Agnostic Julia Kristeva Emerges from the Courtyard of the Gentiles

Calling it "a wonderful initiative, although I don't know what results it will bring," and "something surprising, a beginning of that dialogue which seems necessary to me, but of which many are afraid," as Sandro Magister reports — The "Court" of Paris. An Assessment. She continues:

Both believers and nonbelievers are walking on tiptoes out of fear of losing. I am reminded of the appeal of John Paul II, whom I met in Bulgaria. We all remember his "Be not afraid." He was speaking to Catholics in reference to communism. And the results were seen: Solidarnosc was born, and the Berlin Wall fell. I want to say it to my secular friends: "Be not afraid of religion." You have ways of thinking about the need for religion without the fear of being swallowed up by obscurantism. We can do better than Voltaire, overcoming the abuses of religion and looking at the positive side of belief.

About "the manifesto of the current pope" and the "perspective of Benedict XVI," she says:

When he talks about "making God present in the world," the pope is doing his job: it would be bizarre if he didn't talk about it! Besides, it must be emphasized how among the monotheistic religions, only Christianity has promoted the idea of universality. It seems to me that the pope's tendency is in this direction. The monotheistic religions are exposed to the risk of imposing themselves as truth, even violently, but at the same time they propose within themselves the theme of plurality, the seed of diversity and of the foreign. My hope is that, from the encounter of the Court, we may set out toward that path of universality.