International

Deepavali - the very name of this festival reveals its meaning. The festival is all about lighting diyas. Later the term 'Deepawali' became 'Diwali'. Deepawali or Diwali is also known as 'the festival of lights', because on this day, people...

The deplorable violence and the humanitarian crisis in Northern Iraq and Syria, as well as in other parts of the world, call for a united response. To help build a united international front to bring peace to these regions, the Foreign Ministers of the Republic of Austria, the Kingdom of...

Pope Francis met with leaders of the different religious communities in Albania on Sunday afternoon, insisting once again that no-one can use the name of God to commit violence. Speaking at the Catholic University of Tirana, the Pope said...

Pope Francis on Wednesday afternoon met with delegation of 40 world Jewish leaders at the Casa Santa Marta. The gathering was in honor of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. Among those attending the event were World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder, ...

Pope Francis told Catholic Bishops from Cameroon that developing an ongoing dialogue with Muslims, in an atmosphere of mutual trust, is essential for maintaining peaceful co-existence and preventing the violence of which Christians are the victims in...

An Interreligious Soccer Match for Peace – an initiative desired by Pope Francis - will take place Monday night at Rome’s Olympic Stadium. The 50-some former and current professional players to take part in the game were received by the Pope in the Vatican Monday afternoon.

Moving “beyond” religious, cultural, and social differences, the Beyond project is an interfaith musical series created by four women: a “Baptist-Buddhist,” a Hindu, a Christian, and a Tibetan Buddhist. So far, three albums have been released under its name...

Amidst the reality of tensions often fueled by religions, a group of Christian, Muslim and Jewish youth has formed a multi-faith community. As part of an interfaith summer course sponsored by the World Council of Churches (WCC), this community...

This month the “Voice of Faith,” a multi-faith radio show, is celebrating its third anniversary. The first radio show of its type in Australia, the hour-long program was formally recognized by both federal and state governments and initiated by the Casey Multifaith Network...

The Secretary of State says that “the majority of Muslims refuse those brutal and inhuman methods. Let us hope that the Islamic world speaks up against them. The international community should be present in the country. The Church has not been silent”...

In one of Rumi’s writings, a scholar in grammar asks a boatman for a ride on his boat. Once settled aboard, he asks the boatman: “Do you know the science of grammar?” The boatman replies; “no, I don’t.” The grammarian announces, “You wasted half of...

The conference, sponsored by the Lutheran World Federation and the School of Theology and Ministry at Seattle University, 10—14 August 2014, engaged thirty Jewish, Christian and Muslim scholars from various traditions in lively and thought-provoking discussions.

The degeneration of the turmoil afflicting Iraq has led Pope Francis and his staff to an unprecedented move that marks a new qualitative leap in relations between the Holy See and representatives of Islam...

The Vatican body calls on the members of all religions and on the international community to join in the condemnation. It also calls on Islamic religious leaders to condemn the use of religion as a false justification for terrorism and to make the culture of coexistence and...

Plans are advancing for the Interfaith Summit on Climate Change, to be held in New York from 21 to 22 September. A new website featuring interfaith perspectives on climate change, highlighting the upcoming summit, has recently gone online.

On the journey towards Reformation 2017, Lutherans explore together with scholars from other faith communities the meaning of identity and renewal

Holy men and their holy books have etched a trail of tears and blood in the annals of human history. From the depths of peaceful temples, mobs have been dispatched with flaming torches; from steeples and minarets messages of hatred have floated down upon...

A group of about 200 Muslims joined Christians in solidarity in front of the Chaldean Church of St. George Sunday to condemn the attacks on the Christian community in Mosul carried out by the Islamic State.

Hundreds, maybe thousands, of interfaith forums have been held throughout the world in which well-meaning liberals from different religions "dialogue" in a quest for mutual understanding. By now they ought to understand each other's positions ...

The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue has sent a Message to Muslims to mark the conclusion of the month of Ramadan. The theme of the Message is:Towards a Genuine Fraternity between Muslims and Christians. “Our contemporary world faces grave challenges...

The former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Williams has disclosed that he spends up to 40 minutes a day squatting and repeating an Eastern Orthodox prayer while performing breathing exercises as part of a routine influenced by Buddhism.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) announced it will hold an Interfaith Summit on Climate Change on September 21-22 in New York City. At the summit, organized together with Religions for Peace, more than 30 religious leaders will take a united stand ...

A 2-member delegation from the Pontifical Council for Interrelious Dialogue is currently visiting Indonesia (from 22-27 June) and holding talks with local Church representatives and leading Muslim organisations in the nation. The two members are the Council’s Secretary...

His Holiness the Dalai Lama began the last day of his Italian visit by arriving early at the Modigliani Forum to do preparatory prayers for the Avalokiteshvara Empowerment. After completing the preparations His Holiness welcomed Bishop Simone Giusti of Livorno on the stage.

“Peacemaking calls for courage, much more so than warfare”, the courage “to say yes to encounter and no to conflict: yes to dialogue and no to violence; yes to negotiations and no to hostilities; yes to respect for agreements and no to acts of provocation; yes to sincerity and no to duplicity”.

Pope Francis Pope Francis delivered remarks to the Presidents of Palestine and Israel, Mahmoud Abbas and Shimon Peres, along with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, and delegations representing Jews, Christians, Muslims,...

Pope Francis finished his three-day visit to the Holy Land on Monday (May 26, 2014) with a whirlwind tour of religious and political sites, including Al-Aqsa mosque and the Western Wall; meetings with Jerusalem's Grand Mufti, Israel’s president, prime minister, and two chief rabbis...

As the three day Apostolic journey of Pope Francis to the Holy Land which took him to Jordan, Palestine and Israel comes to an end Philippa Hitchen brings us an overall picture of this visit in which she focuses on ecumenical and interfaith hope.

During his meeting with leaders of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel which consists of two Chief Rabbis - the Ashkenazi rabbi, David Lau, and the Sephardi rabbi, Shlomo Amar - the Pope reflected on the significance of the Jewish roots the Christian faith and on the spiritual bonds...

eeting on Monday morning with the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Muhammed Hussein, Pope Francis pointed to the fraternal dialogue and exchange between Christians and Muslims which, he said "offers new strength to confront the ...