POPE RESPONDS TO 138 MUSLIM SCHOLARS
Pope Benedict XVI has responded to a letter sent to him in October
by 138 Muslim scholars by inviting some of them to meet him at the
Vatican.
The Muslim academics wrote an unprecedented letter to all Christian
leaders at the end of Ramadan, asking them to work with Muslims to
bring about world peace. The letter was the idea of Jordan's Prince
Ghazi bin Muhammad bin Talal, president of the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute
for Islamic Thought in Amman.
The Pope responded through a letter written by Cardinal Tarcisio
Bertone, the Vatican Œnumber two¹. In the letter, addressed
to the Prince, the Pope called on members of both religions to work
together on common values, united in the belief of one God.
³Such common ground,²
Cardinal Bertone wrote, ³allows us to base dialogue on effective
respect for the dignity of every human person, on objective knowledge
of the religion of the other, on the sharing of religious experience
and, finally, on common commitment to promoting mutual respect and
acceptance among the younger generation.²
The Cardinal went on: ³I am pleased to communicate that His
Holiness would be most willing to receive Your Royal Highness and
a restricted group of signatories of the open letter, chosen by you.²
And he proposed there be a meeting between the scholars and academics
from two pontifical institutions specialising in Islam.
According to the letter, the Pope was particularly impressed by the
attention the scholars gave to the commandment to love God and one¹s
neighbour. It was an aspect also praised by Catholic scholars of Islam.
There is still a long way to go in Catholic-Muslim dialogue, but
the new official in charge of interreligious dialogue at the Vatican
is optimistic about the future. Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran President
of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, remembers that
when he was appointed to that position in the summer he received a
lot of messages from the Arab world and ³was very much impressed
how many of these messages stressed that we are condemned to dialogue².
He added: ³This is very positive, there is a thirst of dialogue,
so this is something positive. We have to meet.²
The Pope¹s Regensburg lecture initially caused anger
among Muslims, but now it appears to be bearing the good fruit of
much needed dialogue.
Below is the full text of Cardinal Bertone¹s letter:
His Royal Highness Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad bin Talal
The Royal Palace Amman
Jordan
From the Vatican, November
19, 2007
Your Royal Highness,
On 13 October 2007 an open letter addressed to His Holiness Pope
Benedict XVI and to other Christian leaders was signed by one hundred
and thirty-eight Muslim religious leaders, including Your Royal Highness.
You, in turn, were kind enough to present it to Bishop Salim Sayegh,
Vicar of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem in Jordan, with the request
that it be forwarded to His Holiness.
The Pope has asked me to convey his gratitude to Your Royal Highness
and to all who signed the letter. He also wishes to express his deep
appreciation for this gesture, for the positive spirit which inspired
the text and for the call for a common commitment to promoting peace
in the world.
Without ignoring or downplaying our differences as Christians and
Muslims, we can and therefore should look to what unites us, namely,
belief in the one God, the provident Creator and universal Judge who
at the end of time will deal with each person according to his or
her actions. We are all called to commit ourselves totally to him
and to obey his sacred will.
Mindful of the content of his Encyclical Letter Deus Caritas Est
("God is Love"), His Holiness was particularly impressed
by the attention given in the letter to the twofold commandment to
love God and one¹s neighbour.
As you may know, at the beginning of his Pontificate, Pope Benedict
XVI stated: "I am profoundly convinced that we must not yield
to the negative pressures in our midst, but must affirm the values
of mutual respect, solidarity and peace. The life of every human being
is sacred, both for Christians and for Muslims. There is plenty of
scope for us to act together in the service of fundamental moral values"
(Address to Representatives of Some Muslim Communities, Cologne, 20
August 2005). Such common ground allows us to base dialogue on effective
respect for the dignity of every human person, on objective knowledge
of the religion of the other, on the sharing of religious experience
and, finally, on common commitment to promoting mutual respect and
acceptance among the younger generation. The Pope is confident that,
once this is achieved, it will be possible to cooperate in a productive
way in the areas of culture and society, and for the promotion of
justice and peace in society and throughout the world.
With a view to encouraging your praiseworthy initiative, I am pleased
to communicate that His Holiness would be most willing to receive
Your Royal Highness and a restricted group of signatories of the open
letter, chosen by you. At the same time, a working meeting could be
organized between your delegation and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious
Dialogue, with the cooperation of some specialized Pontifical Institutes
(such as the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies and
the Pontifical Gregorian University). The precise details of these
meetings could be decided later, should this proposal prove acceptable
to you in principle.
I avail myself of the occasion to renew to Your Royal Highness the
assurance of my highest consideration.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone
Secretary of State
