UNESCO Chair at the University of Kufa participated in the fourth colloquium in Rome, Tuesday 3rd-4th May 2016. The theme chosen was “Shared values in social and political life: Christian and Muslim perspectives”. The director of UNESCO Chair Dr. Hassan Nadhem had the honor of meeting his Holiness Pope Francis.
Three subthemes were studied: 1) “Citizens and believers: Christian and Muslim perspectives”; 2) “Our shared values and respective particularities”; 3) “Reaching out for the needy and the vulnerable: A common concern for Christians and Muslims”.
The delegates consisted of respected individuals from the Catholic and Muslim faiths in various parts of the world, the participants discussed the papers in a spirit of openness and in an atmosphere of great equality and respect.
The discussion of the themes were supervised by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, who presided over the Catholic delegation, and Prince El Hassan bin Talal, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies, chaired the Muslim delegation.
During the meeting with Pope Frances, the participants were moved by his words: “Dialogue is going out of ourselves, with a word to hear the word of the other. The two words meet, two thoughts meet. It is the first step of a journey. Following this meeting of the word, hearts meet and begin a dialogue of friendship which ends with holding hands. Word, hearts, hands. It’s simple! A little child knows how to do it.”
At the end of the colloquium, the participants proposed a declaration for peace and coexistences.
This post is also available in: العربية (Arabic)
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