Forty years ago, Andrea Riccardi dedicated himself in Rome to helping his poorest neighbors. Last month in Naples, he challenged leading religious officials and members of the Catholic lay group he founded to confront terrorism and the "idealized" violence of war, as well as the "culture of contempt" that feeds them both.
Speaking at the opening of this year's International Encounter for Peace, organized by the Community of Sant'Egidio, Riccardi acknowledged the difficulty in overcoming "the mist of pessimism that often clouds our vision."
However, the gentle-aired, erudite history professor also reminded those in attendance that faith requires them to overcome pessimism and to act. "Anyone who uses the name of God to hate the other, to practice violence, or to wage war, is cursing the name of God," said Riccardi. "We commit ourselves to learn the art of living together and to offer it to our fellow believers."
Riccardi's inspirational, but soberly realistic view of the world and the task of improving it was consistent with the mission and accomplishments of Sant' Egidio, whose members work with many of the world's poorest people and are actively engaged in solving some of the world's most intractable conflicts.
The community, founded by Riccardi and a small group of friends at the height the 1968 student protests that shook Europe and the U.S., now has 50,000 members in more than 70 countries. It is perhaps best known for conflict mediation in Mozambique and the Balkans, but has also provided aid to refugees, victims of famine and those with HIV/AIDS in the Balkans and Africa.
And it hosts the Church's annual "prayer for peace," launched in 1986 by Pope John Paul II at Assisi. The meetings take place each year in a different city, and combine rhetoric, ideas, dialogue, networking and pageant. Pope Benedict XVI participated in a mass celebrated before the official opening of this year's meeting, which was attended by a number of prominent leaders, including Bartholomeo, the Ecumenical Patriarch; the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, and the Rev. Sam Kobia of the World Council of Churches.
In addition to Riccardi, a long list of religious and political speakers took part in the opening of October 21 - 23 event, including a Burmese monk, who gave testimony to what was happening there, and a doctor running the Community's HIV/AIDS program in Mozambique.
What is remarkable about the Sant'Egidio meeting is how conflict and poverty, peace and human welfare, are graphically linked in ways that touch deep emotional chords. Religion wears a loving, benign, yet urgent face at the interfaith gathering.
Naples was unseasonably cold and wet this year, and the outdoor liturgy with the Pope saw large shivering and damp crowds. Some saw the unusual snow on Vesuvius as a troubling symbol of the perils of our time. But with the clearing clouds, a mood of hope emerged. The mists of pessimism can clear and with will, there is hope.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>