Leading religious figures in Italy for G8 talks

Key religious figures from industrialized and developing nations around the world arrived in Italy on Tuesday for a two-day meeting ahead of the Group of Eight summit in July.
Delegates gathered in the central Italian town of L'Aquila, to pay tribute to the April 6 earthquake victims, before travelling down to Rome for a meeting with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano marking the start of interfaith talks.
In total, 129 religious figures are attending the event, including Hindus, Christians, Jews, Buddhists and Shintoists, in order to discuss issues on the July G8 agenda from a spiritual and ethical perspective.
Vincenzo Paglia, President of the Episcopal Commission for Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue at the Italian Bishops Conference, explained why delegates had first paid a visit to L'Aquila.
''We know it is impossible to imagine a future of peace for everyone if we do not start from places of great suffering,'' he said. ''This is why we decided to set out from here, with a pilgrimage to the centre of a wounded city''. The Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Abuna Paulos expressed his solidarity with the victims of the earthquake and urged all religious figures to create systems ''that encourage solidarity''.
''It is up to us make sure everyone understands that we can either help those who are like us or we can encourage the destruction of civilization - the choice is up to us,'' he said.
After leaving L'Aquila, which will host next month's summit of world leaders, the religious leaders travelled by coach to the Italian capital for talks with Napolitano.
The Italian president said religion and politics should occupy separate spheres but said political life ''needed the support'' of religion.
The interfaith talks between leaders of different faiths will debate a series of topics: water, health, education, food security and peace, with a particular focus on Africa and the impact of the world economic crisis.
Speaking ahead of the event, Paglia said he believed the current crisis was rooted in ''a certain conception of life''.
''This is why we hope these talks will remind political leaders that a religious dimension is essential for the development of peace and for coexistence between different peoples,'' he said.
On Tuesday evening, delegates will meet with Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini and the President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran.
On Wednesday they will attend a general audience with Pope Benedict XVI, followed by a plenary session that will produce a final statement of issues they want considered at the July summit of leaders.
The meeting of religious delegates, now in its fourth year, is one of a series of gatherings in the run-up to the G8 summit.
Other meetings have seen civil society representatives, climate change scientists, university chancellors, students and business figures from around the world meeting in Italy, which is president of this year's G8.
The aim is to provide world leaders with a range of views from different sectors of society when they meet for the final summit, which gets under way on July 8.