pathways, May 09
The Importance of Interreligious Relations
Fr Patrick J McInerney SSC*
Interreligious dialogue is a crucial and an urgent issue for the world. Major developments in mutual understanding are taking place, but the potential for destruction posed by religious conflict or extremism has perhaps never been greater in human history.
(Excerpt from the cover of Meeting Other Believers by Cardinal Francis Arinze)
At the Columban Mission Institute in 1997, Cardinal Francis Arinze, then head of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, posed the question of the parish priest who is very busy with Masses, reconciliation, funerals, catechesis, adult faith formation, marriage formation, school, administration and all the many and varied demands of parish ministry - and so has no time for interreligious dialogue, considering it the domain of seminary professors and not of a busy pastor.
The Cardinal responded: "I have to inform you that you are singing outside the choir of the Church. Although you are full of good will, you are not in the pastoral current of the Church of today."
During World Youth Day in Cologne in August 2005, in his first official meeting with Muslims, speaking on the importance of Christian-Muslims relations for the world, Pope Benedict said:
"Interreligious and intercultural dialogue between Christians and Muslims cannot be reduced to an optional extra. It is in fact a vital necessity, on which in large measure our future depends."
In A Common Word, a 2007 letter from 138 Muslim scholars to Pope Benedict, the Patriarchs, and leaders of Christian Churches, the authors raised the stakes even higher when they wrote:
"our very eternal souls are all also at stake if we fail to sincerely make every effort to make peace and come together in harmony".
In these three quotes, a Cardinal, a Pope and Muslim leaders consider interreligious relations in terms of the church, the world, and the next life respectively.
In his response to the busy parish priest, the Cardinal confirms what Pope John Paul II had taught in his encyclical, Redemptoris Missio:
Each member of the faithful and all Christian communities are called to practice dialogue, although not always to the same degree or in the same way. (RM, 57).
In other words, all bishops, priests, deacons, religious and other lay members of the Church are called to interreligious dialogue. There are no exceptions. Each one of us has a role to play, for dialogue is a integral part of the evangelizing mission of the Church.
Pope Benedict's comments highlight the role of dialogue for avoiding conflicts and for promoting mutual understanding, peace and harmony in society.
His address to Muslims is especially relevant since Christians and Muslims together make up over 50 percent of the world's population, but the same purpose extends to relations with believers from all the other world religions.
As Hans Kung has stated:
No peace among the nations without peace among the religions.
No peace among the religions without dialogue between the religions.
No dialogue between the religions without investigation of the foundations of the religions.
Finally, the Muslim leaders remind us that how we live this life has consequences for the life to come.
If in this life we shun our neighbours and turn away from them, then in our self-imposed isolation we cannot expect to be granted peace and harmony with other in the life to come; but if we reach out to our neighbour in this world, getting to know and love them, we can hope that they will be among those who welcome us into that complete sharing of knowledge and love in God's intended destiny of us all.
To enter into this new vision of the world community of all humanity, I am reminded of the following story:
A Jewish rabbi asked his students: "When does the day begin?" They made various suggestions: "Is it when you can distinguish a fig tree from an olive tree at a distance? Is it when you can distinguish a sheep from a goat at a distance?" When the rabbi wasn't satisfied with their proposals, he said: "When one human being looks into the face of another and says: 'You are my sister', 'You are my brother', then the night is over and the day has begun." (
A Question of Mission - A Mission of Questions, J N J [Klippies] Kritsinger)
* Fr PATRICK McINERNEY SSC is a staff member of the Columban Mission Institute, where he works at the Centre for Christian-Muslim Relations, and also in Mission Studies. He is head of the missiology department at the Catholic Institute of Sydney, where he teaches courses on Islam and Interreligious Dialogue.
He will address the CRA National Assembly on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 23, the first day of the assembly.
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