Sant'Egidio Community promotes Catholic-Shiite dialogue

(ANSA) - Rome, March 24 - The lay Catholic inter-religious and peace-negotiating Community of Sant'Egidio in partnership with the Imam al-Khoei Foundation played host Tuesday to a conference between respected members of the Roman Catholic Church and senior Muslim Shiites discussing "the responsibility of believers in a global world" and ways to create peace.
    "In the global world religions live together, they are challenged in a very complex situation of neighbourliness," said Sant'Egidio founder Andrea Riccardi.
    The Imam al-Khoei Foundation is a global foundation linked to Iraqi Shiite Islam's highest religious authority, the Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani. Representing the Shiite community were leading religious dignitaries from Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait. Leading Catholic figures attending included Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue.
    Riccardi underlined that dialogue between Catholics and Shiites "is a very difficult path, but it is an important path, a path between two very different religions that are going through a difficult moment, living the challenge of martyrdom, of persecution, of lack of religious freedom in some parts of the world".
    "These are worlds that must meet, that are different but that also have a great respect for each other".