Rome, 13 June 1998
In the many meetings between the Muslim friends of the Focolare and Chiara Lubich, there have been moments of both profound and sincere dialogue. The following are answers she has offered to some of the questions raised.Chiara, we would like to ask you, what has it been like establishing a relationship with the faithful of other religions?
Chiara, we would like to ask you, what has it been like establishing a relationship with the faithful of other religions ?
I have always felt very comfortable! Because even if our religions are different we have much in common and this unites us. Our diversity attracts us to one another; it makes us curious about one another. Therefore, I am happy for two reasons: because I come to know new things and I enter into another’s culture; but also because I come to know brothers and sisters who are the same as me insofar as we believe in so many of the same things.
The most important thing we have in common is the Golden Rule: “Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you.” This saying is present in the sacred books of all of the most important religions. It is also in the gospel for Christians.
It means: treat your brothers and sisters well, hold them in high esteem, love them. Thus, when they discover this sentence in their scriptures and I discover it in mine, I love, they love, and in the end we love one another. This is the foundation on which we can begin to live universal brotherhood. (…)
(taken from Essential Writings, New City Press, New York 2007, pp. 349-354.)
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