Pope shows how to defeat terrorism

I COMMEND Pope Benedict XVI for his message in Germany calling on Christianity and Islam to work together to end terrorism which, he said, represented “the darkness of a new barbarism.”

The recent chain of blind violence around the world is the result of scandalous injustices and imbalances that create conditions favouring an uncontrollable explosion of the desire for revenge.

When fundamental rights are violated, it is easy to fall prey to temptations of hatred and violence. Nonetheless, we must work together to build a global culture of solidarity that restores hope in the future to the young.

The Pope said that terrorism of any kind showed contempt for the sacred right to life and undermined the foundation of civil society. He added that if we eliminate from our hearts any trace of rancour, resist every form of intolerance and oppose every manifestation of violence, we will in turn defeat the wave of fanaticism that endangers the lives of so many people.

Dialogue between Christians and Muslims is a vital necessity to achieve this.

As the Pope stated: “If we can continue to coexist in dialogue, it will send a signal that the theory of a clash of cultures is baseless.”

Paul Kokoski

234 Columbia Drive

Hamilton

Ontario

Canada L9C 3Y9.