Jews, Christians and Muslims up to the age of 35 years are invited to apply for the 2023 Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Interreligious Studies course. Final submission date for applications is 28 February 2023.
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World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca delivered a lecture during the first edition of the “Bahrain Dialogue Forum: East and West for Human Coexistence” held 3-4 November.
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The Canadian Council of Churches has released a revised version of guidelines first issued 20 years ago following the Swiss Air disaster at Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia.

“Canadians come together when we remember and celebrate special events, and when we grieve and stand together in the face of catastrophes. Religious and spiritual leaders are frequently called on to show solidarity, express a word of hope, honour the divine, and channel our feelings toward justice and peace.”
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The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID) have released a joint document, “Serving a Wounded World in Interreligious Solidarity: A Christian Call to Reflection and Action During COVID-19 and Beyond.” Its purpose is to encourage churches and Christian organizations to reflect on the importance of interreligious solidarity in a world wounded by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The document offers a Christian basis for interreligious solidarity that can inspire and confirm the impulse to serve a world wounded not only by COVID-19 but also by many other wounds.

The publication is also designed to be useful to practitioners of other religions, who have already responded to COVID-19 with similar thoughts based on their own traditions.

The document recognizes the current context of the pandemic as a time for discovering new forms of solidarity for rethinking the post-COVID-19 world. Comprised of five sections, the document reflects on the nature of a solidarity sustained by hope and offers a Christian basis for interreligious solidarity, a few key principles and a set of recommendations on how reflection on solidarity can be translated into concrete and credible action.
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Christianity and Islam are two world religions that share a common theological root to Abrahamic tradition. The two religions also share complex histories of conflict and coexistence that span from the Middle Ages until the present day. While the groundwork to build understandings between Christians and Muslims has been laid down by Christian and Muslim leaders, the idea is still not fully articulated in a local context.

Wishing to pursue such an initiative among ordinary Christians and Muslims in Saskatoon, Fr. Bernard de Margerie, a Roman Catholic priest, and Fachrizal Halim, a Sunni Muslim professor of Islamic Studies at St. Thomas More College, Saskatoon, met in December, 2018 to discuss the possibility of having a Christian-Muslim conversation group. Both saw an urgent need to know more about each other’s faith and the importance of developing respect and friendships between the two faith communities.
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At a conference with the theme “Promoting Peace Together” held in Geneva on 21 May, religious leaders focused on two historic documents related to peace-making. The first, “Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together,” was jointly signed by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar in Abu Dhabi in February. The second, “Education for Peace in a Multi-Religious World: A Christian Perspective,” jointly prepared by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the World Council of Churches (WCC), was officially launched at the conference.

Anne Glynn-Mackoul, moderator of the opening session and a WCC Executive Committee member who represents the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East (USA), expressed her appreciation for those gathered who are inspired by a common vision to promote peace together. “Today we will explore together two documents which affirm, each with compelling fervor, the possibility of peace,” she said.

The two documents, Glynn-Mackoul added, “help us, each in its own way, to think of religions not as fortresses to be defended but as wellsprings for the flourishing of all life.”
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The power of interfaith leadership in bringing about positive change in global challenges was the focus of the panel Sister Lucy Thorson from Canada took part in at the international Education for Action conference in Rome. The event, attended by over 150 people, marked the 10th anniversary of the Interreligious Program at the John Paul II Center of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. It involved leaders on interreligious dialogue from the USA, Canada, Palestine, Holland, and Rome, whose interfaith experience spans Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism, among others.

Sister Lucy was on an interactive panel that debated how interfaith leaders can move from study to practice, activate networks, and instigate impactful actions that address current global challenges. Alongside Lucy were: Huda Abuarquob, Regional Director of the Alliance for Middle East Peace; Aart Bos, CEO of MasterPeace; and Joyce Dubensky, CEO of the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding, who also acted as moderator.
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Faith leads a believer to see in the other a brother or sister to be supported and loved. Through faith in God, who has created the universe, creatures and all human beings (equal on account of his mercy), believers are called to express this human fraternity by safeguarding creation and the entire universe and supporting all persons, especially the poorest and those most in need.

