordinary transformations we are experiencing. We want to search for the essential, just as global flows of information are becoming swollen rivers, while technological sciences show us solutions that were unimaginable until yesterday, while opportunities offered to single people once again suggest the fallacious flattery of the omnipotence of mankind”, said the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, in his message to Scholz at the opening of the Meeting. “And yet, faced with so many new opportunities for humanity, we experience first-hand horror, the atrocities and the escalation of wars, the desire for domination, with a dramatic return to the past. Feelings of fear, mistrust, sometimes indifference, not infrequently resentment and hatred, resurface,” continued Mattarella. “For this reason, it is essential to put the person back at the centre. The desire for life and fullness, in the relationship with the community. Because the essential thing does not lie in an isolated, separate, self-sufficient self, but in the encounter with the others, in the discovery of the truths brought by the others, and thus, walking together towards tomorrow that must be conceived and built. The educational and cultural commitment, of which the Meeting bears witness, is of great value”, concluded
Mattarella.
(ITALPRESS).
-Photo credit: Press Office Meeting for Friendship among Peoples-
