Pope on Interreligious dialogue: Foster respect and friendship
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday met with participants from the plenary assembly
of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, who are exploring the theme,
“Members of different religious traditions in civil society”. Lydia O’Kane reports.
Speaking to the
participants of the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious
Dialogue, Pope Francis underlined the importance of friendship and respect between
men and women of different religious traditions. He noted that due to increasing
movement of peoples because of phenomena such as migration, Christians are being challenged
to be more open to different cultures, religions and traditions. Quoting from his
recently published Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium, the Pope said "an attitude
of openness in truth and love must prevail in dialogue with believers of non-Christian
religions, despite the various obstacles and difficulties, particularly fundamentalism
on both sides " Recognizing the fact that there are situations in the world where
coexistence is difficult due to fear, the Holy Father underlined that the one way
to overcome this fear, was to foster dialogue.
Dialogue, he went on to say,
does not mean giving up your identity as a Christian. On the contrary, the Pope stressed
"true openness means remaining firm in ones deepest convictions, and therefore being
open to understanding others. Constructive dialogue between people of different
religious traditions, Pope Francis continued, also serves to overcome another fear,
which, unfortunately we find on the increase in a more heavily secularized society.
It is, he said, the fear of different religious traditions and as such the religious
dimension. In his concluding comments, the Holy Father said the future for interreligious
dialogue lies in the coexistence of respectful diversity, and the fundamental right
to religious freedom, in all its dimensions. The Plenary Assembly concludes November
28th