The Sant´Egidio Community, founded in Rome in 1968, is composed of 30,000 people who work in more than 35 countries in favor of the marginalized. The community has played a key role in mediating armed conflicts, such as those in Mozambique and Guatemala.
An expert in Church history, Riccardi referred to the current conflicts in the world, especially the Basque Nation´s in Spain.
«The separatist armed struggle is a new example of the rebirth of fundamentalism in this globalized world, which shows how fundamentalism in the Arab countries and Israel is of a religious character, and in Europe tends to defend» national identity, he said.
In the past, Riccardi was awarded the World Methodist Prize for Peace, the Niwano Peace Foundation´s award, and UNESCO´s Mahatma Gandhi Silver Medal.
