An international meeting of young people for peace, organized by the “Scholas Occurrentes” Pontifical Foundation, is taking place these days in Jerusalem.
Pope Francis intervenes today, Wednesday, July 5, 2017, in live streaming from the Vatican. The event will be diffused by the Foundation in the ambit of the “3rd Scholas Chairs International Congress & Interreligious Citizenship Encounter.”
“Scholas Occurrentes” — an initiative launched by Jorge Bergoglio when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires — promotes education, working toward ‘the culture of encounter’ worldwide. The present event in the Holy City, hopes to contribute to the re-launching of peace dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, looking especially at young people, since they will be the ones –as the Italo-Argentine Pontiff often recalls – to change the world.
The meeting is being held at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s “Harry S. Truman” Research Institute for the Promotion of Peace. It has gathered 75 young people from Israel, Palestine, Argentina, France and Kenya, as well as academics and religious leaders. The program includes conferences, courses and laboratories.
The meeting opened with a prayer for peace and fraternity, recited by representatives of the three great monotheist religions. At the end of the works, the participants will plant an olive tree in the name of Pope Francis.
“This event is important, because it defends peace and tolerance between the religions. Our generation is obliged to promote living together and must fight against all forms of extremism – whatever the religion – to arrive at peace between peoples,” said in Spanish to i24NEWS the international Director of the “Scholas” Foundation, Jose Maria Del Corral.
Zenit will bring its readers as soon as possible an English translation of the Pope’s streamed remarks.