This transcendental value served as the starting point for several meetings characterized by a friendly and fraternal atmosphere where we shared the joys, sorrows and problems of our contemporary world. We did this by considering scientific and technical progress, therapeutic achievements, the digital era, the mass media and communications. We reflected also on the level of poverty, conflict and suffering of so many brothers and sisters in different parts of the world as a consequence of the arms race, social injustice, corruption, inequality, moral decline, terrorism, discrimination, extremism and many other causes.
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The “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together” signed on Monday afternoon in Abu Dhabi by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmad el-Tayeb, is not only a milestone in relations between Christianity and Islam but also represents a message with a strong impact on the international scene. In the preface, after affirming that “Faith leads a believer to see in the other a brother or sister to be supported and loved”, this text is spoken of as a text “that has been given honest and serious thought”, which invites “all persons who have faith in God and faith in human fraternity to unite and work together”.
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Following an initiative by the then-Archbishop of Buenos Aires, today Pope Francis, the Argentine bishops together with leaders of Islam and Judaism in the country signed a declaration “for dialogue and coexistence” on Friday. “There’s a double scope to the document: firstly, to reaffirm that any invocation of violence in the name of religion is completely wrong. Secondly, to reaffirm interreligious dialogue, which in our country is one of the few that have actually worked,” said Bishop Oscar Ojea, president of the Argentine bishops’ conference, after signing the document. Speaking with Crux, the prelate defined the document as a reaffirmation of the one signed in August 2005, when Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, today Pope Francis, was the president of the bishops’ conference.
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We the undersigned leaders of diverse faith communities and organizations in Canada, call on the Prime Minister and the Government of Canada to amend the Canada Summer Jobs guidelines and application process so that it does not compel agreement or belief, and allows religious organizations to stay true to their communal identity and beliefs. The new application requires each organization to give non-negotiable and unqualified affirmation of certain beliefs held by the current government.

Canada has a long history of cooperation and collaboration between religious organizations and governments in our health care and social welfare systems, and in many other areas of life.

Faith-based organizations wish to continue to partner with the federal government in delivering programming and services to vulnerable members of their local communities, including children and youth, newcomers to Canada, and people experiencing poverty and homelessness.
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Over 60 faith leaders and organizations in Canada have signed a letter addressed to The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, concerning the removal of section 176 from the Criminal Code of Canada, as proposed under Clause 14 of Bill C-51, “An Act to Amend the Criminal Code and the Department of Justice Act and to Make Consequential Amendments to Another Act”. The interfaith letter was co-authored by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, and the Association for Reformed Political Action. Representatives from a variety of faith traditions have endorsed the letter, including from the Sikh, Jewish, Muslim, Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, and Buddhist traditions.

The Conference also intervened on 30 October 2017 concerning Clause 14 of Bill C-51, which included a written submission to the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, followed by oral presentations before the Standing Committee by the Most Reverend Lionel Gendron, P.S.S., Bishop of Saint-Jean-Longueuil and President of the CCCB and His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, with the assistance of Mr. Bruce F. Simpson, a partner specialized in criminal law with Barnes Sammon LLP.
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The Vatican and Sunni Islam’s leading institution of higher learning have begun looking for ways to restart formal dialogue.

Acting on Pope Francis’ expressed desire, the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue was sending a top-level official to Cairo to visit al-Azhar University, the council said in a written press release July 12.

Spanish Bishop Miguel Ayuso Guixot, secretary of the pontifical council, will attend a “preliminary meeting” July 13 with Mahmoud Hamdi Zakzouk, a member of the university’s Council of Senior Scholars and director of the al-Azhar Center for Dialogue. Archbishop Bruno Musaro, the apostolic nuncio to Egypt, was to also attend the meeting.

The meeting, which was requested by the pontifical council following the pope’s “expressed desire, will evaluate how to begin the resumption of dialogue between the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and al-Azhar University,” the press release said.

The encounter follows the landmark meeting at the Vatican May 23 between Pope Francis and the university’s grand imam, Ahmad el-Tayeb.
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Today, representatives from various faith communities united to issue a joint call to Canada’s elected officials to support a robust, well-resourced, national palliative care strategy and to raise awareness of inadequacies in palliative care, particularly in the wake of the debate over Physician-Assisted Dying/Suicide.

