Cardinal Tauran meets leaders of London's Hindu community
(Vatican Radio) 'Compassion as a vital contribution to peace' was the theme of a meeting
on Thursday between the head of the Vatican’s Council for Interreligious Dialogue,
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, and leaders of the UK’s Hindu community at a North London
temple or Mandir. Surrounded by Catholic and Hindu scholars, as well as local school
children, the cardinal reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s commitment to interfaith dialogue
as a way of knowing and appreciating other religious traditions and of creating the
conditions for all people to live in freedom and peace. Compassion, he said, finds
its natural expression in the practice of non-violence, whose modern-day apostle,
Mahatma Gandhi, drew inspiration from both Hinduism and Christianity and their sacred
texts. Pope Francis, he said, speaks of compassion that translates itself into the
care and concern for every person but especially the vulnerable, poor and most marginalized. Among
those travelling with the cardinal on his five day visit to the UK is Katharina Smith-Muller,
inter-religious coordinator for the Bishops Conference of England and Wales. She told
Philippa Hitchen more about Thursday’s historic events: