To those of you who ridicule those with faith

You're right. Religion has in fact killed more people than any other kind of human conflict combined. My professor in Philosophy of Religion once told us this. And this is one of the saddest concepts I've come to terms with in my entire life. But if this says something, it does not tell of the rightness or wrong-ness of religion. Religion is not the culprit. Religion is about relationship with God. It should make us more like the one we worship. We Catholics believe in a God characterized by communion and love. It calls us to be agents of communion, understanding, humility and love as well. Thus, it is sad to see that we Catholics do not live up to the faith we profess. But that is the power of religion; it makes us like God (in an acceptable sense). It empowers us to act according to the God we profess. It enables us to do impossible things - like forgiving those we find hard to forgive, loving those who persecute us, or giving what we ourselves need because we believe in a faith that our God will provide for what we cannot hope to be sufficient with. If it is not about religion, it merely tells us that humanity is the one at fault. We who claim to be equipped with the reason to be reasonable in our actions are the ones too often unreasonable in the way we deal with our fellows. We distinguish more than we tolerate. We find our differences more worth engaging in than what unites us. I am not sure if it lies way underneath our human instict. But I am pretty sure that because humanity has so tended to celebrate what makes one different from another, then the way we deal with our religion follows suit. I admire you for the respect with which you accord people coming from different strains of faith. You see, within Catholicism, there is a theology which aims at nurturing relations with other Christian communities and religions. We call it Ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue. It promotes respect and celebrates differences, rather than disdain them. It's a long way to go I am sure. Humanity is a race which learns fast on facts, but learns slow on values. But I do hope that we can get to a point when humanity will be enveloped with respect, patience and tolerance for all peoples who profess different faiths.