The Day of Assisi Will Live Long in Our Hearts

VATICAN CITY, JAN 25, 2002 (VIS) - "What happened yesterday in Assisi will live long in our hearts and will, we hope, have a profound echo among the peoples of the world" said the Pope at midday today, during luncheon in the Vatican with the representatives from other religions.

After thanking them for responding to his invitation to participate in the Day of Prayer and recognizing "that your coming here has meant a great effort," he said: "I thank you above all for your willingness to work for peace, and for your courage in declaring before the world that violence and religion can never go together."

He went on: "The door of this house is open to all people, and you come to this table not as strangers but as friends. Yesterday we gathered in the shadow of St. Francis. Here we gather in the shadow of the fisherman Peter. Assisi and Rome, Francis and Peter: the places and the men are so different. Yet they were both bearers of the message of peace sung by angels at Bethlehem: 'Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace to His people on earth'."

John Paul II told the religious leaders that "with all our differences, we sit at this table, united in our commitment to the cause of peace. That commitment, born of sincere religious sentiment, is surely what God expects of us. It is what the world seeks in religious men and women. That commitment is the hope we have to offer at this special time. May God grant us all to be humble and effective instruments of His peace."

Vatican Information Service
25. januar 2002