In addition to issuing an Interfaith Statement on Palliative Care, the organizations reaffirmed that compassion is a foundational element of Canadian identity that should directly shape Canadian public policy when it comes to end-of-life issues. The spokespersons warned that assisted dying/suicide must not become a default choice for those struggling with terminal illnesses, and that it is a national imperative to enhance access to and the quality of palliative care.
“The need for quality, widely accessible palliative care should be one of the most pressing concerns of our country,” said the Most Reverend Noël Simard, Bishop of Valleyfield, on behalf of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. “Faith communities, along with health care workers, have for centuries stood by the bedsides of the dying to comfort and protect, to heal and console. Today, as faith leaders, we recommit ourselves to this sacred task of providing the spiritual care so essential to palliative care.”
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Following its last meeting in Toronto on February 6, 2016, the Hindu–Catholic Dialogue of Canada released a joint statement to reaffirm the importance of hospitality in receiving the stranger and welcoming refugee. “Hospitality is among the most sacred values in many religious traditions, including Hinduism and Christianity,” stated the members of the dialogue. The statement concluded with an appeal to all peoples in Canada “to offer our prayers to those reeling in response to war, terror, and hate…” and urging “all Canadians to respond with openness, care and generosity to those refugees who find their ways to our shores, and indeed to all strangers in our midst. Dialogue and encounter are among our most important resources for meeting the demands of the present refugee crisis.”

The theme of the last meeting of the Hindu-Catholic Dialogue was on the Theology of Incarnation in both Catholic and Hindu traditions. The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) has eight appointees on this national dialogue, with the Most Reverend Daniel Miehm, Auxiliary Bishop of Hamilton, serving as the Catholic Co-Chair. Dr. Tinu Ruparell, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Calgary, is the Hindu Co-Chair. The Hindu-Catholic Dialogue meets twice annually and is scheduled to meet again in August 2016.
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À la suite de sa dernière réunion, le 6 février 2016 à Toronto, le Dialogue hindou-catholique du Canada a publié une déclaration commune pour réaffirmer l’importance de l’hospitalité pour accueillir l’étranger et bien recevoir le réfugié. « L’hospitalité est une valeur des plus sacrées dans plusieurs traditions religieuses, dont l’hindouisme et le christianisme », ont affirmé les membres du dialogue. La déclaration concluait par un appel à toute la population du Canada afin d’offrir « des prières pour ceux et celles qui souffrent des conséquences de la guerre, de la terreur et de la haine… » et par une interpellation à « toutes les Canadiennes et tous les Canadiens à faire preuve d’ouverture d’esprit, de sollicitude et de générosité à l’endroit des réfugiés qui arrivent chez nous, de même qu’à l’égard de tous les étrangers parmi nous. Le dialogue et la rencontre sont les ressources les plus importantes dont nous disposions pour répondre aux exigences de la crise actuelle des réfugiés. »

Le thème de la dernière réunion du Dialogue hindou-catholique portait sur la théologie de l’incarnation pour les traditions catholique et hindoue. Huit délégués de la Conférence des évêques catholiques du Canada (CECC) participent à ce dialogue national, dont le coprésident catholique, Mgr Daniel Miehm, évêque auxiliaire à Hamilton. M. Tinu Ruparell, Ph.D., professeur d’études religieuses à l’Université de Calgary, est le coprésident hindou. Le dialogue catholique-hindou se réunit deux fois par année, et sa prochaine réunion est prévue pour août 2016.
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Key stakeholders in a new inter-religious centre in Nigeria have met to plan for the centre and its work, set to launch in March 2016.

The meeting was held at the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, Switzerland, 27 to 28 September.

Institutions represented were the Jordanian Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought (RABIIT), the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN) and Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI).

The project has developed as a result of a high-level international inter-religious visit to Nigeria by representatives of the WCC and RABIIT in 2012.
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In conjunction with the United Nations Sustainable Development summit, currently underway, Canadian faith leaders are calling for climate justice in Canada—for all Canadians, and for the world. Together they have endorsed the statement “On Promoting Climate Justice and Ending Poverty in Canada.”

“On the same day when Pope Francis spoke at the UN General Assembly, asking for renewed ambition from wealthy countries in efforts to reach a solid international commitment to lower greenhouse gas emissions, this statement echoes the need for Canada to act,” said Joe Gunn, Executive Director of Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ).

“In midst of a federal election campaign, climate challenges, ending poverty and responding with justice to Indigenous rights cannot be dismissed. These religious signatories are right to call us to greater respect for the common good.”

CPJ, an affiliate member of the CCC, helped to draft the declaration. In 2011, the “Canadian Interfaith Call for Leadership and Action on Climate Change” was released by the CCC.
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On Thursday, Pope Francis issued a powerful and timely encyclical on the environment, urging humanity to come to its senses and cease its reckless onslaught against God’s creation. He addressed this letter not only to his fellow Catholics, but to all people of the world, asking people of different religious traditions to unite in common purpose to save our planet.

As religious figures, we too accept the overwhelming scientific consensus that global warming comes from human activity, as we see no conflict between faith and reason.

