Pontifical Council begins plenary on interfaith relations

(Vatican Radio) The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue begins its four-day plenary session on Monday with participants focusing their discussions on the theme ‘Members of different religious traditions in civil society’. Church leaders from Sudan, Indonesia, Nigeria and Canada will explore some of the challenges of interfaith relations in different parts of the globe and look back at the work of the Council over the past five years.
The under-secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Sri Lankan Fr Indunil Kodithuwakku, talks to Philippa Hitchen about the importance of interfaith and ecumenical relations in today’s multi-faith societies:
Listen:

Fr Indunil, who recently attended the World Council of Churches 10th Assembly in Busan, South Korea, begins by sharing reflections on the tensions between proclamation of the Christian Gospel and respect for people of other religious traditions.....

In light of these tensions, he also talks about the importance of a document published in 2011 with the World Council of Churches and the World Evangelical Alliance on Christian witness in a modern, multi-faith context....

Fr Indunil also speaks about his own upbringing in Sri Lanka in a Catholic-Buddhist family and his close contacts with members of different religious communities which helped shapedhis approach to interfaith dialogue....

Finally he shares his hopes for a possible papal visit to his home country, a possibility Pope Francis himself spoke of on the plane journey home from his recent trip to Brazil for World Youth Day....