Cardinal Jean-Louis Tau-ran, President of the Ponti-fical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, visited Saudi Arabia (April 14-20), where he was received by King Salman. During his stay, the media described the visit as a “desire for rapprochement,” as a “stage in the opening of the Saudi kingdom to other religions,” as a “ripples of openness.” However, Tauran’s own words were the most emblematic. For him, “What is threatening all of us is not the clash of civilisations, but rather the clash of forms of ignorance and radicalism,” words that describe in a nutshell all the religious tensions that afflict the world.
The visit itself was the first by a high envoy of the Catholic Church to Saudi Arabia, cradle of Wahhabism, one of the most radical currents in Islam. During his stay, the prelate spoke about issues such as freedom of religion and equal rights for believers of all faiths. Even if he did not explicitly address the issue of allowing churches in the country or even letting Christians worship, the visit had.
