Wednesday January 23 8:22 PM ET
Pope to Pray with Other Religions for World Peace
By Crispian Balmer
ASSISI, Italy (Reuters) - Pope John Paul (news - web sites), tormented by the September 11 attacks on the United States, will lead prayers for peace on Thursday with more than 200 representatives from the world's main religions.
It is the third such day of peace organized by the Pope during his 23-year pontificate, and he wants to ram home the message that conflict, murder and violence should never be carried out in the name of God.
Leaders of a dozen religions, from Christians to Muslims, from Jews to animists, will stand side-by-side in this ancient Italian hillside town and pledge that each faith should bring peace, forgiveness, life and love to earth.
The Pope hopes the meeting in the birthplace of St. Francis, the saint most associated with peace, will help promote relations with Muslims in the wake of the suicide plane attacks on the United States and the subsequent war in Afghanistan (news - web sites).
``After the event of the Twin Towers... people were saying this is a war against Muslims. But the Pope wanted to show the whole world that there is nothing wrong between Muslims and other religions,'' said Father Thomas Calleja, a Roman Catholic priest who traveled to Assisi from Malta for the meeting.
Islam will be represented by 31 Muslims from 19 countries, including the Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Among the Jews attending will be Rabbi David Rosen of Jerusalem, President of the International Council of Christians and Jews.
Many of the religious leaders will travel to Assisi with the Pope during the morning aboard a special papal train from the Vatican (news - web sites) and will return the same way in the evening.
TENT PRAYER MEETING
After a morning session of peace appeals in a huge tent erected in front of Assisi's imposing basilica, the religious groups will then go off to various rooms within the complex for further meditation before joining forces in the afternoon.
``Never again violence, never again war, never again terrorism,'' the 81-year old Pope will say on behalf of the world's almost one billion Catholics in a speech released by his office ahead of Thursday's event.
However, not all Catholics are happy with his initiative and some have criticized him for linking up with, among others, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Zoroastrians and believers in traditional African faiths.
``To pray with heretics, schismatics, rabbis, mullahs, witch doctors and various idolaters creates confusion among Catholic believers,'' Federico Bricolo and Massimo Polledri, members of an Italian government coalition party, said in a statement.
Anyone see the wrong in this? Praying WITH other religions? For, perhaps, but WITH?