And, coming from the three great Abrahamic faiths – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – we stand together on the need to be good stewards of the earth. All of our traditions affirm the inherent goodness of all creation, and the binding obligation on human beings to protect our common home, the planet that sustains us. The Hebrew Scriptures state clearly that the Earth belongs to God alone, and that we are merely sojourners – we do not have ownership on a permanent basis: the fruits of the earth belong to all, including the poor. This ancient teaching is affirmed by both Christianity and Islam. Christians also view the world through a sacramental lenses, believing that the redemption of Christ has in turn redeemed all of creation. And Islam can be thought of as a religion of nature, with 750 verses in the holy Qur’an speaking about our responsibility to the environment and our relationship with all creatures. Islam too recognizes that everything in the heavens and the earth belong to God, and that we are mere trustees and vice-regents.
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Visiting a nation torn apart for 30 years by a civil war that pit Buddhists against Hindus and Muslims, with Christians both bystanders and sometimes victims, Pope Francis was expected to have something important to say about interfaith relationships. He delivered that Tuesday in Sri Lanka, telling a cross-section of the country’s religious leaders that harmony among different faiths is critical, but it cannot come at the expense of the distinctive identity of each. Citing the teachings of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), Francis said that the Catholic Church has a “deep and abiding respect for other religions.”
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Four French Imams, who’ve been part of a Catholic-Muslim delegation visiting the Vatican this week, have expressed their shock and condemnation of the attack on the satirical magazine ‘Charlie Hebdo’. Wednesday’s attack by masked gunmen in Paris left 12 people dead, with several others in critical condition.

In a statement at the end of their 3 day visit to Rome, the delegation, which includes Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, urges all believers to combat hatred and all forms of violence which destroy life, violate the dignity of the human person and undermine peaceful coexistence between peoples.

Pope Francis, who met with the delegation just as the attack was taking place, denounced the killings and offered prayers for the victims and their families. Also taking part in the delegation was Bishop Michel Dubost, who heads the French bishops’ council for interfaith relations. Philippa Hitchen talked to him about the Muslim leaders’ reactions to the attack and about the difficulty of promoting interreligious dialogue in France today…
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We, Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, express our profound gratitude to God for the gift of this new encounter enabling us, in the presence of the members of the Holy Synod, the clergy and the faithful of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, to celebrate together the feast of Saint Andrew, the first-called and brother of the Apostle Peter. Our remembrance of the Apostles, who proclaimed the good news of the Gospel to the world through their preaching and their witness of martyrdom, strengthens in us the aspiration to continue to walk together in order to overcome, in love and in truth, the obstacles that divide us.
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The King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue, based in New York, U.S.A., yesterday published a declaration of principles, signed by the foreign ministers of Austria, Saudi Arabia and Spain, as well as by Fr. Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot, M.C.C.J., secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, in his role as Holy See Observer, to help build a united front to the humanitarian crisis in Syria and the north of Iraq, as well as in other regions of the world. The declaration was approved unanimously by the multireligious Board of Directors of KAICIID, who represent the major world religions of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism.
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As hundreds of thousands of people flooded through the streets of New York City on 21 September in a march for action on climate change, 30 faith leaders representing nine religions signed their names to a statement calling for concrete actions to curb carbon emissions. The document was the centrepiece of an interfaith conference jointly hosted by the World Council of Churches (WCC), a body that includes 345 churches representing about 560 million Christians worldwide, and Religions for Peace, an interfaith coalition with members in more than 70 countries. Signatories hailed from 21 countries on six continents. “When in January I listened to the general secretary of the United Nations, Ban Ki Moon, calling the world’s heads of state for a summit on climate change, I thought we also have to get together as leaders of faith communities to offer our contributions,” said Rev. Dr Olav Fkyse Tveit, the WCC general secretary. Large changes require “deep and strong conviction” which, he said, can be found in the “beliefs, rituals, symbols, sacred texts and prayers of faith [that] give meaning and direction for a large portion of the world’s population.”
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Addressing the urgency of witnessing to the gospel in current ecumenical and multi-religious situations, the World Council of Churches (WCC) will develop materials to assist churches engaged in both ecumenical dialogue and inter-religious dialogue.

Ecumenical dialogue is about conversations between different Christian churches while inter-religious dialogue is concerned with the conversations between different world religions.

The agreement to produce these materials were an outcome of vigorous conversations in a recent meeting, organized by the WCC’s Commission on Faith and Order and the WCC’s programme for inter-religious dialogue and cooperation, from 12 to14 May at the Ecumenical Institute, Bossey, Switzerland.

