Nov 16, 2006 / 22:00 pm
Coadjutor Archbishop Fouad Twal of Jerusalem said this week that in order for there to be inter-religious dialogue people need “a formation that will overcome prejudices, deter religious relativism, and tear down the barriers raised by unjustified fear - a formation in the Christian identity itself in order to peacefully affirm the faith.”
During a lecture in Jerusalem, as part of a course on Islam for the Franciscans of the Holy Land, the archbishop said, “Dialogue is not only a search for common ground in order to build peace together. Peace must be built on solid formation and knowledge of religions, including Islam.”
Archbishop Twal also said that religious freedom, reciprocity, and integration are necessary for confronting Muslims and for “making qualitative advances in dialogue and in the faith, in order to lay out the conditions for an open and respectful dialogue. In order to assure for all a future of peace, today and for future generations, we have no other choice but coexistence and dialogue.”