Working groups, group 3

More than ever before, the pluralistic world in which we live calls us to a renewed commitment in the service of inter-religious dialogue. Although in the past inter-religious dialogue was localized in specific geographical areas, today it is no longer limited to a few countries. It is lived everywhere, because of growing and ever more rapid migrations and because of more and more powerful means of communication. The world has become a vast multi-cultural society, and differences of races, religions and cultures exist everywhere, within every country. The charisms of our congregations place us at the heart of these new human realities, and focus us on the evangelizing mission of the Church – of every Christian – in the desire to offer all men and women the unfathomable riches of Christ (Eph. 3, 8).

Inter-religious dialogue challenges and motivates us, but it also leaves us with many questions. We therefore appreciate the signs of vitality and hope:

- The dialogue of everyday life offers us numerous opportunities to live together in harmony and meet one another, to celebrate and form friendships which help us move beyond our fears, despite violence, wars, and fundamentalisms.

- Common projects and inter-religious associations seek to work together in order to meet the challenges of today’s world (e.g. victims of AIDS, social projects for human development, for displaced persons, for conflict-resolution, commitments in service of justice, peace, and the integrity of creation). We are inspired in such actions by Christ’s meeting with the Samaritan woman and by the parable of the Good Samaritan.

- Educational institutions welcome and are open to the other without discrimination and with respect for each one’s faith. Courses in comparative religions open students to mutual knowledge.

- Faith-sharing through texts from the Scriptures and through life-experiences allow each one to express his or her own experience of God and meet others in their deepest life-choices and values. The Holy Father’s meetings at Assisi and common prayers for peace on a national and international level inspire us. Opening up to the other who is different strengthens one’s deep identity and helps faith grow.

- The orientations of episcopal conferences, especially those of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, stress a threefold dialogue, with the poor, with cultures and with religions.

Still, in spite of multiple efforts and initiatives, today we find personal and social obstacles that block the passion for Christ and passion for humanity:

- In many contexts, Christianity is perceived as foreign, an “imported religion,” Western. Conservatism and traditionalism hinder genuine inculturation and a meeting of the Gospel with cultures. Not enough account is taken of the richness of local experiences of Religious Life, and liturgical celebrations are slow to integrate local cultural symbols.

- Real dialogue on an equal level is hindered by the fragility of our faith, by mutual misunderstandings, by ignorance, fear, prejudices, the wounds of history and personal wounds, by the desire to dominate and impose oneself.

- The mass media influence us to see the other as a danger and tend to make easy generalizations.

- Religions become politicized and fundamentalisms increase, together with discrimination in the name of religion.

- States are created on the basis of religions and ethnicity: a Kurdish state, a Shiite state, a Jewish state, Croatia for Catholics, Serbia for the Orthodox, etc.

- Sects proliferate, leading to fragmentation and dispersal.

- Vatican II encouraged inter-religious dialogue. But how can we live out this dialogue in a time of plurality of religious and spiritual traditions, recognizing their values on the one hand, and on the other affirming the universal character of the Good News in Jesus Christ, our only Savior?

God has already sown the Good News in the heart of the world. The missionary’s task is to discover the seeds of the Word (see Mark 4, 1-9; Matthew 13, 1-9; Luke 8, 4-8). To this end, structural transformations in life and ministry are indispensable.

- Dialogue should first begin among ourselves, in our life communities. It is part of our existence as Christian men and women. It should become a conviction, a choice, a way of living in our communities, making them into centers of dialogue, welcoming people and opening them up to mutuality, into places of pardon and reconciliation.

- Dialogue cannot take place without inculturation in a given cultural context. Hence we are called to a greater, more concrete commitment to the inculturation of our communities, our liturgies, our missionary responses. We must evaluate our ministries and their places of insertion in order to see clearly whom we are reaching.

- Dialogue invites us to conversion and the transformation of our mentalities, in order to recognize the work of God in the other. It is lived out in gratuity and in warmth of welcome to the other. We must take the first step. “Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the Gospel, and that without any sophisticated language, so that the Cross of Christ may not be reduced to nothing” (I Corinthians 1, 17).

Convictions:

- Pluralism is an enrichment. It is one of the characteristics of today’s world.

- Dialogue is the path chosen by the Triune God who wished to become one of us in Christ. “Although he was by nature divine, he did not cling jealously to the rank by which he was equal to God” (Phil. 2, 6).

- We do not have a monopoly on the truth. “The Spirit of truth leads us to the whole truth” (John 16, 13). Jesus himself opens himself in true dialogue to the reality of the other (see his meeting with the Syro-Phoenician woman, Mark 7, 24-30).

- Inter-religious dialogue is the essential condition for world peace. There is no peace in the world without peace among religions.

- Openness to other religions is a challenge, the condition to live the mission, which from being ad extra has become ad gentes but also inter gentes.

Actions:

- Have at the general level a person in charge of inter-religious dialogue, an office to stimulate and promote it.

- Inter-religious dialogue should be an integral part of initial and ongoing formation programs. Also encourage a solid theological and spiritual formation.

- Learn to analyze the mass media in a critical and prophetic way.

- Open ourselves to a contextualized reflection on the Consecrated Life, maintain a balance between reflection on the worldwide level and a more contextualized reflection.

- The next Congress on Consecrated Life should take place on another continent.

