MADRID, Spain.
With the theme "A different world is possible," over a hundred pilgrims from different backgrounds and religious traditions made the Camino de Santiago as pilgrims for peace and justice from Sahagún to Cruz del Ferro from August 31 till September 6.
We created a friendly, happy and beautiful fellowship, a rich exchange of passions and aspirations. And we knew how to do it, not in a climate of tolerance which would mean seeing ourselves better than others, but with respect which means to know, recognize and accept. We had a clear belief that different spiritualties can coexist, engage in dialogue, and develop not by separating but by joining together. By overcoming differences or possible friction between faiths, encouraging mutual help in the process of spiritual growth, we believe we have conveyed a new message of peace capable of being a seed for a more humane, more united, and more respectful real change.
Called together by the DIM (Monastic Interreligious Dialogue, in Spanish) Baha'is, Buddhists, Christians, Catholics (including several members of the Teresian Association), Hindus, Jews, and Muslims participated in a joint project of the Iberian Commission, together with the Masorti Jewish Community Beth-El, the Turkish-Arc House Forum, Dag Shang Kagyu Buddhist community, the Baha'i community of Spain, the Abraham Forum and the Indian Association Veda Dharma. We were hosted by the Benedictine communities of Santa Maria Carbajal of León and Rabanal del Camino.
Each day, in addition to walking a stage, under the direction of leaders of each of the religious groups we deepened into the spiritually of different traditions, giving rise to a genuine process of interreligious encounter.
Fernando Yarza, member of the pilgrimage reporters