Words of John Paul II about dialogue echo again in Damascus
The pope's speeches during his 2001 trip were reread in Christian ceremonies. The Grand Mufti recalled the visit to the Grand Mosque, and even Assad touched upon inter-faith dialogue.
Damascus (AsiaNews) The words spoken by John Paul II in Syria when he visited in 2001, are reverberating once again throughout Damascus. He had described the country as a "necessary step" of inter-religious dialogue. On the anniversary of his death, prayer events were held by Christians, during which the speeches of the pope's visit were reread, and religious leaders and even representatives of the Damascus government made interventions.
Thus, the Greek-Melkite Bishop, Isidore Batikha, who had coordinated the Pope's visit in Syria, told AsiaNews about powerful moments of the pope's historic visit, like his entry into the Grand Mosque of Omayyadi on 6 May, the first pope in history to go into a sacred Islamic shrine, when he talked about inter-faith dialogue as a necessary step for peaceful co-existence. And then there was the visit to the Al Mariamia cathedral of the Greek-Orthodox Church, a key ecumenical meeting that confirmed the path of dialogue that flourishes in Syria.
In a statement to AsiaNews, the Grand Mufti Sheikh Ahmed Hasounin "thanked God for his gift to the Church and to mankind of a great man like John Paul II."
For his part, the Information Minister, Mouhsen Bilal, upheld the necessity of showing the true face of Syria to the world, as a "country that helps all men". He repeated the words of the deceased pontiff during his 2001 visit: "Syria has a specific vocation to be, as it has always been, a meeting place between the faithful of all religions".
Even the President Bachar el Assad spoke about inter-faith dialogue. He seems to have taken to heart a series of statements made by the Muslim Brothers about their victory in the case of free elections. Receiving a delegation of a Commission from the United States called Churches for Middle East Peace, Assad said he was "in favour of any initiative, internal or external, that promotes coexistence and dialogue", underlining the role religions could play in encouraging "moderation and friendship among citizens, to fight terrorism and fundamentalism, that seek to sow hatred instead of tolerance".
The Syrian president added that his government had ranged itself on the side of any move that aimed to establish peace in the region, tormented for so many years, and he reiterated full respect for the UN resolutions that were the basis to implement peace, security and stability.
.png)
04/04/2005
