The Spirit of Assisi – Passing of the torch<br/><br/>
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the first “Interreligious Meeting of Prayer for Peace” which was held in Assisi on October 27, 1986, the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue invited youth representatives from different world religions to attend a youth conference which was held from November 4 to 8.  45 representatives from 29 different countries representing different religions (including Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism etc.) in addition to 35 catholic representatives and 16 delegates from other Christian denominations. The topic of this conference is “Assisi’s spirit of peace”.<br/><br/>
Pope Benedict spoke about “Assisi’s spirit of peace” on September 2.  He said, “Let us all pray earnestly for peace.  Prayer does not divide but unites and is a decisive element for an effective pedagogy of peace, hinged on friendship, reciprocal acceptance and dialogue between people of different cultures and religions.”<br/><br/>
Kathryn Lohre represented Geneva World Council of Churches, speaking about the topic of “preserving common values and respecting different ideology”. One of the days of the conference included a walking pilgrimage for all participants from St. Francis Basilica to Rivotorto, the place where St. Francis worked and evangelized. On the last day, the group went to Rome and received the blessings of the Holy Father in St. Peter’s Square along with some 30,000 pilgrims.<br/><br/>
The young delegates proclaimed to other young people, “Let us carry on the spirit of Pope John Paul II, may there be ‘no more violence, no more war, no more terrorism. In the name of God, may all religions bring the world justice, peace, forgiveness, life and love.’”