World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations"

Participating in the presentation were: MGIMO Rector, Member of the Collegium of the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor Anatoly Torkunov, Order of Malta Ambassador to Russia Gianfranco Facco-Bonetti, the founder and President of the “Sofia” Association, Professor Giuseppe Cardillo Adzari, Vice-President of the “Sofia” Association, Pierlucca Adzari, eminent Italian economics professors.

In the Preface to the book, Metropolitan Kirill writes that the publication “is a vivid example of the creative interpretation of the challenges that secular civilization places before the contemporary Christian.” He places special emphasis on Cardinal Bertone’s thesis that “the pivotal position in the social doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church is held not so much by the notion of formal justice as the “community,” the brotherhood of the members of the Church of Christ that directs its efforts to implement the ideas of the common weal.”

It is also emphasized that much in the book penned by the Vatican’s Secretary of State “is in consonance with the social teachings of the Russian Orthodox Church,” and that this could give “fresh and important impetus to the development of the Orthodox-Catholic dialogue on the significance of the spiritual and cultural values in the life of contemporary society.”

MGIMO Rector, Academician Anatoly Torkunov described the appearance of the book by the Vatican’s Secretary of State as “a landmark event” which points to the great attention that the Church attaches to the ethics in the social-economic sphere. On his part, the Order of Malta Ambassador to Russia Gianfranco Facco-Bonetti expressed the opinion that the current world financial crisis has vividly demonstrated that on the basis of the values that today determine the life in many counties it is impossible to resolve the problems of national economies which do not comply with the needs of social justice and spirituality. In the joint book by Cardinal Bertone and Metropolitan Kirill, it is possible to find “that light which will show us the way at this difficult moment that we are all living through,” remarked the diplomat.

The eminent Italian economist, Bologna University Professor Stefano Damani also welcomed the publication of Cardinal Bertone’s book. From the point of view of the scientist, this publication is especially important because the subject of the impact of globalization and “the third industrial revolution” on “the cultural matrix” of the peoples has practically not been studied at all. Besides that, the world’s social-philosophical thought has not yet proposed any kind of acceptable model for an inter-cultural dialogue based not only on “tolerance” but also on recognition of the values of each and every natural culture. According to the professor, the book focuses on precisely such a model that was elaborated on the basis of the social doctrine of the Church that enables us to develop “a fraternal dialogue among peoples belonging to different cultural matrixes.” This concept is based on “three main pillars”: the theme of human dignity, the principle of solidarity and mutual assistance, and the ideal of “the common weal.” The economist explains the latter notion by way of a mathematical analogy: if one of the multipliers “disappears” then the entire product equals zero which, in principle, distinguishes “the common weal” from the sum total of individual prosperities.