Acta Benedicti Pp. XVI 799

VI

Ad participes primi seminarii de Catholico-Macometana disceptatione.*

Dear Friends,

I am pleased to receive you this morning and I greet all of you most

cordially. I thank especially Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran as well as Shaykh

Mustafa Ceriĺ and Mr Seyyed Hossein Nasr for their words. Our meeting

takes place at the conclusion of the important Seminar organized by the

''Catholic-Muslim Forum'' established between the Pontifical Council for In-

terreligious Dialogue and representatives of the 138 Muslim leaders who

signed the Open Letter to Christian leaders of 13 October 2007. This gather-

ing is a clear sign of our mutual esteem and our desire to listen respectfully to

one another. I can assure you that I have prayerfully followed the progress of

your meeting, conscious that it represents one more step along the way to-

wards greater understanding between Muslims and Christians within the

framework of other regular encounters which the Holy See promotes with

various Muslim groups. The Open Letter ''A Common Word between us and

you'' has received numerous responses, and has given rise to dialogue, specific

initiatives and meetings, aimed at helping us to know one another more

deeply and to grow in esteem for our shared values. The great interest which

the present Seminar has awakened is an incentive for us to ensure that the

reflections and the positive developments which emerge from Muslim-Chris-

tian dialogue are not limited to a small group of experts and scholars, but are

passed on as a precious legacy to be placed at the service of all, to bear fruit in

the way we live each day.

The theme which you have chosen for your meeting - ''Love of God, Love

of Neighbour: The Dignity of the Human Person and Mutual Respect'' - is

particularly significant. It was taken from the Open Letter, which presents

love of God and love of neighbour as the heart of Islam and Christianity

alike. This theme highlights even more clearly the theological and spiritual

foundations of a central teaching of our respective religions.

The Christian tradition proclaims that God is Love.1 It was out of love

that he created the whole universe, and by his love he becomes present in

* Die 6 Novembris 2008. 1 1 Jn 4:16.