ROME – Twenty years after the World Day of Prayer for Peace, the Italian city of Assisi will again be a point of interreligious meeting and prayer on Sept. 4-5, reports Zenit.
The World Day that Pope John Paul II convoked in St. Francis’ city in October 1986 was unprecedented. It saw, gathered alongside the pontiff, representatives of the great world religions.
Community of Sant’Egidio explained that “at a time marked by terrorism and war, as well as by efforts toward dialogue and reconciliation, religion has assumed a prominent role in public life and in the conflict of identities. Religions are ever more exposed to the danger of becoming instruments of extremism.”
Therefore, from Assisi, the reflection of the world’s great religions on dialogue between cultures will be highlighted as key to defuse the conflict of civilizations and to provide an axis of a globalization that is not merely market-driven.