Vatican official says tolerance, respect key to fighting racism

Published: 2004-09-22

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Teaching tolerance and respect is key in the fight against racism and discrimination, a top Vatican official told international delegates meeting in Brussels, Belgium. Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald told the gathering that education "offers a unique opportunity to present -- especially to the young -- certain major values such as the unity of the human race, the equal dignity of all human beings, the solidarity which binds together all the members of the human family." A copy of his Sept. 13 address was published in the Sept. 22 edition of the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano. Archbishop Fitzgerald, head of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, represented the Holy See at the Sept. 13-14 International Conference on Tolerance and the Fight Against Racism, Xenophobia and Discrimination, sponsored by the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe.

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