Young people from Israel, Palestine and the United States, gathered by Occurrent Scholas in an interreligious meeting

The Occurrent Scholas Pontifical Foundation will gather in Rome from February 2 to 5 to 33 young people from Israel, Palestine and the United States in an interreligious meeting also promoted by the Vatican.

The appointment – which also participate in the University of the Region, a public university to respond to the global crisis of the sense linked to the Vatican, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the University of Notre Dame – is structured under the title Meaning Meets Us.

According to the organizers, in a world marked by polarization and fragmentation, this event will seek to “respond to the crisis of meaning, promoting education and encounter as paths towards understanding and peace.”

In fact, this meeting is only a first pilot edition “which will be sought to replicate in different cities in the world, carrying the interreligious dialogue to younger people around the world,” according to Occurrent Scholas.

Young people are scheduled to meet with Pope Francis on February 5 in a meeting at the Vatican Apostolic Palace in which they will be able to present the conclusions they have reached during the previous days.

The World President of Scholas Occurrentes, José María del Corral, says in this regard that the encounter “is a testimony that interreligious dialogue is possible and necessary.”

“It is an invitation to the world to see that young people can lead change through encounter and listening. It is particularly significant to do so in this jubilee year in Rome, where forgiveness and hope occupy a central place,” he tells this regard.

For his part, Professor Elitzur Bar-Asher Siegal, from the Hebrew University underlines that “while the academic world fights today to find a balance between freedom of expression and respectful dialogue, between censorship and the protection of rights, this Project wants to remind us that the university must be a space for the honest and analytical debate based on knowledge. ”

“Through the collaboration between Scholas and Middle Meets, we combine intellect and emotion to promote an authentic and brave dialogue. When this occurs in the midst of a conflict between faced nations, a ray of hope is opened for a better future, ”he adds.

Bar-Asher Siegal also directs the project Middle Meetsemerged after the attacks of the Hamas terrorist group in Israel in October 2023 with the aim of generating listening and understanding spaces among Hebrew students.

The meetings of this event will take place in various spaces of the eternal city, where participants, from Muslim, Jewish and Christian traditions, will participate in educational and artistic activities designed by Occurrent Scholas.

Meeting with Pope Francis

One of the most anticipated moments of the program will be the meeting with Pope Francis after the General Hearing on February 5, where young people will have the opportunity to present the conclusions worked during the previous days.

Since its origin, Scholas has worked on the promotion of interreligious dialogue through educational experiences. Initiatives such as the 4 -kilometer mural in WYD 2023 in Lisbon, known as the Sistine of Youth, and the recent polyhedron built in Indonesia with the participation of more than 1000 young Catholics and Muslims, are concrete examples of this methodology. In addition every year since 2017, he has been doing together with World Orta world meeting of young people from different religions.