Jesuit Professor Father Felix Körner is a scholar, his expertise, Islam. Something
he has first hand experience of, grounded in the six years in which he lived in a
Muslim nation, Turkey. There he spent much of his time in dialogue with Muslim theologians
in an effort: to build bridges between Christians and Muslims, to work towards reconciliation
and improve mutual understanding.
So today when Professor Kőrner teaches
“Theology of Religions”, at the Faculty of Theology at the Jesuit run Pontifical
Gregorian University here in Rome, he continues to draw inspiration from this personal
experience in inter-religious dialogue. While clearly placing Christian and Catholic
identity at the heart of his teaching he encourages students to grow in the awareness
that there is to learn from other religions as well.
Veronica Scarisbrick
went round to call on him ahead of the forthcoming 27th October, “Pilgrims
of Truth, Pilgrims of Peace”, meeting in Assisi which brings together around Pope
Benedict XVI some three hundred representatives of other religions for a day of reflection
, dialogue and prayer for peace and justice in the world .
A commemoration,
a quarter of a century on, of that first historic 1986 meeting called for by Blessed
John Paul II , when representatives of other religions gathered to pray together
for justice and peace.
So when Veronica heard that praying together was
something that was not going to happen this time round, she wondered why and to dispel
all doubts regarding this matter she asked Father Kőrner if this might imply there’s
a problem with joint prayer: “ ..We cannot say that 25 years ago religions prayed
together and now they don’t . The motto of the 1986 Assisi Day of Prayer was : ‘We
do not come to pray together , we come together to pray’. That is a significant
distinction, it meant already then there was a feeling that it would be wrong if we
would recite texts together and pray as if all religions were in fact one Esperanto
religion, one union. No, there is religious diversity and the 1986 event was clear
about that. But if we want to understand what has been going on in the last 50 years
of church relations with other religions we can see more clearly what will be happening
now in Assisi.”
In this interview Father Kőrner also briefly presents some
background to that first Assisi meeting. Beginning half a century back in time when
the Second Vatican Council began formulating the Catholic Church’s attitude towards
other religions. He identifies three steps under three Popes: realising under Paul
VI, relating under Blessed John Paul II and reflecting under our current Pope.
Not
for nothing Father Kőrner adds,under the pontificate of Benedict XVI, the word reflection
has been added to the words dialogue and prayer.
All this and more in
this programme produced by Veronica Scarisbrick .