Pope calls on Muslims to respect Christian minorities

VATICAN CITY, May 15 (Reuters) Pope Benedict today said that the rights and dignity of minority Christians in predominantly Muslim countries had to be respected if inter-religious dialogue was to be a real two-way street.

Addressing participants at a Vatican conference on immigration to and from Islamic countries, the Pope also said that while Christians had to respect Muslims, they also had the right to offer what he called ''the Christian proposal'' to them.

The Pope weaved his address around the theme of ''reciprocity'' allowing Christian minorities the same rights as Muslims generally have in Western countries.

He said Christians in Western countries had to respect and welcome immigrants from all countries and all religions but added: ''Obviously, one would hope that Christians who immigrate to predominantly Muslim countries should be welcomed and be respected for their religious identity.'' Reciprocity, such as building houses of worship or practising religion freely, has been at the heart of Vatican diplomacy towards Muslim states in recent years.

Vatican diplomats argue that limits on Christians in some Islamic countries are far harsher than restrictions in the West that some Muslims decry, such as bans in some countries on clothing such as headscarves and burkas in schools.

Despite its many Filipino and other Christian migrant labourers and Christian expatriates in oil and other businesses, Saudi Arabia bans all public expression of non-Muslim religions and sometimes arrests Christians for worshipping privately.

Pakistan allows churches to operate but its Islamic laws effectively deprive local Christians of many basic rights.

HUMAN RIGHTS Both countries are often criticised at the United Nations Human Rights Commission for violating religious freedoms.

The Pope did not name any countries at the conference, where issues such as mixed marriages and Christian-Muslim relations in a post-Sept. 11 world were also discussed.

He told the conference Christians had to ''cultivate an open style of dialogue'' with Muslims. But while doing so they should not give up offering ''the Christian proposal to their interlocutors, coherent with their very identity''.

This was a reference to the Church's position that, even without aiming to convert, Christians had a duty to spread the gospel message and proclaim the word of Jesus to all.

This is a sensitive issue in Muslim countries, many of which ban conversion from Islam to another faith, and the Vatican and the World Council of Churches have begun working on a code of conduct to ensure Christians do not offend other religions.

In several European countries, including Italy, immigrants have made Islam the second largest faith. But dialogue with Muslims can be complicated because Islam has no central authority.

In its search for better relations with the Islamic world, the Church has recently turned a spotlight on the role culture can play in fostering understanding between faiths.

REUTERS SY BD2118