Interfaith Relations

The Church urges her sons and daughters to enter with prudence and charity into discussion and collaboration with members of other religions.

Let Christians, while witnessing to their own faith and way of life, acknowledge, preserve and encourage the spiritual and moral truths found among non-Christians, also their social life and culture (Nostra aetate, 2).

Dialogue requires both listening and active communication. It can take many forms - the ‘dialogue of life’, the dialogue of joint action, the dialogue of theological discourse and the dialogue of shared religious experience (Dialogue and Proclamation, 1991). Interreligious dialogue can help participants to grow in their own faith on condition that they remain open to the action of God which comes through the dialogue partner. Religions themselves can benefit as they are enriched and purified by their encounter with the beliefs, practices and values of other faiths. Dialogue can also be a means of building up and strengthening social harmony. It lessens the possibility that religion will become a factor which aggravates already existing political, social or other divisions and tensions.

Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue

Access the webpage for the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue

Serving a Wounded World in Interreligious Solidarity: A Christian Call to Reflection and Action During COVID-19 and Beyond

A co-publication of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the World Council of Churches

This document encourages churches and Christian organisations to reflect on the importance of interreligious solidarity in a world wounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. It offers a Christian basis for interreligious solidarity that can inspire the impulse to serve with increased ecumenical and interreligious awareness and co-operation.

As Christians, the basis for interreligious solidarity comes from the Trinity and from our belief that all human beings are creatures of the One God; our trust and well-founded hope in Jesus Christ who heals by His wounds; seeing Christ in all who are suffering; and our connection with others through the Holy Spirit. We are guided by the principles of humility and vulnerability; respect for others; compassion and furthering the common good; dialogue and mutual learning; repentance; gratitude and generosity; and love, which shows the true face of Christianity.

Recommendations include calling all Christians to serve our neighbours and to serve alongside them, finding ways to bear witness to suffering and the voice of the vulnerable; to promote a culture of inclusivism where difference is celebrated; to nurture solidarity through common forms of spirituality; to engage and support the energy of young people; and to restructure projects and processes to benefit from interreligious solidarity.

Read the document at www.pcinterreligious.org

Interreligious Relations – Church Statements

Jewish-Christian Relations

DIALOGIKA ("items of dialogue") is an online library that chronicles the evolving conversation and relationship between the Christian and Jewish communities. Maintained through the collaboration of the Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations (CCJR) and the Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations of Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, it provides a comprehensive cyber-archive of official statements, historic documents, educational resources, and current information.
http://www.ccjr.us/dialogika-resources

Guidelines for Jewish-Christian Relations:

Interfaith relations and war/conflict

Enquiries and further information please contact:

Telephone: 8379 1600
Email: mission@bbcatholic.org.au

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