Arabic News Network Interviews Cardinal Bertone

Zenit.org – December 10, 2009

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 10, 2009 (Zenit.org) – Benedict XVI’s secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, took advantage of an interview with the Al Jazeera news network to reiterate a call for peaceful coexistence for all.

L’Osservatore Romano reported today on the cardinal’s interview with the Arab network, during which the prelate emphasized that Catholic-Muslim dialogue is an important “factor of peace and respect.”

He also used the interview to send Muslims his “wishes for peace and serene and solidary coexistence,” reaffirming that the Church in every country “defends the rights of all, the right to live, the right to education, the right of association, the rights of all minorities,” the Vatican daily reported.

Cardinal Bertone particularly emphasized the importance of religious liberty, saying, “It is necessary to ensure for each one his liberty of worship, dialoguing and working together to help those in greater need.”

The Church “promotes the good of persons regardless of their religion,” he affirmed. And that is why she requests that “the defense of the rights of minorities” be valid also for Christians “who are in Muslim or non-Christian countries.” The cardinal said this “is a commitment that we must all make together.”

Iraq

Cardinal Bertone mentioned the ongoing turmoil in Iraq, saying that the archbishop of Baghdad, Cardinal Emmanuel Delly, phoned him after the latest series of attacks that left hundreds dead or wounded.

The cardinal reiterated the Pope’s exhortations that Christians stay in their Middle Eastern homelands, affirming that their situation is always at the center of talks with political leaders of Arab nations who visit the Vatican.

He spoke up for those refugees who have abandoned the regions of the Holy Land, urging the international community to remember “the refugees who are still far from their homelands,” asking nations to be ever more committed to creating “the conditions for their return.”

Cardinal Bertone also commented on the vote to ban minarets in Switzerland, saying the decision was “born of fear,” whereas votes should come from a positive goal.

Educating

Mohammed Kenawi, the Al Jazeera correspondent, also asked Cardinal Bertone about the role and functions of the Vatican.

The Pope’s secretary of state thus explained the distinction between the Holy See and the Vatican, and also spoke of the figure of the pope, saying his sovereignty over the small Vatican State is a guarantee of liberty and independence in regard to other powers.

In regard to relations with Italy, the cardinal defined them as “very intense” and remarked on the “particular attention” of the pope to the life of the nation. But he also specified that the Church expresses only moral indications and judgments on different issues, and that Catholics, as all citizens, are free to act according to their conscience enlightened by faith.

The interview, produced by Domino Film, lasts about 20 minutes and was recorded on Wednesday morning. Its most significant passages will be part of a documentary on the Vatican, which will be broadcast by Al Jazeera in six months. The project was reviewed and developed by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

Interviews are also planned with Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue; with Archbishops Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture; Claudio Maria Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications; and Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

“The decision to make the documentary is born from the desire to make known to the Arab and Muslim world a universal reality such as the Catholic Church and, in particular, the Vatican, an independent and altogether particular entity led by the Pontiff, who is at the same time spiritual leader and head of a state,” Kenawi explained to L’Osservatore Romano. It is “a contribution to the dialogue between religions, which to be effective has need of reciprocal knowledge as an essential condition.”

Kenawi said he was struck “by the positive reception that our initiative received in the Vatican.” And he hopes that “it might serve to make better known to the Arab world the figure of the Pope and the role of the Holy See in the present international scene.”