*EVALUATION: In light of the Gospel, the Rule of Benedict and Vatican II*

“In the interaction of the glance with which I observe the ‘stranger’
and that with which the immigrant observe me, we are called above all to
discern God’s project at this moment in history in which we live. We are
challenged to see if our attitudes are consonant with the Gospel precept
of universal brotherhood embracing all of humanity and all creatures or
to see if we are influenced by the culture of ‘clash of civilizations,’
by a xenophobic and exclusive spirit which sets different cultures,
races and religions against each other.

“This is a discernment which implies a crucial choice: between that of
intercultural and interreligious dialogue to open a new era in which the
conditions can be established to permit the human race finally to become
a human family….

“For men and women of goodwill, but in particular for Christians and
oblates (many of whom are already living multiculturalism in the
monasteries with which they are associated) the only possibility is to
open oneself to the way of reconciliation and the acceptance of
difference. This is a path of growth, anything but easy, which requires
an heroic practice of humility. This humility helps us not to think of
ourselves as the center of the universe and which alone will make us
able to welcome with sympathy the gifts which, like us, the ‘other’ has
received from God.

*ACTION: to be faithful to Jesus Christ, Saint Benedict and the signs of
our times*

“And now, what can we do to build bridges and break down walls? It is
not enough to have a Christian vision of the ‘other’. Continuing
formation is necessary along with a strong determination to be able to
think as a disciple of Jesus and as a member of the great Benedictine
family. We need to cleanse our memories of a tribal mentality and
nationalistic reflexes which have given some people, ourselves included,
a sense of superiority regarding other cultures and religions. For this
reason we need to recover a deep sympathy which will enable us to
recognize and welcome the other as a brother and sister with whom to
begin the ‘fifth era’, that of an authentic and deep ecumenical,
interreligious and intercultural dialogue.

“This is the ambitious goal which, with God’s help, the Congress sets
itself, more definitely that of encouraging among oblates the growth of
a new awareness which will enable them in some way to become active
participants in the great movement for peace, justice and the protection
of creation which the Christian Churches launched in Basle in 1989 – a
world of sharing, a world of cross-fertilization, a world which will
turn to the love of God.
We need, then, to build a ‘civilization of love’ as proclaimed by Pope
Paul VI. In doing this, the image that springs to mind is that of the
Good Samaritan who sees in the injured person only a person like
himself, stripped of religious, political or ethnic labels.”