International Interfaith Events and Ecumenical in 2014
International Interfaith Events in 2014
April
24. The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue issues a message for the Buddhist Feast of Vesakh to "join forces to educate people, particularly the young, to seek fraternity, to live in fraternity and to dare to build fraternity."
May: 50th anniversary Message to Dialogue Council
The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its foundation on Monday, May 19.
June
22-27. A 2-member delegation from the Pontifical Council for Interrelious Dialogue father Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot and Father Markus Solo, a specialist on Islam in Asia and the Pacific visited Indonesia (from 22-27 June) and held talks with local Church representatives and led Muslim organizations in the nation. The two members are the Council’s Secretary Father Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot and Father Markus Solo, a specialist on Islam inAsiaand the Pacific. This visit was aimed at boosting interreligious dialogue as a sign of respect and friendship, as urged by Pope Francis.
July
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 which call for solidarity on the part of all people of good will,” writes the Council’s President, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, noting threats to the environment, the crisis of the global economy and high levels of unemployment – particularly youth unemployment – as some of those challenges.
September
15. Thousands of Christians march inBangaloreagainst violence inIraq,SyriaandAfrica
17. Pope Francis met with Jewish leaders to mark Rosh Hashana
Pope Francis on Wednesday, September 17 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, Latin American Jewish Congress President Jack Terpins, WJC Treasurer Chella Safra and a number of Jewish community heads and senior WJC officials.
21. Pope Francis made a one-day visit toAlbania, a short air trip across the Adriatic Sea fromRomebut a land neglected typically by global leaders. The excursion was the first by the Pope to a European country since his elevation, according to the Catholic News Service (CNS).
In Tirana, Pope Francis lauded the mutual respect and trust between Muslims, Catholics and Orthodox Christians inAlbaniaas a "precious gift" and a powerful symbol in today's world.
25. Leaders in inter-faith dialogue stand up to abuse of religion to justify violent conflict.
The deplorable violence and the humanitarian crisis in Northern Iraq andSyria, 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 Minister of Austria, Sebastian Kurz, the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Spain, Gonzalo de Benito Secades, and Reverend Father Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot of the Founding Observer, the Holy See, signed the declaration during a Ministerial Meeting of the Council of Parties to the KAICIID Dialogue Centre in New York on September 25, 2014.
October
26. The interreligious meeting of prayer for peace in the Central American country 28 years after the prayer for peace in Assisi in 1986.
On October 26 in San Salvadorrepresentatives of Christianity, Islam, Judaism and other world religions, met at the invitation of the Community of Sant'Egidio on the anniversary of the historic day of prayer for peace called by the holy Pope John Paul II inAssisiin 1986.
27-29. Celebrating 50 years of the international dialogue between Roman Catholics and Lutherans in 2017 is a critical way of remembering conflicts that started in Europe after the Reformation, and of expressing hope for deeper unity between both dialogue partners.
Kurt Cardinal Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) made these remarks when he addressed leaders of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) member churches in Europe, at their regional meeting inRome, October 27-29.
November: This month marks the 50th anniversary of the Vatican II Decree on Ecumenism (Unitatis Redintegratio).
25-26. Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, The head of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue attended the 9th Colloquium between Iran’s Center for Interreligious Dialogue (CID) of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization (ICRO) and The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID). The theme of the meeting is “Christians and Muslims in Constructive Dialogue for the Good of Society.”
30. Pope Francis visited the Blue Mosque andHagia Sophia,Turkey. Pope Francis & Patriarch Bartholomew signed joint declaration
The Holy Father was welcomed by the Governor of Istanbul and by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomaios I, and then transferred by car to the Blue Mosque, or the Mosque of the Sultan Ahmed.
Built between 1609 and 1917 by Ahmed I on what had been the site of the greatpalaceofConstantinople, the mosque became the most important place of worship of theOttoman Empire. The name “Blue Mosque” derives from the 21,043 turquoise ceramic tiles adorning the walls and the dome.
The Holy Father then proceeded to theMuseumofHagia Sophia, the basilica dedicated to Divine Wisdom, first built in the year 360 by the emperor Constantine on a site previously occupied by pagan temples.
Then Pope Francis and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, spiritual leader of the Orthodox world signed a Joint Declaration reaffirming their desire to overcome the obstacles dividing their two Churches. The two leaders also deplored the terrible situation facing Christians and all who are suffering in theMiddle Eastand called for an appropriate response from the international community.
December
2-4. Christian-Muslim Summit concluded inRome
The members of the III Christian-Muslim Summit of Religious Leaders and Scholars released a statement after their 3-day meeting inRome. The theme was “Christians and Muslims: Believers in Society”.
The statement said the meeting was "characterized by mutual respect, opening and listening to each other; this constitutes a message of reconciliation, peace and fraternity of which our world is in great need."
International Ecumenical events in 2014
May
24-26. Pope Francis pilgrimaged to the Holy Land on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the meeting between Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras in Jerusalem
25. Pope Francis And Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Of Constantinople Kiss The Stone Of Unction In Jeusalem's Church Of The Holy Sepulcher May 25
September
12. 'Cricket diplomacy' to boost Catholic-Anglican friendship
Nearly 500 years after the schism betweenCanterburyandRome, the Catholic andAnglicanChurchesare "challenging" each other again. A cricket match provided the unusual occasion got the Vatican XI and the Anglican XI to play each other. The whole idea was the brainchild of His Excellency John McCarthy, Australian Ambassador to the Holy See, back in 2012. Prior to coming toRome, he was a trustee of the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Pope Francis blessed the Vatican XI, the Holy See's first cricket team. Made up mostly of Indian, Pakistani and Sri Lankan seminarians, the team was set to travel toEnglandwhere it will face off its Anglican counterpart inCanterbury.
15-23. Catholic-Orthodox Commission prays for persecuted brethren
The Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church has released a Communiqué following the Commission's 13th plenary session, which was held inAmman,Jordan, from the 15th to the 23rd of September, 2014. In the statement, the Commission expressed deep concern for and solidarity with the Christians and members of other religious traditions of the entire Mideast region who are at present suffering brutally violent persecution, and promised continued prayers for all the persecuted.
December
2-4. The Anglican Archbishop of Canterburyand leader of the global Anglican Communion, Justin Welby was among the numerous religious representatives from around the world signed a joint declaration against modern slavery in theVatican. The initiative, promoted by the Global Freedom Network and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, grew out of a first meeting of the Anglican leader with Pope Francis in 2013. Since then Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist and Hindu leaders have all joined the campaign to stamp out the scourge of human trafficking.
Review by Diocesan Commission for Interfaith Dialogue of HCM City
