Pope: Interreligious dialogue key to peace, youth education

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As the world faces the persistent threat of nuclear conflict, people of faith must unite in advocating for peace and fostering dialogue, Pope Francis said.

"Our world is divided and torn apart by hatred, tensions, wars and threats of nuclear conflict," he told participants in a meeting between the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue and the Interreligious and Intercultural Center of Tehran, Iran.

"This situation pushes us, believers in the God of peace, to pray and work for dialogue, reconciliation, peace, security and the integral development of all of humanity," the pope said Nov. 20.

Pope Francis told the meeting participants that the commitment of different religious traditions "makes us credible in the eyes of the world, and in particular of the new generations."

The meeting focused on the theme, "Education of Young People Particularly in the Family: A Challenge for Christians and Muslims."

Pope Francis highlighted that the education of younger generations must be pursued through "fraternal cooperation in the journey of seeking God," and he noted how today's "weakening of faith and religious practice in some societies has direct effects on the family."

One shared value between Christianity and Islam, he said, is "the educational contribution from the elderly to the young."

"Such religiosity, transmitted without formality and with a testimony of life, is to be considered of great value for the growth of young people," the pope said. "I do not forget that it was my grandmother who taught me to pray."

Pope Francis also addressed the "common educational challenge for Christians and Muslims in the new complex marital situations with religious disparities."

"In these family contexts we can recognize a privileged place for interreligious dialogue," he said. "And we must advance this."

Interreligious dialogue, the pope said, "allows one to break out from the structured frameworks to open themselves to an encounter with the large, universal human family."

Pope Francis said that educating young people in faith traditions must be done "through fraternal cooperation in the journey of seeking God."

"In this quest, we must never tire of speaking out and working for the dignity and rights of every person, every community and every people," he said.