Pope Benedict XVI on Monday called on those of all faiths to pray for peace, but said they must also acknowledge their differences, in a message to religious leaders gathered in central Italy.
Thousands of people from 70 countries, including 200 religious leaders, gathered in the central Italian town of Assisi on Monday morning to hear the pope underline the importance of the "pedagogy of prayer" for the younger generation.
"In many regions of the world marked by conflict, young people are educated to feel hate and vengeance, in ideological contexts that cultivate ancient enmities and prepare the soul for a violent future," he said in a message delivered by the French Cardinal Paul Poupard.
The event was held to mark the 20th anniversary of a landmark inter-religious meeting hosted by Benedict's predecessor, John Paul II, in Assisi, a popular venue for inter-religious gatherings. "The paths of culture, politics and economics are certainly important, but peace is built primarily in our hearts," Benedict said.
But he added that "convergence" in prayer "must not give the impression that we are giving in to relativism". The meeting was attended by Blaise Compaore, president of Burkina Faso, Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, rector of the Al-Azhar university in Cairo, and Israel's Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger.