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Issue Date: September 15, 2006 'Reformulating' the spirit of Assisi Pope affirms peace summit, but wary of relativism, says Sant'Egidio leader By JOHN L. ALLEN JR. Pope Benedict XVI is reformulating the spirit of Pope John Paul IIs historic 1986 summit of religious leaders in Assisi, one that seemed to mark a new openness to prayer with the followers of other faiths, according to the organizer of an early September event marking that summits 20th anniversary. The comment came Sept. 5 from Andrea Riccardi, an Italian Catholic church historian and the founder of the Community of SantEgidio, which organizes an annual interreligious gathering in the spirit of Assisi, referring to John Pauls 1986 initiative. Benedict still wants conversation with other religions, but greater safeguards against the dangers of religious relativism, Riccardi suggested. That 1986 Assisi summit, which brought together the pope, the Dalai Lama, the archbishop of Canterbury, and a host of other religious leaders, centered on a moment of joint prayer on behalf of peace. The gesture was considered especially dramatic amid the Cold War tensions of the mid-1980s. John Paul held two other interreligious summits, in 1993 and 2002. The event triggered criticism from some Catholics who felt that it placed Christianity on the same level with other religions, and blurred the distinctiveness of Christian prayer. Then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, at the time the Vaticans doctrinal czar, was quoted in the Austrian press as stating, This cannot be the model. In a 2003 book, Ratzinger wrote it is indisputable that the Assisi meetings, especially in 1986, were misinterpreted by many people. On its 20th anniversary, some expected Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, to issue a correction of the 1986 gathering. In fact, the message Benedict sent to the Assisi gathering was broadly affirming of his predecessors initiative. [John Pauls] invitation for a choral witness to peace served to clarify, without any possibility of misunderstanding, that religion can only be a source of peace, Benedict said. We need this education to peace more than ever, especially looking at the new generations, he said. At the same time, however, Benedict emphasized the need to avoid any appearance of religious relativism, the idea that Christianity is simply one religious option among others. The convergence of diverse representatives should not give the impression of a concession to that relativism which negates the very meaning of truth, and the possibility of taking it in, he said. During a Sept. 5 news conference in Assisi, Riccardi was asked if this meant Benedict was preserving the letter of Assisi but suffocating its spirit. I think I understand the logic of messages and texts from the church on the subject, Riccardi said. When I defend what the pope said, its not merely because Im obliged to defend it. Relativism is a concern not just of Benedict but also of John Paul II. Both in 1986 and 2002, people were worried about the dangers of mixed prayer. Riccardi pointed out that Ratzinger himself had attended the 2002 event. On that day, participants were transported from Rome to Assisi and back on a rarely used papal train. Riccardi said he spoke with Ratzinger on the way back to Rome, and that Ratzinger said the summit had gone very well, he was very happy with it. I would rather say that Ratzinger the theologian is reformulating the spirit of Assisi, Riccardi said of Benedicts message for the SantEgidio event, and his general approach to exchanges with other religions. The pope knows we have to dialogue, Riccardi said, pointing especially to Benedicts interest in exchange with Muslims. The Sept. 4 and 5 SantEgidio summit brought together 150 religious leaders from around the world. Dozens of Muslims, Shintoists, Buddhists and others spread out across Assisi to pray in various locations, and later came together for an evening procession for peace. (The Shintoists, for example, used the garden of a Franciscan convent for their rituals.) The participants issued a joint appeal for peace. No conflict is a matter of fate, and no war is ever natural, it said. Religions never justify hatred and violence. Those using the name of God to destroy others move away from true religion. The appeal was then handed to a group of children representing the peoples of the earth, who in turn presented it to ambassadors and other political figures who were standing by to receive it. On the subject of prayer with followers of other religions, the clearest presentation of Benedicts thought comes in the 2003 book Truth and Tolerance. There, he wrote that it would be wrong to reject such prayer completely and unconditionally. The pope distinguished between multireligious prayer, when followers of different religions pray in the same context but separately, and interreligious prayer, when they pray together. For the former, he said, two conditions must be met:
As for interreligious prayer, Ratzinger expressed doubt that it is theologically possible. National Catholic Reporter, September 15, 2006 |
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