Catholic Church in England leads the way on interreligious co-operation

May 14, 2013: Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, will be making a visit to England this year from 12th-16th June, to affirm and strengthen the good interreligious relations in this country.

The programme of his visit will include visits to the Sikh Guru Nanak Nishkam Sevak Jatha Gurdwara in Birmingham, the Jain Derasar at the Oshwal Centre near Potters Bar, and Baps Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden. These visits will include the opportunity for dialogue on ways in which we can work together for the common good and for a more peaceful world.

The visit will also include a “Together in Prayer for Peace” event to which all people of good will are invited, on 13th June at 17:00 in Westminster Cathedral Hall. At this event, representatives from different religions will offer a prayer for peace in their own tradition in each other’s presence, bearing witness to their deep wish for peace.

At the same time, this event will demonstrate the friendship between the religions that is in itself a building block for peace. As Pope Benedict XVI said in his 2012 Christmas Address to the Curia “In man’s present situation, the dialogue of religions is a necessary condition for peace in the world and it is therefore a duty for Christians as well as other religious communities”.

Archbishop Kevin McDonald, the Catholic bishop with responsibility for interreligious dialogue in England and Wales, expressed his delight at the upcoming visit, stating that “this is a unique opportunity for interreligious dialogue, both to strengthen existing good relations, and to make these friendships more widely understood”.

For further information, contact CCN on 0207 901 4800, or Katharina Smith-Müller on Katharina.smith-muller@cbcew.org.uk.

Notes to the editor