Democracy cannot guarantee tolerance and respect among people if it lacks a strong moral foundation that upholds the rights and dignity of all, Pope Benedict XVI told participants in a conference on interreligious dialogue.

"A healthy society always promotes respect for the inviolable and inalienable rights of all people," the pope said in his written message.

An "objective moral grounding" is key to building a peaceful society, because without it "not even democracy is capable of ensuring a stable peace," he wrote. "In this sense, moral relativism undermines the workings of democracy, which by itself is not enough to guarantee tolerance and respect among peoples."

The pope's message, released by the Vatican Nov. 8, was presented to participants of an interreligious conference sponsored by Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and Rabbi Arthur Schneier, president of the U.S.-based Appeal of Conscience Foundation.

The international conference, held Nov. 7-9 in Istanbul, Turkey, brought together representatives from Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths to discuss the theme "Peace and Tolerance --- Dialogue and Understanding in Southeast Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia."

Patriarch Bartholomew said the initiative aimed to promote collaboration, harmony and respect among believers of the three monotheistic faiths "in a world that has cruelly suffered much because of wars and conflicts."

Cardinal Walter Kasper, head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and its Commission for Religious Relations With the Jews, represented the pope at the conference and read the pontiff's message to participants.

In the text, Pope Benedict said that peace and tolerance were of "vital importance in a world where rigid attitudes so often give rise to misunderstanding and suffering and can even lead to deadly violence."

Dialogue was "indispensable" in the search for solutions to the world's conflicts and tensions, he said.

"Only through dialogue can there be hope that the world will become a place of peace and fraternity," the pope said, adding that all people are called to engage in dialogue and resist the trap of aggression or prejudice against others.

"Every person of good will, and especially every believer" has the duty "to help build a peaceful society and to overcome the temptation toward aggressive and futile confrontation between different cultures and ethnic groups," he said.

Everyone can have a hand in creating a more peaceful world by placing one's "spiritual and cultural heritage and ... ethical values at the service of the human family throughout the world," the pope said.

Peace and harmony can only come "if at the heart of the economic, social and cultural development of each community is a proper respect for life and the dignity of every human person," he said.

The pope said countries must "educate in truth" and "foster reconciliation wherever there has been injury."

He reaffirmed "the Catholic Church's strong commitment to work tirelessly for cooperation among people, cultures and religions, so that abundant graces and heavenly blessings will descend upon all God's children."

---CNS