Source: International Herald Tribune
Wire Service: AP
On September 4, 2006 the Associated Press reported, "Global terrorism and violence carried out in the name of God show no sign of letting up, Pope Benedict XVI said Monday as he appealed to hundreds of religious leaders [in Assisi] to use their faiths to bring about peace... Benedict said that, contrary to expectations following the fall of the Berlin wall, 'the third millennium began with scenarios of terrorism and violence that are showing no sign of waning.' In the message, read by Bishop of Assisi Domenico Sorrentino, Benedict recognized that religion had sometimes been used to justify war, but said that such violence is not caused by faith itself but 'by the cultural limits with which it is lived and with which it develops in time'... The two-day 'International Meeting and Prayer for Peace' in the town where St. Francis lived and began preaching his message of peace gathers Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, Christians and Shintoists. It is aimed at finding ways to improve dialogue between cultures and religions... Organized by the Sant'Egidio Community, a Rome-based lay Catholic group that mediates world conflicts, the usually annual meeting has doubled up this year. It was held in April in Washington, D.C., the first time the forum was held in the United States, and is gathering again in Assisi to celebrate the anniversary."