12/04/2011 Session
Strasbourg, 12.04.2011 – Following a debate which brought together leading religious figures from across Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has called for “a new culture of living together” based on the assertion of everyone’s equal dignity and adherence to the Council of Europe’s basic principles of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
Approving a recommendation based on a report by Anne Brasseur (Luxembourg, ALDE) on the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue, the parliamentarians called on Europe’s governments to set up a new “platform for dialogue” where high-level representatives of Europe’s main religious institutions – in particular Christian, Jewish and Muslim ones – could meet, together with humanist and non-religious organisations, to discuss how best to promote “the values that make up the common core of any democratic society”. The EU, the UN Alliance of Civilizations and other relevant partners could also be invited to take part.
During the debate the Assembly was addressed in turn by Patriarch Daniel of Romania, the President of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the Chairperson of the Presidency of Religious Affairs of Turkey Professor Mehmet Görmez, the Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar, and the Plenipotentiary Representative of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany to the Federal Republic of Germany and the EU Prelate Bernhard Felmberg.
In its text, the Assembly stressed the importance of education, and said that teaching on religions should be “an opportunity for encounter and for receptiveness”. Holders of religious responsibilities should also be better trained in knowledge and understanding of other religions and convictions.