The pope has stated that if people of all faiths do not "give themselves to each other" that we will create hell on earth. He insists we need to "let our neighbor in." The pope gave his thoughts at an interreligious dialogue meeting on Tuesday in Munich, Germany. He stated:"The theme of the peace meeting, 'Bound to live together,' reminds us that we as human beings are bound to each other. This living together is in fact a precondition that derives from our being human. And it is our duty to give it a positive content."
He added that living together can "transform itself into living against one another." It "can become a hell if we do not learn to accept one another, if everyone only wants to be himself or herself."
He continued: "it can also be a gift when we open up to one another, when we give ourselves to one another."
The pope explained that living together was no longer a local issue, but is now a global issue for all of humanity and called it a "task" and a "gift."
He said that God wanted all of humanity to be a family and for everyone to be "brothers and sisters."
Pope Benedict XVI concluded by stating:
"When religion fails in this meeting with God, when it pulls him down to us instead of raising us up to him, when we, so to say, make him our possession, then it can contribute to the destruction of peace," he cautioned. "But if it finds the way to the divine, to the creator and redeemer of all people, then it is a force for peace."