Interreligious dialogue involves more than culture, archbishop says

Published: 2006-03-30

ROME (CNS) -- Clashes between Christians and Muslims can be avoided through a sincere attempt to follow the will of God in one's own life and to get to know one another, said Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, the new Vatican ambassador to Egypt. The difference between intercultural dialogue and interreligious dialogue is precisely the interreligious dialogue participants' willingness to share their faith and deepen their commitment to doing God's will, he said. The archbishop spoke March 29 at Rome's Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, where he used to teach, before leaving to take up his new post in Cairo. He headed the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue until Feb. 15. After Pope Benedict XVI appointed Archbishop Fitzgerald nuncio to Egypt and the Vatican's representative to the 22-member League of Arab States, the pope named French Cardinal Paul Poupard to head the council for interreligious dialogue. The cardinal also heads the Pontifical Council for Culture.

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