ASIA - For Asian Bishops interreligious dialogue represents their hope to build harmony throughout the whole continent

Bangkok (Fides Agency) - Interreligious dialogue is an effective way of bringing reconciliation and building peace throughout the Asian continent: the Bishops of Asia believe this is true and they are working to increase their commitment to dialogue and interreligious harmony.
Twenty-five years ago the Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affaires of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) created a series of formation programs, where “the priests and Asian Christian believers realised they had to better understand other religions”, explained Prof. Edmund Chia, La Salle Brother, present responsible for the FABC Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affaires.
The first meeting served to remove some existing prejudice, the heritage of colonialism, and helped to understand and establish the first timid approach to Hindus, Buddhist and Muslims. For another seven years we endeavoured working on a “Theology of dialogue”, facing issues such as “Living and working with our brothers of other faiths in Asia”.
After twenty years of preparatory work, in 1998 FABC started by creating the Institute for Formation to Interreligious Dialogue, dealing especially with the formation of young people. Edmudo Chia explains: “Even though in Asia there is a strong interest for interreligious dialogue, it seems, at times, that it remains at a surface level. An active commitment is necessary, a personal involvement, to establish dialogue at a spiritual level in all local realities, a dialogue of studies, but also of sharing and witness of one’s life”.
(PA) (Fides Agency 2/6/2004 lines 26 words 241)