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Sant'Egidio: during three days, Madrid will be the capital of peace

September 13 2019 - MADRID, SPAIN

The international meeting 'Peace with No Borders' (September 15-17) presented in the Spanish capital

In the Spanish capital, the international meeting “Peace with No Borders” (September 15-17), promoted by the Community together with the Archdiocese of Madrid, was launched – Cardinal Osoro “Disarm hearts with the culture of dialogue” – Impagliazzo (Sant’Egidio): “May Europe be a communal home of integration”.

“Madrid is a city without borders, a hospitable city, where it is not difficult to get together, a city made of different cultural identities, where peace becomes visible”, said cardinal Carlos Osoro, archbishop of Madrid, presenting this afternoon the international meeting “Peace with no borders” promoted by the Community of Sant’Egidio in collaboration with the Archdiocese of Madrid, in the Spanish capital between 15th and 17th September. “It is possible to live with no borders. It is possible, actually urgent to make this world a home”, concluded the cardinal, inviting to “disarm one’s own heart and start a dialogue with others”.
The meeting, which will start Sunday in Madrid recalls, with the title, the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. “Thirty years ago the Berlin Wall has fallen” said Marco Impagliazzo “and freedom in Europe meant a lot for the world, which started to look at the future with hope. Then hope diminished caused by many wars, which still exist, and of terrorism. New walls arose, like the one that divides the two coasts of the Mediterranean”. “Words are the first instrument to overcome borders”, continued Impagliazzo, underlining that Madrid will become “the capital of peace” because it will not “simply host an international congress”, but a meeting which will involve, in a common reflection, well-known personalities from 80 countries of the world, of all religions and cultures.

Sunday afternoon in the Palacio Municipal de Congresos the Opening Session will take place, with interventions made by (among others) the president of the Central African Republic Faustin-Archange Touadera, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, the U.S. economist Jeffrey Sachs, the founder of the Community of Sant’Egidio Andrea Riccardi, the head Rabbi of Tel Aviv Meir Lau, the metropolitan Russian Orthodox Hilarion and the Chancellor of Al Azhar University Mohammad Al-Mahrasawi.
Monday 16th and Tuesday 17th September 27 panels will take place in different places of the city, which will address the themes of the environment, of disarmament and non-violence, of migration, of economy, development and social justice (apart from peace and interreligious and ecumenical dialogue).
Tuesday 17th September, in the afternoon, after the prayer of each religion according to their own tradition, the religious leaders will converge towards Plaza de la Almudena to launch the appeal for peace.