Questions related to the relationship between ecumenical and inter-religious dialogues, their commonalities and distinctive features, were in focus at the meeting.
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“The biggest benefit of the project was my friendship with Sheikh Afifi. If I don’t see him for a few days, I always call him. I never dreamed that I would ever speak in a mosque, but through this friendship I’ve now shared at mosques in Alexandria and Cairo. “ Father Boutros Boutros, Coptic Priest in Alexandria.

The Imam-Priest exchange initiative for 2014 opened at Al Azhar al Shereef, at the invitation of the Grand Imam. The 30 imams and 30 priests who participated in the initiative in 2013 shared what they learnt and were presented with certificates.
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Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, gave an address at today’s inaugural session of the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Centre for Inter-religious and Inter-cultural Dialogue (KAICIID). The centre is an independent organisation based in Vienna and founded by Saudi Arabia, Austria and Spain, to which the Holy See adheres in the role of Founding Observer.

The Conference, which ends today, is intended to raise awareness among younger generations to enable them to have an objective, honest and accurate image of one another. From this perspective, three related themes will be considered over the next three years. In 2013, the theme “The Image of the Other” focuses on education, with the presence in Vienna of a number of education ministers from all over the world; next year’s forum will be dedicated to means of communication and finally, in 2015, the Internet will be the focus of attention.
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The American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the Shalom Hartman Institute have partnered together on a soon-to-be-completed educational program on Judaism for 16 Christian leaders.

The partnership, known as the Christian Leadership Initiative (CLI), has allowed Christian leaders of diverse denominations to engage in long-distance study of classical Jewish texts with leading Israel scholars over a 13-month period. The program began in Jerusalem in July 2012 and will finish there this year in the program’s final stage from July 17-25.
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Three rabbis and a Pope: High praise for Francis after visit to Vatican

“This man is a mensch.” Standing alone, this is an unremarkable sentence. But from a rabbi about a pope?
This was what Rabbi Shmuel Goldin of Congregation Ahavath Torah in Englewood, the president of the Orthodox Rabbinical Council of America, said about Pope Francis.

Here’s another thought, from Rabbi Noam Marans of Teaneck, the Conservative rabbi who is director of interreligious and intergroup relations at the American Jewish Committee (AJC).

“Pope Francis is the quintessential religious symbol par excellence; unassuming, unscripted, warm. It is a religious experience to be in his presence.”

And a third, from Rabbi Dr. Eugene Korn of New Milford, the Orthodox rabbi who is the American director of the Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation in Israel.

“He is very warm.”

The three of them were among the 25 or so Jews who met with the pope last week. Each represents his organization in the umbrella group called the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations (which is abbreviated as IJCIC, uneuphoniously pronounced Idge-kick). IJCIC is the official liaison between the Jewish world and the Vatican.
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Leading Orthodox Christian and Jewish interfaith officials, scholars and clerics discussed the crucial importance of protecting the environment and religious values and condemned growing incidents of anti-Semitism and religious prejudice around the world during a three day conference to help improve relations between these two ancient faith communities. Co-sponsored by the Liaison Office of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Office of Interreligious and Intercultural Affairs, and the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations (IJCIC), a Jewish umbrella group, the meeting was the latest in an on-going effort to improve relations and dialogue between Orthodoxy and Judaism.

Noting that Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has declared 2013 the Year of Global Solidarity, Metropolitan Emmanuel said: “It is well documented that Greeks living in Thessaloniki at the time of the Shoah stood with their Jewish neighbors and friends. Today, more than ever, we must stand together to battle the evils of anti-Semitism, religious prejudice and all forms of discrimination.”

Schiffman said: “These meetings are extremely important for both the Jewish people and Orthodox Christianity because we share a long history and common roots. We are committed to building mutual respect and better understanding between our two faiths.”
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Interfaith is going global. For a long time it had been primarily about Christian-Jewish relations in western countries with occasional attempts to include Muslims and local representatives of other religions.

Eighty per cent of all Christians once lived in Europe and North America. Today, two-thirds live in Latin America, Africa and Asia where they only rarely encounter Jews but interact with many other faiths. And some 600 million Muslims live nowadays in non-Muslim countries.

