Muslim Scholar Seeks Debate With the Pope

[Eric H]

Greetings and peace to you all;

Our late Pope John Paul tried to build bridges with people of other faiths, and I believe that the world benefited from his endeavours. Maybe our present pope is not quiet so dynamic in this way but he is still striving to build on the work of his predecessor. Here is part of a recent communication of Pope Benedict, and I believe his real agenda is seeking interfaith friendships despite all our differences. The full script can be found here:

http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=96228

Pope Benedict XV1
It is under this profile that the initiative John Paul II promoted 20 years ago has acquired the features of an accurate prophecy. His invitation to the world's religious leaders to bear a unanimous witness to peace serves to explain with no possibility of confusion that religion must be a herald of peace.

As the Second Vatican Council taught in the Declaration "Nostra Aetate" on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions: "We cannot truly pray to God the Father of all if we treat any people in other than brotherly fashion, for all men are created in God's image" (n. 5).

Despite the differences that mark the various religious itineraries, recognition of God's existence, which human beings can only arrive at by starting from the experience of creation (cf. Rom 1:20), must dispose believers to view other human beings as brothers and sisters. It is not legitimate, therefore, for anyone to espouse religious difference as a presupposition or pretext for an aggressive attitude toward other human beings.

It could be objected that history has experienced the regrettable phenomenon of religious wars. We know, however, that such demonstrations of violence cannot be attributed to religion as such but to the cultural limitations with which it is lived and develops in time.

Yet, when the religious sense reaches maturity it gives rise to a perception in the believer that faith in God, Creator of the universe and Father of all, must encourage relations of universal brotherhood among human beings.

If Dr Zakir Naik could work with this agenda of building bridges then I feel a useful exchange of ideas could take place. Maybe there could be a greater understanding, tolerance and friendship between our faiths.

In the spirit of praying for peace on Earth

Eric