ASSISI, Italy— It was reminiscent of previous peace gatherings at Assisi. Gatherings which some say helped end the Cold War and tear down the Berlin Hall.

“Never again violence! Never again war! Never again terrorism! In the name of God may every religion bring upon earth justice and peace, forgiveness and life, love!” said Pope John Paul II in the name of the many religions' leaders who met Jan. 24.

The Holy Father called together over 200 world religious leaders to the birthplace of St. Francis to pray for peace. Protected from the wind and rain under a large scaffolding-and-canvas tent in lower St. Francis Square, the leaders were gath ering for the third such meeting convened by John Paul. While the novelty of the first such meeting in 1986 has worn off, the fact that this meeting was called in response to the terrorist attacks and subsequent war added a new dimension.

Cardinal Edward Egan of New York was present in Assisi, and was specially greeted by John Paul as the archbishop of “the city so terribly affected by the tragic events of Sept. 11.”

“We proclaim before the world that religion must never become a reason for conflict, hatred and violence, like that seen once more in our days,” said Cardinal Francois Xavier Van Thu!ân, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, as he opened the meeting.

Van Thuân, who spent 13 years imprisoned by the Vietnamese communists for being a Catholic bishop, speaks with a certain authority when he calls for reconciliation and a renunciation of violence.

John Paul wanted this meeting to make clear that religion is not a cause of violence but rather a force for peace.

The Assisi meeting was held in the same week as a meeting in Alexandria, Egypt, chaired by the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. George Carey, which convened Christian, Jewish and Islamic leaders to work for peace in the Holy Land. Catholic participants in that meeting included the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Michel Sabbah and Melkite Archbishop Pierre Mouallem of Haifa. The Alexandria meeting was co-hosted by Sheikh Mohammed Tantawi of al-Azhar University in Egypt, the spiritual leader of the world's Sunni Muslims.

Both Carey and Tantawi, unable to be present in Assisi, sent messages that were read by their representatives.

In Assisi itself, the Holy Father was joined by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, leader of the world's 200 million Othodox Christians, and two other Orthodox Patriarchs; Dr. Konrad Raiser, Secretary-General of the World Council of Churches; as well as leaders of 14 other Christian denominations and 11 other religions, including Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and African animists. A commitment to peace was read by 10 different leaders in 10 different languages.

“We commit ourselves to proclaiming our firm commitment that violence and terrorism are incompatible with the authentic spirit of religion and, as we condemn every recourse to violence and war in the name of God or religion; we commit ourselves to doing everything possible to eliminate the root causes of terrorism,” said Raiser, reading the first part of the pledge in German.

Muslim Participation

After Sept. 11, it was clear that the over 1,000 journalists who gathered were eager to hear what the Islamic world would say.

While the presence of senior Muslim clerics and scholars was a testimony in itself, the address of Sheikh Tantawi was less robust than many hoped. He stressed the universal brotherhood of all peoples and the divine plan for peace, but unlike the Christian and Jewish leaders present, opted not to specifically condemn violence in the name of religion.

He struck a strangely off-key note in “paying tribute to the Vatican for its honorable support of the Palestinian people.”

“We don't know whether Osama bin Laden is a good Muslim, because we only know him from television, but I must say that certainly the terrorists are not good Muslims, because God does not want violence,” said Dr. Ali Wahby El Samman, speaking to reporters en route to Assisi aboard the papal train. Dr. El Samman read Sheikh Tantawi's address.

A similarly curious mix of defiance and hope came from the Jewish representative, Rabbi Israel Singer, secretary-general of the World Jewish Congress.

For ostensible reasons of brevity, he chose not to read the parts of his prepared remarks which recalled how the “Bible is replete with God's injunctions to the Jews to do battle against their enemies when necessary,” wars which are to be fought “ruthlessly and without mercy.”

He did, however read that part of his address which stressed that no religion commanded its adherents “to kill indiscriminately, and those who have taught otherwise have done so by hijacking and distorting the religions in whose name they speak.”

“You should tell your people and we should tell ours, all of us— all of us— to question whether land or places are more important than people's lives and, until we learn to do that, there will be no peace,” Singer added obliquely, leading many to wonder whether he was referring to Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “Peace is too important to be left to the generals.”

Common Witness

Several leaders joined John Paul in stating the importance of a common witness, across religious boundaries, of prayer for peace. It was clear that John Paul wanted to use his singular authority to provide a forum in which Christians, Jews and Muslims would together condemn violence in the name of religion.

“Only you could make this happen,” said Rabbi Singer, addressing John Paul. “Only you could do it, and we have to help you do it.”

But beyond the immediate world conflict, the meetings at Assisi are part of the Pope's continuing effort to show that the history of the world is not only the stuff of politics and economics, but is primarily the story of the human spirit, that real but invisible realm in which God's providence is at work.

“The coming together of so many religious leaders to pray is in itself an invitation to the world to become aware that there exists another dimension of peace and another way of promoting it which is not a result of negotiations, political compromises or economic bargaining,” John Paul said about the first Assisi meeting. “It is the result of prayer, which, in the diversity of religions, expresses a relationship with the a supreme power that surpasses our human capacities alone.”

“As men of religion, we commit the sin of excessive modesty,” said the Chief Rabbi of Paris, Samuel-Renè Sirat, agreeing that the religious dimension of peace is often neglected by religious leaders themselves. “We have the responsibility to take strong positions, to say that we will not tolerate that the name of God be used for violence, for war, for destruction and for assassination.”

The Spirit of Assisi

There were differing views about what could concretely by expected from the Assisi initiative.

“I find it encouraging that persons of different religions are making this trip to Assisi,” said Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger aboard the papal train. “I like this dimension of pilgrimage very much, that we are journeying together, and together we are searching for peace. We do not wait for immediate results, but all of us wish to know the one God, and to work for peace.”

Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Sant'Egidio movement, was also on hand. “In 1986 the world was enmeshed in the cold war,” he said. “But we did not pray in vain at Assisi and in the spirit of Assisi!”

Since 1986, the Sant'Egidio community has held annual commemorations of the first Assisi meeting, and Riccardi believes that what happened afterwards on the world stage was not merely coincidental.

“We have seen how prayer unleashes new energies for peace,” he said. “Epoch-making changes have taken place: peaceful transitions from Communism in Eastern Europe, victories of peaces in Central and South America, and is Asia. I have seen first hand the return of justice in South Africa and of peace in Mozambique. New energies of love prepare the way for peace.”

In the church of St. Francis, a few yards from where the Christians gathered for ecumenical prayer, the Christmas nativity scene was still standing— fittingly enough, because it was St. Francis who made the first Christmas crèche. And there, in bold letters, was the message from the heavens, carried by those spiritual messengers, the angels: Et in terra pax. And on earth, peace.