VATICAN - XI Colloquium organized by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the World Islamic Call Society

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – A statement from the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue released by the Holy See Press Office stated that the XI Colloquium organized by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the World Islamic Call Society (WICS), a Muslim organization headquartered in Tripoli, Libya, began in Rome.
This initiative forms part of a series of events held in various places, in 1976 and then regularly from 1989 to the present. The theme for the event is: "The Responsibility of Religious Leaders, Especially in Times of Crisis". The colloquium's five sessions are dedicated to presentations, part Catholic and part Muslim, and the development of three themes of reflection: "Religious Responsibility", "Cultural and Social Responsibility", and "Times of Crisis on the Path of Interreligious Dialogue".
Twelve Catholic and twelve Muslim dignitaries and experts from various countries are participating in the event, which is presided over by, respectively, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and the Secretary General of WICS, Mohamed Ahmed Sherif. The meeting will culminate tomorrow morning, 17 December, with an audience with Benedict XVI. (SL) (Agenzia Fides 16/12/2008)