Nuncio says church is fighting terrorism by examining its root causes

Published: 2006-08-28

NEW YORK (CNS) -- Since Sept. 11, 2001, the Catholic Church has worked steadily to overcome terrorism by examining the root causes behind the phenomenon, said the Vatican's nuncio to the United Nations. Archbishop Celestino Migliore compared the crashing noise of a falling tree to the quieter sound of a growing forest. "What the Catholic Church has been doing in the aftermath of 9/11 is more in the order of a forest that grows and expands every day without much fanfare," he said. In written comments to Catholic News Service, Archbishop Migliore mentioned in particular the 2002 interreligious peace gathering that Pope John Paul II convened in Assisi, Italy, as well as Pope Benedict XVI's call for people to band together to overcome terrorism not only through analysis of its political and social causes, but also its "deeper cultural, religious and ideological motivations." Archbishop Migliore, who has served at the United Nations since 2003, was at the Vatican on the day of the attacks in 2001, working as undersecretary for relations with states.

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