This demographic transformation — complicated by pockets of Muslim militancy on the one hand and, especially after Sept. 11, western Islamophobia on the other — has shifted the focus of interreligious dialogue. The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has also become a factor.
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With the help of pagans, Jains and people of a range of other faiths, the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions has raised more than $144,000 in two weeks using a crowdsourcing campaign in a desperate bid to survive a financial crisis. The Chicago-based interfaith network was recently ordered by a U.S. court to pay $276,000 in expenses related to its 2004 meeting in Barcelona, Spain. Deadly train bombings in Madrid months beforehand prompted a drop in expected attendance. The council took out a loan and was involved in a lengthy dispute about how to make up for lost revenue. Mary Nelson, the interim executive director of the council, said the group had raised about half of the funds needed, but individuals and groups who took part in its crowdsourcing campaign have apparently helped her organization survive.
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On Friday, December 21, Pope Benedict XVI addressed the members of the Roman curia, the staff of the numerous Vatican offices, in what has become an annual tradition. The speech is sometimes described as a “State of the Church” address. Regarding dialogue with other religions, Pope Benedict spoke of two fundamental rules: Firstly that dialogue does not aim at conversion, but at understanding. In this respect it differs from evangelization, from mission; Secondly, that accordingly, both parties to the dialogue remain consciously within their identity, which the dialogue does not place in question either for themselves or for the other.”
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New guidelines for the increasing number of interreligious marriages in the UK have been launched by the Christian-Muslim forum. Bishop Paul Hendricks, Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Southwark, and Co-Chair of the Christian-Muslim Forum, welcomed the new guidelines, saying that “they offer valuable guidance for both priests and imams. With an increasing number of Christian-Muslim couples entering into marriage, we also need an increased awareness of the particular pastoral support that is owed to them, which can help them and their loved ones discover their marriage as a place of dialogue, and a beneficial link between two religions”.
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Fifty years after the Second Vatican Council launched a new Catholic commitment to interreligious dialogue, work continues on clarifying the church’s attitudes toward other religions. While some Catholics still look on other religions with disdain, other Catholics seem to believe Vatican II taught that all religions were equally valid paths to God and to the fullness of truth. The new prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith recently said both extremes are wrong. Archbishop Gerhard Müller, the Vatican’s doctrinal chief, gave a speech in Assisi in late October in which he tried to explain the differences between Catholic respect for every religion’s honest search for God and the error of thinking Christianity has nothing essential to add.
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Ecumenical and inter-faith groups across the United States are planning vigils and rallies beginning August 12 to express their solidarity with Sikhs in the wake of a gunman’s attack on August 5 at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.

Six people were killed and three others injured when Wade Michael Page, 40, a U.S. Army veteran described as a “frustrated neo-Nazi,” stormed into the temple in Oak Creek, a suburb of Milwaukee.

National Council of Churches of Christ (NCCC) President Kathryn Lohre has urged Christians to participate in the events planned by the Groundswell Movement, a multi-faith social justice initiative based in New York City.

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Churches in Canada addressed challenging questions, with a strong interfaith perspective, while responding to the document “Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World: Guidelines for Conduct” in an event held at the University of Toronto on 22 November.

The document “Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World: Guidelines for Conduct” was launched by the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the World Evangelical Alliance in June. It was commended to the churches for reflections in their own particular contexts.
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Of all the challenges faced by the Vatican in organizing the 25th anniversary of the historic interreligious gathering in Assisi in 1986, the hardest was how to make it newsworthy. The 176 delegates–representing, said the Vatican, “not only the world’s religions, but all people of good will, everyone seeking the truth”–whom Pope Benedict XVI led by train from Rome to the town of St Francis were comprehensive in their diversity. But if the Christian delegations on October 27 included the top men–Pope Benedict himself, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew I–the delegates from Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and others included no obvious celebrities, or even organizations whose presence might have raised an eyebrow. Even the inclusion of four non-believers failed to create a stir, for it was not Richard Dawkins or Christopher Hitchens standing with the pope but little-known academic philosophers.
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Together as people of faith, informed by our respective traditions, and compelled by our sincerely held beliefs to care for those in need within our communities and across this nation, we recognize this time to be a unique moment and opportunity in Canada for cooperative action to eradicate persistent poverty in our wealthy and wonderful land. It is a time when Canadians of all faiths, from all walks of life, from all parts of this great country are awakening to the unacceptable levels of poverty, inequity and homelessness, and acknowledging that this injustice must change.

But we cannot do this in isolation. Committed to doing all we can, we call upon our government to partner with us in ending poverty.

