by Fr Vittorio Pozzo, SDB

You cannot honestly present yourself to the other by disguising your identity: this, in fact, must emerge with clarity. Only in this way can confrontation with ambiguity be avoided.  But let us first ask: what is our identity? Do we know and identify with it or is it a faded image?

Dialogue then requires the recognition of "otherness": the other is different from me and challenges me by its difference. If I consider otherness negatively, I will see it as a threat; If I consider it positively, I will see it as a value.

"Sincerity of intentions" demands that dialogue does not hide behind tactics and become a diplomatic fiction. Openness must be unconditional, an opening of mind and heart. "We must listen to the brother with the ear of God, if we are to be given to speak with the word of God" (Dietrich Bonhoeffer).

As Salesians then, we are touched by the Pope's words about the importance of the education of the younger generations, especially as regards quality and content, so that they truly respond to "the nature of man, by being open and relational" and place dignity at the centre. For those who know the contents of various schoolbooks in use in Middle Eastern countries, packed with confessional quotations and interpreted in the strictest and most rigorous sense, the words of the Pope are all the more relevant when he urges us to "build mature generations" and every day to "transform the air contaminated by hate with the oxygen of brotherliness."

There is still a long way to go, and it requires a real and profound cultural revolution. There can be stimuli and pushes from the outside but a real change can only flow from within. Thus, the central role of education becomes the "wisdom of life" only if it is able to form peace builders and no more advocates of conflict.

It is from this perspective that we should see the role of Salesian educational presence in Islamic countries. In many cases, it has been and continues to be a model of "living together" between different cultures, religions and nationalities.  Generations pass and change, but the mission continues.

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