Pope pledges Church’s commitment to inter-religious dialogue
May 20, 2014 - Pope Francis has stressed that the Church will always remain committed
to dialoguing with those of other religious traditions, saying engaging in inter-religious
dialogue does not mean relativizing the Christian faith. He said this in a message
to the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue that marked its fiftieth
anniversary on Monday, May 19. Writing to the Council President, Cardinal Jean-Louis
Tauran, the Pope stressed that the Church will always remain committed to dialoguing
with those of other religious traditions. The Pope recalled that on May 19, 1964,
when Pope Paul VI instituted what was then called the “Secretariat for non-Christians”,
the Church felt animated by a sincere desire to meet and engage in dialogue with entire
humanity. Pope Francis stressed that dialogue is possible only starting with one’s
identity. And St. John Paul II shows that dialogue and preaching do not exclude
each other, but are intimately linked to each other. However the two must maintain
their distinct characters, without confusing one with the other, politicizing them,
or regarding them as equivalent or inter-changeable. Evoking the episode of Jesus
on the way to Emmaus, the Pope said the Church wants to be close to and accompany
every man on his way. This walking together, he noted, is all the more necessary
today, marked by profound and unprecedented interaction among peoples and diverse
cultures. The Pope pledged the Church’s commitment to dialogue and intensify already
fruitful cooperation with adherents of other religious traditions, sharing in the
desire to build friendly relations and participating in numerous initiative of dialogue.