Eminencies,
Representatives of the Christian churches,
Representatives of the Islam,
Professor Riccardi,
Doctor El�Awa,

Our meeting today takes place three weeks after an enormous tragedy that, in striking the United States, was also an affront to the fundamental civil values that inform our lives.

Dialogue between the religions and civilisations of Christianity and Islam is of immediate impact to the entire world. Nowhere is this more important than in the countries bordering the Mediterranean, where dialogue is founded on a thousand years of history nourished by shared values and interests.

The Mediterranean is home to different peoples and religions, a basin of diverse heritages: of conflict, but above all cooperation and reciprocal compenetration. Consider, for instance, the diversity of outside influences that have moulded Italian civilisation over the centuries.

The Mediterranean world seeks peace, well-being and serenity. Despite the dramatic clashes and unresolved conflicts of this sea, the forces uniting us are stronger than those that divide.

To transform the Mediterranean into a common haven of peace and prosperity, material and spiritual well-being must advance together.

We do not have to look all that far for the right formula; all we have to do is put into practice values that the international community has long held, and are enshrined in the preamble to the Charter of the United Nations.

Let me quote directly from the Charter: �to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom�to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours, and to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security��.

Aware that certain values unite all nations, we feel a common identity in the international community. I do not know whether a single global civilisation exists. I do know that, taken together, the diverse civilisations of the world express a general aspiration to improve the lot of mankind.

To spread a sense of security, justice and prosperity, we must defend the fundamental values of the international community.

The heart of relations between the West and Islam is the Mediterranean. The dialogue between its two shores must contribute to intensifying the economic and cultural relations which bind the peoples of the region.

Such dialogue has an objective: fostering fruitful cooperation among the peoples, which is essential to their economic and social development.

The complete eradication of terrorism cannot be achieved without peace in the Middle East. The succession of violence and attacks despite the ceasefire and the political will of both parties to respect it is unacceptable.

Euro-Mediterranean cooperation must be founded on two premises: the recognition, by all parties, of the cultural and religious identity, and resulting rules, of others; and the shared willingness to build a new society based on justice and respect for human rights.

Islam is a great religion and culture that deserves our full respect. Within all their differences, both Christianity and Islam share universal principles.

If barriers were built in centuries past, today they have no meaning.

And yet, as long ago as the fourteenth century, when the memory of the Crusades was very alive, one of the great writer of Italy, Boccaccio, wrote a splendid story about three rings, which he concluded with a reflection on which of the three monotheistic religions was �true�:

�And I say to you, my lord, that the same applies to the three laws which God the Father granted to His three peoples, and which formed the subject of your inquiry. Each of them considers itself the legitimate heir to His estate, each believes it possesses His one true law and observes His commandments. But as with the rings, the question as to which of them is right remains in abeyance.�

By your very presence in Rome, you have given proof of your genuine desire to engage in dialogue, the importance of which is all the greater now in the aftermath of the first great act of horror in the new millennium.

Allow me to express my compliments to the Sant�Egidio Community for the timely organisation of this meeting, and my gratitude to you for your willingness to come here to Rome, a crossroads of the West and the Mediterranean, the capital city of two states, a city replete with archaeological treasures that continue to inspire us and, finally, a city where international solidarity is an active force.

May peace prevail.