Vatican City, Oct 28, 2011 / 12:18 pm
Pope Benedict XVI met this morning with delegates who participated in yesterday’s Assisi gathering and said that the meeting showed how genuine the desire for peace and the good of others is.
“In a certain sense, this gathering is representative of the billions of men and women throughout our world who are actively engaged in promoting justice and peace,” said the Pope.
He told them the day had also been “a sign of the friendship and fraternity which has flourished” because of the work of those engaged in dialogue. He expressed hope that such friendships would “continue to grow.”
Pope Benedict praised the foresight of Pope John Paul II in calling the first Assisi meeting in 1986 and said that the gatherings are a “vivid expression of the fact that every day, throughout our world, people of different religious traditions live and work together in harmony.”