Press Release

Issued by

Islamic – Catholic Liaison Committee

With the help of Almighty God, the Islamic-Catholic Liaison Committee held its twelfth meeting in Brussels – Belgium from 12-13/05/1427 H . corresponding to

 08-09/06/2006 A.D. The Islamic delegation was headed by H.E. Prof. Dr. Hamid Bin Ahmad Al-Rifaie, President of the International Islamic Forum for Dialogue based in Saudi Arabia, while the Catholic delegation was headed by H. E. Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata, Secretary of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue. The topic of the meeting was "Religion and environment ". After an exchange of views, the two parties agreed on the following:

1.  Environment is a gift on trust from Almighty God the Creator, and we should keep it safe and not abuse it,

2.  God has entrusted to human beings the mission of developing the earth, for the benefit of all mankind and their dignity.

3.  All creation is meant for the good of mankind and therefore mankind should make use of it in accordance with the divine teachings, in a way that pleases to Him.

4.  Respecting the environment and not disturbing the balance of its systems have a religious dimension, for the reasons mentioned earlier. All creation in fact participates in praising God.

5.  Rebalancing cultures of production and consumption to reduce degradation and  to avoid disordered development.

6.  Educating present and future generations in a spirit of respect and responsibility for the  environment.

 Head of the Islamic delegation         Head of the Catholic delegation

 President of IIFD                             Secretary of PCID