Pope Benedict welcomed about 300 leaders, including Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Zoroastrians, Taoists, Shintoists and Buddhists - in an inter-faith prayer gathering for peace in the city of St Francis. The meeting commemorates the 25th anniversary with a day-long prayer for peace. The first meeting in Assisi was called by Pope John Paul II in 1986, amid Cold War conflicts.
The Pope was noted as saying, "Reality demonstrates that many human problems on this planet in fact originate from people with religions...The time has come for the leaders of all the world's religions to have a new frame of mind in which indigenous religions are given the same respect and consideration as other religions."[1]
The closing ceremony took place today.
(YouTube link)
"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." Col. 2:8
Assisi 2011: Pope Benedict Makes Another Step Toward False Peace