2015-01-14 11:28:00

Persevere in building peace in ‘little steps’, says Order of Malta chief


(Vatican Radio) The terrorist attacks this past week in France and Nigeria should urge people of good will to persevere and even to intensify their efforts for dialogue and cooperation, says the head of the Order of Malta.

Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager is the Grand Chancellor and the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Order of Malta. In an interview with Vatican Radio, he said last week’s attacks are unjustifiable and the paths of dialogue and reconciliation are the only ones to tread in the face of such violence.

Listen:

“I think we should not consider it a defeat. It should even more encourage us to intensify dialogue and cooperation,” he said.

Von Boeselager spoke about the ongoing grassroots efforts of the Order of Malta in the Middle East with people of different religions.

“What we are doing, for instance, in Lebanon, where we work closely together with other religions, with the Sunni society, with the Shi’ites with the Druze, so to build up confidence and trust. And I think this can only be done on the base, with the people, in little steps,” he said.

This method of “little steps” can help to bring about peace and trust, he added.

“We should not lose hope that many little steps will help to pacify situations and to create trust between people,” he insisted. “Although these attacks are terrible and nothing can justify them, we should not cease to try to build peace with little steps.”








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