‘Concern for humanity’
By Christina Wallace
Metro
More than a dozen top religious leaders came together yesterday to mark the Sept. 11 anniversary and to promote constructive, interreligious relationships to create a better understanding and respect among all people.
"It's very fitting that we come together to mourn this anniversary of such a terrible crime against humanity - but an event that brought out not only the worst in people but the best in people, their heroism, their generosity, their love for the community, the desire for peace," Cardinal Sean O'Malley said at The Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston where the event was held.
O'Malley, along with representatives from several different religious communities, including Islam, Judaism, Greek Orthodox and Buddhism, called for people to celebrate each other's common religious values instead of letting the differences divide.
The group, which first met shortly after the terrorist attacks in 2001, has continued to meet each year in the hopes of furthering dialogue among their faith communities.
Six candles were lit, each by a different religious leader, to symbolize their common mission to bring people together.
"We came here today to share our concern for humanity," said Imam Abdullah Faaruuq, a representative with the Islamic Council of New England. "I believe that the lighting of these candles shows that we share the same principles of this faith that we have in God and our need to bring about peace."
The group has pledged to continue to meet to assess the well-being of religious, racial and ethnic communities in the commonwealth and to further community building.
Next month and again in October 2007, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the Jewish High Holy Days and Sukkot will coincide. In addition, both the Christian feast day of St. Francis of Assisi and the Worldwide Communion Sunday of Protestants occur during that time. Because of this coincidence, which will not happen for another 30 years, the leaders encouraged people to reach out to members of other religions to promote understanding.
"We will work together to repair the world, and we will bring a message of hope and peace to the people in our own communities and people throughout the world," said Nancy Kaufman, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston.
