Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
London (Agenzia Fides) – “Ever since the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church has placed special emphasis on the importance of dialogue and cooperation with the followers of other religions.” These were the words of the Holy Father Benedict XVI in his address during a meeting with leaders of other religions, held Friday, September 17, at St. Mary's University College in Twickenham, London. The Pope said: “I am thinking in particular of situations in some parts of the world, where cooperation and dialogue between religions calls for mutual respect, the freedom to practise one’s religion and to engage in acts of public worship, and the freedom to follow one’s conscience without suffering ostracism or persecution, even after conversion from one religion to another.”
The Pope then explained the concrete way in which this dialogue can take place on various levels: dialogue of life which “involves simply living alongside one another and learning from one another” and the dialogue of action, that “brings us together in concrete forms of collaboration.” Then, there are also the formal conversations that are not only for theological exchange, but also for “sharing our spiritual riches, speaking of our experience of prayer and contemplation, and expressing to one another the joy of our encounter with divine love.” The Holy Father then praised the various initiatives underway and the “the effort to reach out in friendship to followers of other religions is becoming a familiar part of the mission of the local Church, a characteristic feature of the religious landscape in this country.”
In closing his speech, the Holy Father assured that “the Catholic Church follows the path of engagement and dialogue” and that “Catholics, both in Britain and throughout the world, will continue to work to build bridges of friendship to other religions, to heal past wrongs and to foster trust between individuals and communities.”
In the afternoon, the Holy Father went to visit the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. Recalling the historic meeting that took place between two Pope John Paul the Second and Archbishop Robert Runcie in the Canterbury Cathedral, Benedict XVI said: “There, in the very place where Saint Thomas of Canterbury bore witness to Christ by the shedding of his blood, they prayed together for the gift of unity among the followers of Christ. We continue today to pray for that gift, knowing that the unity Christ willed for his disciples will only come about in answer to prayer.” Leaving aside the “difficulties that the ecumenical path has encountered and continues to encounter,” the Pontiff expressed his gratitude for “the deep friendship that has grown between us and for the remarkable progress that has been made in so many areas of dialogue.”
The fact that the culture grows “ever more distant from its Christian roots” and the society takes on an increasingly more multicultural dimension, increasing the opportunities for other religions to come in contact, for Christians “opens up the possibility of exploring, together with members of other religious traditions, ways of bearing witness to the transcendent dimension of the human person and the universal call to holiness...Ecumenical cooperation in this task remains essential, and will surely bear fruit in promoting peace and harmony in a world that so often seems at risk of fragmentation. At the same time, we Christians must never hesitate to proclaim our faith in the uniqueness of the salvation won for us by Christ, and to explore together a deeper understanding of the means he has placed at our disposal for attaining that salvation.” Lastly, the Holy Father cited the testimony of John Henry Newman: “on the one hand, he was moved to follow his conscience, even at great personal cost; and on the other hand, the warmth of his continued friendship with his former colleagues, led him to explore with them, in a truly eirenical spirit, the questions on which they differed, driven by a deep longing for unity in faith.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 18/09/2010)
