Bergamo, Italy—"The Divine Concept in the Various Faiths" was the theme of a meeting organized by UPF to commemorate World Interfaith Harmony Week.
Representatives of four religions took part in the meeting, which was held on Sunday, February 7, 2016, in the “Muzio” junior high school in the northern Italian city of Bergamo.
After a hymn and a prayer offered by Ignazio Cabras, UPF representative Carlo Zonato spoke about the significance of the United Nations-designated World Interfaith Harmony Week. This was followed by a reading of the UPF International statement on the occasion.
In an atmosphere of harmony and sincere brotherhood, representatives of four faiths took turns speaking on the theme of the meeting, which had been chosen by mutual agreement. The speakers were: Vasudeva Das of the Congregation for Krishna Consciousness; Mohsen Mouelhi, vicar general of the Brotherhood of Jerrahi-Halveti Sufi in Italy; the Buddhist monk Tenzin Kentse of the Ghe Pel Ling Institute of Milan; and Adosco Comito of the Bergamo chapter of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), an organization that is affiliated with UPF. Each speaker offered the assembly their reflections and ended in a personal prayer.
The meeting was followed with keen interest by about 60 participants and, at the end, there was a deep discussion among the participants. The spirit and the value of the meeting aroused strongly the idea that this type of interreligious experience can be repeated at a later date on other issues of great interest and relevance.