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BISHOPS-BIBLE Feb-27-2008 (630 words) xxxi
Reading, listening to Bible give Christians hope, unity, say bishops
By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service
ROME (CNS) -- Reading the Bible and listening to the word of God are the surest ways to find hope in difficult situations and to foster unity among Christians -- and even among members of different religions, several bishops said.
Maronite Bishop Simon Atallah of Baalbek, Lebanon, said the forces that are trying to destabilize his country "are trying to silence the word of God" among both Christians and Muslims.
"Both Muslims and Christians have seen that it is not weapons and war that give hope for the future, but God," he said Feb. 27 during the annual conference of bishop-friends of the Focolare Movement, a worldwide Catholic lay movement.
The Feb. 23-29 conference focused on the Scriptures in preparation for the October world Synod of Bishops on the Bible.
Bishop Atallah said the rise of fundamentalist currents in all the world's religions demonstrates a thirst for God and an awareness that modern politics, economic systems and technology cannot respond fully to the human need for meaning.
At a time of political crisis in Lebanon -- the country has been without a head of state since November -- people are looking to their religious leaders for guidance and a word of hope, the bishop said.
"In our country, religion is very important because we are a collection of religious communities. The role of the bishops, like the role of the sheiks for the Muslims, is very important, especially when one sees that the politicians have not been able to resolve the impasse," he said.
The religious leaders have a responsibility to give their people direction and principles on which to make political decisions that will serve the common good, he said.
In reacting to the thirst for God and renewed attention to the Bible and the Quran, the sacred book of Islam, religious leaders need to teach their people that the word of God "is a source of love, not hatred for each other," he said.
Bishop Atallah said there are about 1,000 Christian and Muslim young adults in Lebanon participating in a dialogue based on the Scriptures; at the meetings, the participants read passages from the Bible and the Quran focusing on subjects such as charity, solidarity and fidelity.
The project, he said, is a source of hope for the entire country, but especially for young people tempted to fear for their futures in Lebanon.
Cardinal Miloslav Vlk of Prague, Czech Republic, told reporters that when the communists controlled every aspect of organized religion in his country people were left only with their Bibles.
"The Gospel in people's hands was the only thing that remained," he said. "It brought us Jesus. And sharing it in the woods, in the mountains, created community and union."
"The Gospel helped us see that God was always close to us," he said.
Brazilian Archbishop Alberto Taveira Correa of Palmas said that, while many Latin American Catholics feel threatened by the rapid growth and aggressive tactics of new Christian communities, the first Catholic response must be to educate Catholics in the faith, particularly by helping them learn to read and understand the Bible.
Indian Archbishop Vincent Concessao of Delhi told reporters that renewed incidents of violence against Christians in India cannot be blamed on Hinduism as a whole, but are the result of "criminal elements" within the Hindu community who are being used and manipulated by certain politicians.
"Ultimately, love is the answer to all the problems of the world," he said. "If our progress in science and technology does not make us more human, more compassionate, then we are going wrong."
Reading the Bible, Archbishop Concessao said, helps Christians understand that "love is the most powerful thing on earth, because God is love."
END
Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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