Eminent Representatives of the Christian Churches and of the great World Religions,

the sincere and warm atmosphere of Catalonia has made dialogue and love ripen on the shores of the Mediterranean among people of different cultures and religions. Differences do remain; there is no lack of conflicts and problems in the world. But nobody is excluded from dialogue as a means to face them. Because we are in search of true peace, in all its dimensions, the peace of the heart, the peace of the community, the one that ends conflicts, the peace of Christian ecumenism that leads to unity, the peace of the respect for the other, the peace of solidarity, which does not marginalize continents or the poor. One has to change his or her mentality to make peace with the other grow, peace with those who are distant, peace with the environment. Peace grows also if resources are used in a just way, so that the poor may no longer be poor and tomorrow�s generation may not be left with an unlivable world. Peace seems difficult to achieve in a complex and contradictory world, but it is not impossible.

From Assisi, in 1986, a path of peace began. John Paul II showed it and he has always conveyed his message and his support through every step of this pilgrimage. Women and men of different religions have freely committed themselves to this path of prayer, dialogue and peace. We are here today, at the end of three intense days of dialogue, friendship and discussions among the welcoming people of Barcelona, whom we are grateful to. We have prayed in different places according to our different religious traditions, the ones beside the others. Now we have gathered together to proclaim peace at the light of our religious traditions, after having contemplated their value in God.

The prayer rising from these days demands greater audacity from everyone of us. Audacity to communicate and to build peace in a world where different people live together. But it is also a spiritual audacity: to live one�s faith, to question oneself on one�s own life in front of God, in search of a profound spirituality, that disarms the heart and enriches in love. This profound spirituality � I am sure � will be matched by a more solid peace among men, able to disturb the projects of the violent, to disarm and to make people meet.

The Community of Sant�Egidio believes that peace is a way of faith, but also of daily solidarity with the poor, of friendship as a way of living with the others.

It seems to us that God does not want men and peoples to be prisoners of violence, of hatred and of war. He puts in the hands of men the great chance to live free in peace, to build peace and to give peace. This peace is a responsibility and a duty for all of us.

Thus, a dream rises. Perhaps it is just a dream. It is, however, a dream which is worthwhile living for: that peace may conquer the hearts, that it may descend into the depths of the earth, that it may stop violence, that it may grow in open and reasonable dialogue, respectful of every identity. May peace come in all our hearts, in the whole of Spain, in the whole of Europe, along the shores of the Mediterranean, in Jerusalem and in the Holy Land, in Africa, in the countries which are represented here, in those which have no voice. May peace come in the whole world. May it live through faith, goodwill, dialogue and justice for the whole century which has just opened. This is our wish, but above all it is our prayer.