GROUP 3

24 participants: 16 nationalities, 24 congregations

INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE



	GROUP 3 24 participants: 16 nationalities, 24 congregations INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE More than ever before, the pluralistic world in which we live calls us to a renewed commitment in the service of inter-religious dialogue. Although in the past inter-religious dialogue was localized in specific geographical areas, today it is no longer limited to a few countries. It is lived everywhere, because of growing and ever more rapid migrations and because of more and more powerful means of communication. The world has become a vast multi-cultural society, and differences of races, religions and cultures exist everywhere, within every country. The charisms of our congregations place us at the heart of these new human realities, and focus us on the evangelizing mission of the Church – of every Christian – in the desire to offer all men and women the unfathomable riches of Christ (Eph. 3, 8). Inter-religious dialogue challenges and motivates us, but it also leaves us with many questions. We therefore appreciate the signs of vitality and hope: - The dialogue of everyday life offers us numerous opportunities to live together in harmony and meet one another, to celebrate and form friendships which help us move beyond our fears, despite violence, wars, and fundamentalisms. - Common projects and inter-religious associations seek to work together in order to meet the challenges of today’s world (e.g. victims of AIDS, social projects for human development, for displaced persons, for conflict-resolution, commitments in service of justice, peace, and the integrity of creation). We are inspired in such actions by Christ’s meeting with the Samaritan woman and by the parable of the Good Samaritan. - Educational institutions welcome and are open to the other without discrimination and with respect for each one’s faith. Courses in comparative religions open students to mutual knowledge. - Faith-sharing through texts from the Scriptures and through life-experiences allow each one to express his or her own experience of God and meet others in their deepest life-choices and values. The Holy Father’s meetings at Assisi and common prayers for peace on a national and international level inspire us. Opening up to the other who is different strengthens one’s deep identity and helps faith grow. - The orientations of episcopal conferences, especially those of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, stress a threefold dialogue, with the poor, with cultures and with religions. Still, in spite of multiple efforts and initiatives, today we find personal and social obstacles that block the passion for Christ and passion for humanity: - In many contexts, Christianity is perceived as foreign, an “imported religion,” Western. Conservatism and traditionalism hinder genuine inculturation and a meeting of the Gospel with cultures. Not enough account is taken of the richness of local experiences of Religious Life, and liturgical celebrations are slow to integrate local cultural symbols. - Real dialogue on an equal level is hindered by the fragility of our faith, by mutual misunderstandings, by ignorance, fear, prejudices, the wounds of history and personal wounds, by the desire to dominate and impose oneself. - The mass media influence us to see the other as a danger and tend to make easy generalizations. - Religions become politicized and fundamentalisms increase, together with discrimination in the name of religion. - States are created on the basis of religions and ethnicity: a Kurdish state, a Shiite state, a Jewish state, Croatia for Catholics, Serbia for the Orthodox, etc. - Sects proliferate, leading to fragmentation and dispersal. - Vatican II encouraged inter-religious dialogue. But how can we live out this dialogue in a time of plurality of religious and spiritual traditions, recognizing their values on the one hand, and on the other affirming the universal character of the Good News in Jesus Christ, our only Savior? God has already sown the Good News in the heart of the world. The missionary’s task is to discover the seeds of the Word (see Mark 4, 1-9; Matthew 13, 1-9; Luke 8, 4-8). To this end, structural transformations in life and ministry are indispensable. - Dialogue should first begin among ourselves, in our life communities. It is part of our existence as Christian men and women. It should become a conviction, a choice, a way of living in our communities, making them into centers of dialogue, welcoming people and opening them up to mutuality, into places of pardon and reconciliation. - Dialogue cannot take place without inculturation in a given cultural context. Hence we are called to a greater, more concrete commitment to the inculturation of our communities, our liturgies, our missionary responses. We must evaluate our ministries and their places of insertion in order to see clearly whom we are reaching. - Dialogue invites us to conversion and the transformation of our mentalities, in order to recognize the work of God in the other. It is lived out in gratuity and in warmth of welcome to the other. We must take the first step. “Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the Gospel, and that without any sophisticated language, so that the Cross of Christ may not be reduced to nothing” (I Corinthians 1, 17). Convictions: - Pluralism is an enrichment. It is one of the characteristics of today’s world. - Dialogue is the path chosen by the Triune God who wished to become one of us in Christ. “Although he was by nature divine, he did not cling jealously to the rank by which he was equal to God” (Phil. 2, 6). - We do not have a monopoly on the truth. “The Spirit of truth leads us to the whole truth” (John 16, 13). Jesus himself opens himself in true dialogue to the reality of the other (see his meeting with the Syro-Phoenician woman, Mark 7, 24-30). - Inter-religious dialogue is the essential condition for world peace. There is no peace in the world without peace among religions. - Openness to other religions is a challenge, the condition to live the mission, which from being ad extra has become ad gentes but also inter gentes. Actions: - Have at the general level a person in charge of inter-religious dialogue, an office to stimulate and promote it. - Inter-religious dialogue should be an integral part of initial and ongoing formation programs. Also encourage a solid theological and spiritual formation. - Learn to analyze the mass media in a critical and prophetic way. - Open ourselves to a contextualized reflection on the Consecrated Life, maintain a balance between reflection on the worldwide level and a more contextualized reflection. - The next Congress on Consecrated Life should take place on another continent.