Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Sarajevo (Agenzia Fides) - "We need new courage in the face of difficulties. Gazing into the distance, dialogue in the language made up of sympathy, friendship and compassion has to be created. This common language allows us to talk, seeing the beauty of differences and the value of equality. Living together in peace is God's will. Hatred, division, violence, massacres and genocide, do not come from God." This is an excerpt of the Peace Appeal which concluded the meeting "Living Together is the Future" organized by the St. Egidio Community in the Bosnian capital from 9 to 11 September.
Representatives of different religions came together in this land, which still bears the wounds of the last war fought in Europe: the painful conflict reminds everyone "how the war is a great evil and leaves a poisoned legacy. One should avoid with all one’s might to slip into terrible spiral of hatred, violence and war " is what is written in the Appeal. Although in our time "more and more different people get closer geographically.... It must be done spiritually despite the difference of religions. We are different. But our unanimous belief is this: to live together among different people is possible anywhere in the world, it is very fruitful. It is possible in Sarajevo and elsewhere. We must prepare the future responsibly. Religions have a great responsibility in this sense. "
In times of economic crisis such as the present, "it is tempting to give up, even to blame other people for their problems, those of the past or present. So people become for others a foreigner or enemy. Dangerous cultures of resentment, hatred, fear develop ... Religions have a great task: they speak of God to the human heart and free man from hatred, prejudice, fear, and opens him to love. It changes a man and a woman from the inside. Religions can teach every man and woman and the people the art of living together through dialogue, mutual respect, respect for freedom and difference. They can thus create a more humane world. Because we are all the same and all different." (SL) (Agenzia Fides 12/09/2012)
