VATICAN CITY, JUNE 7, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Father Federico Lombardi has praised President Barack Obama’s speech in Egypt this week as a step in the right direction in avoiding the so-called clash of civilizations.
The Vatican director of the Vatican’s press office underlined the Church’s position on international relations as based on dialogue, the promotion of disarmament and religious freedom on the most recent episode of his weekly television program «Octava Dies.»
«In past years there has been much talk about the danger of a clash of civilizations, in particular between the Muslim world and the western world after Sept. 11,» the spokesman observed.
«The Catholic Church has always been decisively against this reading of the international situation, pointing toward mutual understanding among peoples, cultures and religions; actively dedicating itself [to prevent] the oppositions and the misunderstandings from deepening and developing into conflicts and wars.»
«Thus the effort at interreligious dialogue and the continual pursuit of peace,» Father Lombardi noted. «The Pope’s recent trip to the Holy Land was an exemplary manifestation of this.»
«Now,» he continued, «the speech of President Obama in Cairo, intended to establish a new relationship between America and the Muslim world, goes in the right direction and introduces an element of hope onto the global horizon.»
«The undoubted political weight of the United States has been clearly committed toward some objectives that are certainly crucial for peace in the world,» the priest claimed.
Among these objectives, he underscored «the dedication to the solution of the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians, the affirmation not only of the necessity of nuclear non-proliferation, but more radically, of the nuclear disarmament of all nations. And then the wider framework of religious freedom, of the dignity of women, of democracy and the development of peoples.
«These are openings in directions toward which a great number of people of goodwill would like to work together to find the right paths for humanity on its journey and we hope to meet believers in God the creator and lovers of peace here too.»
