Interfaith leaders link arms, ideas to foster world peace

Published: 2006-04-28

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Turbaned imams, rabbis with prayer shawls draped over their shoulders and black-robed cardinals linked arms and ideas as they closed an international meeting dedicated to prayers and discussions on peace. "Fundamentalism is the childhood disease of all religions and cultures, for it imprisons people in a culture of enmity," said the final statement signed by the 100 religious leaders after they each lit a candle on a tripled-tiered candelabrum set on the floor of an outdoor stage. "Humanity is not made better by violence and terror, but by faith and love," said the statement, drafted April 27 at the closing of the 2006 International Prayer for Peace meeting held at Georgetown University in Washington. The first to sign the statement was Washington Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, who lit the top candle on the candelabrum. The last, who signed it to a standing ovation, was Andrea Riccardi, head of the Rome-based Sant'Egidio Community, a Catholic lay group and the chief organizer of the event.

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