ASSISI, Italy— The city of St. Francis has become a powerful symbol of unity and cooperation between the different religious traditions. And while the focus of attention has often been on how the different religions can hold joint meetings without lapsing into syncretism, equally interesting is what such meetings reveal about attitudes toward unity and cooperation within the Christian world itself.

The danger of syncretism— i.e., treating all religions as equally valid— has been avoided at Assisi by the formula “coming together to pray,” which does not mean “praying together,” as Vatican officials will emphatically insist. The different religions went to different rooms of the convent of the Franciscan Friars to pray at the same time, but not together. The Franciscans removed the crucifixes from the vaulted rooms where the different leaders went to pray and provided prayer carpets for the Muslims. The Buddhists, however, had to contend with a large nativity scene in their room, as it was affixed to the wall and could not be moved. The Christians all held an ecumenical prayer service together in the Basilica of St. Francis.

Those concessions to interreligious hospitality were mild compared to the measures taken the next day in Rome, where the participants were invited to lunch at the Vatican. The Holy Father welcomed them to “my home” and served them a vegetarian meal without wine— unheard of in the land of veal and vino.

“Respect for God and the divine and the desire for God or the divine,” responded Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, when asked what united the different religions “coming together to pray.”

“[There is also] respect for life and the desire for peace with God or the divine, and for peace among peoples and peace in the cosmos,” he said.

Differences were not only evident among the religions, though; Christian leaders themselves indicated that unity within the Christian Church is not as easy as it sometimes appears in Assisi.

Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, Major Archbishop of Lviv of the Ukrainains, spoke of how his Catholic flock was not enthused about his presence together with the Orthodox, at whose hands they were persecuted during the communist era.

“In my country the people have suffered for being Catholic, and for them this is not an easy thing,” said Cardinal Husar aboard the papal train. “When I am with an Orthodox priest or bishop, they criticize me. They say to me: We have suffered for the faith, and now you betray us. It is not easy.”

On the other side, the absence of the Orthodox of Greece was notable— especially given that three Orthodox patriarchs, including the Ecumencial Partriarch Bartholomew, were present. The refusal of the Greek Orthodox to send a delegation was an indication of how difficult ecumenical relations are in Greece.

“The archbishops and metropolitans want to cooperate with the Catholic Church, but they also have a responsibility to their faithful, many of whom are not yet prepared for dialogue,” Orthodox Bishop Athanasios of Achaia, the Orthodox representative to the European Union, told the Italian newspaper Avvenire, suggesting that the bishops could only go so far. Contrasts were also evident in how different Christians spoke about the path to peace.

“God's peace is offered to those who are reconciled with God through Jesus Christ and who truly demonstrate their fellowship with him through love, virtue and complete faith and trust in him,” said Patriarch Bartholomew, indicating that he was not about to dissemble on Christian claims.

“We must repent and turn back to God in full awareness of his holy will and in complete obedience to it,” he continued, offering interior conversion as the Christian contribution to peace. “Only then will God hear our prayers and grant us and all mankind true peace on earth: for he is not a God of war and conflict but a God of peace. If, however, we persist in sinful passions, evil behavior, greed and self-interest, the tumult of war will increase and disaster will strike the earth and all mankind.”

A different note was struck by the message of the Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, who referred to Jesus Christ as the “inspiring leader of all Christians”— a formulation rather weaker than what the Orthodox and Catholics would opt for. The Anglican address stressed that “our concerns must be practical as well as prayerful and prophetic,” and emphasized the social justice aspect of peace.