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1999 - Addess by Mr Andrea Riccardi

Members of the Jury,
Mr Director-General of UNESCO,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great privilege for the Community of Sant'Egidio to receive the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize. By this ceremony, held in the presence of several distinguished figures and dear friends, UNESCO is honouring the work of many men and women in a Community which, for more than 30 years, has been striving against poverty throughout the world, in the rich North and in the South. The Community of Sant'Egidio has a presence in more than 60 countries and its members, inspired by faith, show practical solidarity with those who are the most deprived and those who have been hurt by life.

Among the many forms of poverty, we have to face the one from which they all spring – war. After 1989, we hoped, perhaps naively, that the world, or at least a good proportion of it, could free itself from so much conflict. But war persists, stubbornly, as the accompaniment to contemporary events and the mother of too many sorrows. And much more seriously, because fearful weapons are available, many are those who are able to wage war – not just States but also groups of people, ethnic groups, and sometimes criminal organizations.

Having been faced by a number of serious conflicts, we have arrived at the conviction that although there are many who are in a position to wage war and provoke conflicts, there are also many peacemakers. Yes, although many can wage war, many, too, can build peace. Among the reasons for the award of the Prize, which the President of the Jury, Dr Henry Kissinger, courteously informed us of, were mentions of a number of conflicts with which Sant'Egidio was involved. I cannot forget the war in Mozambique, brought to an end by a peace agreement signed in Rome, at Sant'Egidio, in 1992, for the conclusion of which we worked so hard. These events show what great resources are possessed by the people of Mozambique, today at peace after a long war. They also prove that peace is possible. Yes, it is possible to work for peace having dialogue in a spirit of collaboration as one's only weapon.

Félix Houphouët-Boigny was convinced that even in times of tension, coexistence between different ethnic groups and religions was possible, and that peace is, in the end, possible. Even more importantly, he did not think that diversity could lead to war. This Prize, which is being awarded to us in the presence of so many eminent persons and so many loving friends, gives us power and above all honours the Sant'Egidio Communities present in more than 20 countries in Africa. It proves that the Wise Man of Africa is supporting us and that the search for peace through dialogue is realistic; that it is a duty, and that it alone brings victory.

Human experience, acquired during these years of struggle against poverty and war, has shown the existence of a special power, not the power that States, or at least some of them, can rely on but the power of dialogue based on trust and on the conviction that peace is the real issue at stake for the sides engaged in struggle. It is the power to seek, as the great Pope John XXIII taught, that which unites, and there is much that does, by setting aside that which divides. It is the power of sincere friendship, and of harmony with the demand of peoples to live in peace. It is the power of the invocation of faith.

In the modern world, where we are confronted with such vast scenarios and processes of change, new boundaries are coming into existence, not just national boundaries but ethnic and religious boundaries, too. Unscrupulous political parties often make use of motivations of this kind to arouse warlike passions, especially since the crisis which is affecting many ideologies. Hatred is often gradually driving apart religions, between which a lack of tolerance is stifling any mutual sympathy. This mistrust, this contempt and these prejudices, which seem to be the inevitable legacy of the past, then become a favourable breeding ground for dangerous passions.

Fellow feeling and the conviction that there is a duty to live together have to be cultivated through dialogue. We have accordingly been working for years to bring about closer relations between religions and between cultures by weaving a web of exchanges and friendship among men and women of different beliefs. Knowledge of one another revives fellow feeling. Despite many painful episodes, one finds that peace lies deep in the heart of the great religious tradition of the world. Dialogue gives rise to friendship, leads to coexistence and dries up the well-springs of conflict. Dialogue between religions and secular humanism, an integral part of modern civilization, teaches tolerance and is a reminder of the significance of values.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

This Prize really is a great encouragement, for the men and women of Sant'Egidio, for the walking wounded who journey with them and are their friends, and for all our people who have little and live in poor countries (and who, nevertheless, are convinced that you are never too poor to help others).

Tomorrow's world needs the wisdom of dialogue, sensitivity to the pain of others, friendship offered to all, faith and convictions. These are not mere peripheral features but are part and parcel of reality and a guarantee of peace. The great challenge of a world in which people are living increasingly together and where differing universes are jostling side by side is how to preserve one's identity, to rejoice at relationships with others, avoid conflict, and promote peace, which always brings its own rewards.

Towards that wisdom are converging a humanism that has been refined by life and a bold faith that has confronted pain and is making us experts in humanity. It is the wisdom of that prophecy, ancient yet so topical, that Isaiah made in the eighth century before Christ:

These are the hopes of many, a prophetic vision, a reasonable conviction. But, as the Brazilian poet, Vinicius de Moraes has written: "Life, my friend, is the art of meeting".

Yes. Meeting, my friends, is the art of peace, of life and of the future.

Thank you very much for your attention and for this Prize.

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