GENEVA, May 11, 2006 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Protestant and Orthodox churches are spearheading a three-year joint drive with the Vatican to forge a code of conduct on religious conversion and proselytism.

"We hope that at the end of this study project, we will be able to propose a code of conduct that will affirm that commitment to our faith never translates into denigration of the other," Hans Ucko, head of the World Council of Churches (WCC)'s inter-religious relations office, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"The issue of religious conversion remains a controversial dimension in many inter-confessional and inter-religious relations," he said.

The initiative is aimed at addressing long-standing concerns about how far religions around the world can go to seek out new faithful.

The WCC, which groups Protestant and Orthodox churches, and the Vatican will launch the study project at a meeting in the town of Velletri, near Rome.

The four-day meeting, due to kick off on Friday, May 12, will be attended by about 30 religious representatives.

Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and indigenous religious traditions have been invited to play an active part in the three-year process, involving the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the WCC's Office on Interreligious Relations.

Ucko stressed that dialogue would seek to strike a balance between religious freedom and ethical responsibilities.

He said the idea of rules on proselytizing had arisen several years ago during regular contacts between the Geneva-based WCC and the Vatican after methods used by Christian missionaries in India had caused problems for local Christians.

"This is basically an intra-Christian project, a dialogue between Christians, because although some take a low-key approach others embark on what can be seen as crusading which offends people of other religions," he told Reuters.

Ucko asserted that in some areas coercive proselytism "destroys the fiber of different faiths that are living together in peace."

He cited examples of what took place in Sri Lanka after the December 2004 tsunami when a drive by foreign missionaries to win converts led to attacks on long-established local Christians.

A report by The Observer had warned that missionary work conducted by western Christian groups in the Muslim province of Aceh, Indonesia, was hindering much-needed relief efforts in the province and foment tension and confrontations with local Muslims.

On Thursday, January 13, 2005, The Washington Post reported that a US missionary group was planning to Christianize 300 Muslim children from Aceh.

Ucko denied any link between the drive and the recent controversy triggered by the arrest of an Afghan Muslim who converted to Christian on charges of apostasy.

Abdul Rahman, who now lives in Italy, was spared trial by the orders of President Hamid Karzai following intervention by Pope Benedict and the White House.

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