In statements to ZENIT, regional director of Communion and Liberation, Ambrogio Pisoni, also pastoral assistant of the Catholic University of Milan, explained how this initiative came about. The idea of taking the meeting to Egypt was that of Wael Farouq, a member of Cairo’s American University. Farouq “visited the Rimini meeting first alone and then, last year, with three friends, among them a lady who at present holds the office of vice president of the Egyptian Constitutional Court,” Pisoni explained.
He noted, “Taking part in it, as guests, they were impressed, to the point of beginning to think of the way it could also be made known in their country.”
In regard to the question about how this event might help in dialogue with Muslims, Pisoni clarified that the meeting “does not set itself particular objectives,” as “it was born unexpectedly and will continue in the same way. For us it is important to remain faithful to the friendship born with these persons,” he said. “We’ll see what surprises come to light: We will decide together how to proceed afterward .”
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