We acknowledge with gratitude the many positive government initiatives that continue to benefit the poor. In particular, it is gratifying to acknowledge that a majority of Canadians now live in provinces and territories that have developed and are implementing poverty reduction plans. But it is time for comprehensive, coordinated and collaborative action, with national leadership working in partnership with other jurisdictions.
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The Centre for Inter-Religious Dialogue of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organisation (Tehran, Iran) and the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue held their seventh colloquium in Tehran from 9 to 11 November under the joint presidency of Mohammad Baqer Khorramshad, president of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organisation, and of Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue.
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Benedict XVI: Dialogue and Collaboration among Different Religions

At midday today in St. Mary’s University College at Twickenham, the Holy Father met with leaders from the main Christian confessions and from other religions present in the United Kingdom: Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs.
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Catholics and Muslims Against Manipulation of Religions

The annual meeting of the Joint Committee for Dialogue of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue and the Permanent Committee of al-Azhar for Dialogue among the Monotheistic Religions, was held in the Egyptian capital city of Cairo on 23 and 24 February.
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Peace and Justice? Mennonite and Shiite perspectives in dialogue

Seventeen Mennonite-Christian and Shiite-Muslim scholars of religion met together for four days in Qom, Iran, to discuss the theme of peace and justice. The dialogue conference was planned and hosted May 24-27, 2009 by the Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute (IKERI), under the direction of its president, Ayatollah Mesbah-Yazdi. Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) organized and sponsored the conference from the Mennonite side. The dialogue was the fourth in a series begun in 2002.

— read the complete story on our website
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Last November, attention turned once again to comments made by Pope Benedict XVI, this time on dialogue with Islam. Precisely as the Vatican was intensifying efforts to open dialogues with Islam on ethical and other practical issues, a book was published in Italy by Marcello Pera that contained a forward written by the pope. In this text, the pope commended Pera’s argument that interreligious dialogue is not strictly possible. The book, entitled “Why We Must Call Ourselves Christian” was an argument for the indispensably Christian character of Europe. Prior to his election as pope, Cardinal Ratzinger had co-authored another book with Pera about Europe’s identity, and so it is not a great surprise that he would write a forward for another book on the same subject by his academic colleague.

… continued
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Join the Saskatoon faith communities on December 31st for candle lighting, quiet music, reflections, and prayer for peace. An annual tradition in Saskatoon, the interfaith Gathering for Peace is held at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Spadina Crescent and 22nd Street East on New Year’s Eve at 7:30 pm. This year, the theme is “Combating poverty, Building Peace”.

The evening begins with candle lighting and quiet reflection, followed by song, readings from various religious texts, and reflections from the multi-faith community. The evening ends with a time for fellowship with hot apple cider and cookies.

Please join us at 7:30 pm on New Year’s Eve at St. Paul’s Cathedral. Everyone, of all religious traditions, is welcome.
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A few years ago, other than a few specialists in Christian-Muslim dialogue, the average churchgoer would have little awareness of the tentative steps taken in dialogue between Christians and Muslims. The Danish cartoon controversy and Pope Benedict’s comments at a lecture in Regensburg re-focused attention on the difficult relationship between Christianity and Islam. Since then, there has been an intentional effort to bring more publicity to the existing forms of dialogue. There have also been new forums for dialogue established.
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Multifaith Reflection on Restorative Justice

Across Canada, the theme for Restorative Justice Week 2008 is “Fostering a Restorative Worldview”. In Saskatoon, the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism is hosting a symposium entitled “A Multifaith Reflection on Restorative Justice … an evening of shared perspectives”. The symposium will be held Wednesday, November 19th at Knox United Church (Spadina Crescent & 24th Street) from 6 to 9:30 pm.

A meatless supper wil be shared at 6 pm, with a panel of speakers at 7 pm: Claire Ewert Fisher (Christian), Cantor Neil Schwartz (Jewish), a representative from the Islamic Association of Saskatoon, and Harvey Thunderchild (Traditional Aboriginal).

Registration: $15 before November 12th, or $18 after November 12th, $8 under-waged. Students free if registered in advance, or $8 at door. Doors open for registration at 5:15 pm. Register by cheque, payable and sent to: Prairie Centre for Ecumenism, 600 – 45th Street West, Saskatoon, SK S7L 5W9. It is necessary to know in advance if registrants plan to attend the supper. For more information call 306-653-1633.
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An Ecumenical Response to “A Common Word Between Us and You”
by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA

The churches that comprise the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA welcome with gratitude “A Common Word Between Us and You.” Addressed to leaders of Christian churches around the world, your letter expresses an intent to engage seriously with Christians in dialogue that is grounded in the authentic religious convictions of our respective communities. Based upon the love of God and the love of neighbor – the two great commandments central to Islam, Christianity, and Judaism – your letter invites Christians to join with Muslims to forge ties of peace. This is a bold and timely invitation. Out of Christian faithfulness, and with respect for Islam, the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, whose member churches’ common Christian witness leads them to seek unity with one another and peace with justice for all people, offers this ecumenical response to you, our Muslim friends, as an acceptance of your invitation.

