And this misconception drives both Vatican and Bush Administration confusion over the true nature of Islam.which is not a religion at all, but an ideology with religious trappings.
Bruce http://www.catholic.org/printer_friendly.php?id=21636 <http://www.catholic.org/printer_friendly.php?id=21636§ion=Cathcom> §ion=Cathcom Vatican: Prejudice against one religion puts all faiths at risk 10/16/2006 Catholic News Service WARSAW, Poland (CNS) - Whenever a religion is the subject of prejudice or discrimination, all religions are at risk, a Vatican official told the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Religious communities have tremendous power to promote respect and tolerance, but they are unable "to effectively work against stereotypes if they themselves are victims of them," said Msgr. Ettore Balestrero, an official of the Vatican Secretariat of State. The official spoke Oct. 12 during an annual meeting at which OSCE's 56 member nations review progress made on issues related to promoting democracy and human rights. "No partnership among cultures, religions and ethnic identities can be established without mutual knowledge," Msgr. Balestrero said. "Creating a partnership requires dialogue." The common ground must be built upon respect for religions and culture, not on excluding religious values and believers from public debates, he said. Msgr. Balestrero referred to Pope Benedict XVI's Sept. 12 speech in Regensburg, Germany, on the relationship between faith and reason. The pope's speech, he said, was a call "not to consider the mockery of the sacred a right of freedom." When religion is treated as a "subculture" and sidelined from dialogue among cultures, those who are deeply religious consider it an attack against their deepest convictions, Msgr. Balestrero said. He did not get into the remarks Pope Benedict made about violence and Islam or the controversy that followed his remarks. Without citing specific examples, Msgr. Balestrero asked the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights to take seriously its commitment "to fight against prejudice, intolerance and discrimination against Christians and members of other religions." He said such intolerance and prejudice exists even in the media and, especially, in educational programs. "Sentiments of hatred and vengeance have been inculcated in numerous young people in those parts of the world marked by conflicts, in ideological contexts where the seeds of ancient resentments are cultivated and their souls prepared for future violence," he said. Msgr. Balestrero cited the efforts of Catholic schools around the world to educate young people in respect, tolerance and dialogue based on the recognition that all people are created in the image and likeness of God. He said the Vatican would highlight the important role of young people in dialogue during a Nov. 4-8 meeting in Assisi, Italy. The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue has invited nearly 100 young people from different religions and countries to reflect on ways they can promote tolerance and peace. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
