Brussels, 27/12/2001 (Agence Europe) - The meeting of religious leaders in Brussels on 19/20 December on "The Peace of God in the World - Towards Peaceful Co-Existence and Collaboration between Monotheistic Religions" (Christianity, Islam and Judaism), convened under the auspices of His All Holiness, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, and the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, ended with the adoption of the Brussels Declaration in which the 80 religious leaders condemned the 11 September attacks and the "abuse of religion to justify acts contrary to the sprit of peace and harmony"; and affirmed that "extremist expressions of faith do not reflect the teachings of these religions, and that, therefore, religious beliefs are not responsible for the acts of adherents which are committed either by transgression or by misinterpretation".
After the meeting, Romano Prodi said religion could not be used to justify violence and that they had a shared responsibility and now needed a new philosophy and ethics - the EU must launch co-operation between peoples to ensure peace, direct dialogue and solidarity and that these were the key ideas of a new political approach the EU would now be preparing. Bartholomew I said "War in the name of religion in war against religion, and we must separate political from religious activism", adding that they had the right to live in peace, freedom and religious freedom. Rabbi Arthur Schneier said there was no excuse for sacrificing a human life in the name of religion -"We must draw the line between those who destroy life and those who save it". On behalf of Pope Jean-Paul II, Cardinal Walter Kasper said they wanted to work together to improve relations between their religions and their countries.