(From our correspondent) “We live in a world where it is increasingly difficult for people to meet, where there are many online networks, but off-line networks are on the rise, especially when it comes to men and women from different cultural, social and religious backgrounds. The fact that the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI) is sponsoring these meetings with representatives of Muslim communities and associations shows a fundamental commitment”. Mgr. Ambrogio Spreafico, Bishop of Frosinone and President of the CEI Commission for Ecumenism and Dialogue, said this to explain the “significance” of the three days dedicated to “Muslim-Christian dialogue” that are being organised by the CEI at the Shrine of Merciful Love in Collevalenza (Perugia) from 29 April to 1 May entitled “The joy of encounter”. “It is a fundamental commitment because we live in a world of otherness, which will be increasingly diverse. Our country faces the presence of migrants, men and women from different religious beliefs, beliefs that sometimes give rise to distance, prejudice, and ever more violent forms of racism that are ultimately an expression of a culture that is unable to open up to the other”. “The goal – Mgr Spreafico continued – is to stress that Christianity in Italy can be a bridge towards the other. Our Church wants to be a bridge of dialogue, encounter and mutual knowledge. Indeed, another big problem today is ignorance, and ignorance can only be defeated by the encounter. When you meet a man or a woman, you look at them in the eyes and listen to their stories, the stories of their escape from Syria, from Lebanon or from Nigeria, and then you realize that it is a story of suffering for you to understand and accept, that calls for your answer. This commitment by the CEI is in line with what Pope Francis is asking of us: that we go out into the world and engage with the other, without giving up our own identity, for it is precisely because we firmly believe in Jesus of Nazareth that we are a bridge”.