continued …
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Calgary seeks RC director of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs

The RC Diocese of Calgary invites applications for a part-time Director of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs. The successful candidate will have an abiding desire for promoting Christian unity and cooperation among peoples of other faiths. He/she will work closely with and report to the Bishop of the Diocese of Calgary, serve as consultant on ecumenical issues for him and other Diocesan offices/institutions, and liaise with representatives of other traditions. She/he will be responsible for providing ecumenical formation for Roman Catholics in the Diocese — parishioners, parish organizations and clergy — in order that the teaching and directives on ecumenism from the Second Vatican Council and post-conciliar documents be put into practice in the diocese.

To do this, the successful candidate will:
• have a solid understanding of Roman Catholic theology on ecumenism and interfaith dialogue;
• be a practicing Roman Catholic, well rooted in his/her faith;
• be ready to dialogue with representatives of other Christian traditions and other faiths;
• have the ability to articulate and communicate Roman Catholic perspectives to others;
• preferably have an advanced degree in Theology and be prepared to pursue ongoing education/formation as necessary.

Closing date for application is November 3, 2008. We thank all applicants for their interest. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Interested persons should send a letter of introduction and curriculum vitae to:
Fran Oleniuk, Administrator, Human Resources
Catholic Pastoral Centre
120 – 17 Avenue SW
Calgary AB, T2S 2T2
By fax (403) 232-6349
By e-mail to humanresources [at] rcdiocese-calgary [dot] ab [dot] ca.
If your e-mail is not confirmed as received, please follow-up by phone to (403) 218-5533
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Chrétiens et musulmans doivent souligner ce qu’ils ont en commun et reconnaître leurs divergences, préconise le COE

L’amour du prochain est “un élément essentiel et une partie intégrante de la foi en Dieu et de l’amour de Dieu” pour l’islam comme pour le christianisme. La manière dont chrétiens et musulmans peuvent réfléchir ensemble à cet amour constitue le thème central d’un commentaire publié par le Conseil œcuménique des Eglises (COE) le jeudi 20 mars 2008. Rédigé par des experts chrétiens du dialogue avec l’Islam, il suggère aux Eglises de réponses possibles à la lettre intitulée “Une parole commune”, signée par 138 responsables musulmans en octobre 2007.

Ce commentaire, intitulé “Apprendre à approfondir l’amour ensemble”, s’inscrit dans le cadre des consultations en cours que le COE a lancées auprès de ses Eglises membres et des partenaires œcuméniques en novembre 2007 en les invitant à “approfondir avec les musulmans l’amour de Dieu et l’amour du prochain dans leurs contextes respectifs”.

“Nous encourageons nos Eglises à considérer l’invitation lancée par les responsables musulmans comme une nouvelle occasion de dialogue interreligieux”, déclare le pasteur Samuel Kobia, secrétaire général du COE. “Nous espérons que ce commentaire constituera un outil utile aux Eglises dans leur réflexion sur ‘Une parole commune’ et facilitera leur dialogue avec la communauté musulmane.”

Le document invite les Eglises à réfléchir aux deux grands thèmes mentionnés dans “Une parole commune”: l’amour de Dieu et l’amour du prochain. Il souligne les défis historiques et les nouvelles promesses des dialogues de ce genre et esquisse un processus permettant de poursuivre les échanges entre responsables chrétiens et musulmans. Il est “absolument indispensable que, tout en trouvant comment souligner ce qu’ils ont en commun, chrétiens et musulmans imaginent aussi comment reconnaître et respecter les divergences qui existent entre eux”.

“Ce texte marque le début d’un processus”, déclare Rima Barsoum, responsable du dialogue entre chrétiens et musulmans au COE. “Il invite à constituer un groupe mixte de planification qui jettera les bases d’un dialogue et invitera les responsables et théologiens chrétiens et musulmans a y participer dans le cadre de manifestations propres à encourager la coopération interreligieuse aux niveaux mondial et local.”

Le processus de réponse à “Une parole commune” a été approuvé par le Comité central du COE lors de sa réunion de février 2008 à Genève.

• Texte intégral de “Learning to explore love together” (en anglais)

• “Une parole commune”, lettre de dignitaires musulmans aux responsables chrétiens

• Pour plus d’informations sur le Programme “coopération et dialogue interreligieux” du COE
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