Vatican City, Dec 7 

Christians and Hindus must be "lights of peace" in order to challenge violence and hatred in the world, the Vatican's top interfaith dialogue official has said.

"Our aim is that, more and more, we become a light of peace in this world," said Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran.

Inter-religious dialogue is a "moral imperative", Tauran said in a speech on Tuesday to a conference at the Pontifical Gregorian University, heralding a new chapter in Christian-Hindu relations, Vatican Radio reported.

Religions are not the cause of violence and hatred, "but rather are part of the solutions to problems created by religious fanatics with vested interests," Tauran said.

The conference brought together organisations including the Religions for Peace charity, Catholic movement Focolare and the Italian Hindu Union.