pathways, July 09
A loving heart is the most important element in inter-religious dialogue, according to Bishop Kevin Manning. (pictured)
"In the Acts of the Apostles, it is written that the believer must believe with his heart, and very closely allied to believing with the heart is understanding with the heart: a heart which truly encounters another as a child of God when meeting," the Bishop of Parramatta said in addressing more than 100 congregational leaders at the 33rd National Assembly of Catholic Religious Australia.
"The Dalai Lama and Thomas Merton met in 1968 and had intensive conversations over five days: each witnessed to the spiritual bond between them, and, in 1996, the Dalai Lama wrote: 'the impact of meeting him will remain until my last breath'.
"At the funeral of Cardinal Koenig, the retired archbishop of Vienna and key figure of the Second Vatican Council, Muslims, Jews and Christians mourned and prayed; not for the passing of an ecclesiastical dignitary, but for the loss of a good friend. For him every meeting with an individual was an authentic human encounter.
"When his successor, Cardinal Schonborn, was asked which was more important in Christian-Muslim dialogue: theological scholarship or the building up of personal relationship at a simple human level, he replied 'friendship is the key'.
"If friendship is the key, I have to ask, 'what is holding us back'?
"One of the great paradoxes of modern life is that, in a world in which connectivity is the buzzword, in which communication was never technically easier, we have fewer and fewer true encounters with our fellow human beings. Obviously, we can never know people if we do not talk to them.
So, for me, inter-religious dialogue is first of all a conversation 'over the back fence', or the contemporary equivalent.
Bishop Manning said that his reason for becoming involved in interreligious dialogue was that it was the teaching of the Church, particularly of the Second Vatican Council in its 'Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to non-Christian Religions', Nostra Aetate.
However, he admitted that it wasn't until 9/11 that he took action.
"Catholic bishops and theologians who lived in Asian countries had developed an understanding of Buddhism or Hinduism, and similarly for those who lived in predominantly Muslim countries (before Vatican II).
"But this fell short of authentic dialogue, not to mention friendship, and was certainly not something which occurred at a formal level in parish life.There were few Muslims, Buddhists or Hindus living in Australian suburbia.
"Bishops who were at the Council came away with their heads reeling from all they were to implement and it is small wonder that Nostra Aetate didn't loom large in Western countries like Australia where there was little cultural or social pressure on us to attend to questions of inter-faith relations. We had enough on our hands to cope with the other Christian religions.
"So for me, inter-religious dialogue did not become much of a reality until after 9/11 when I responded to the overtures of others.
"But, once involved, I have remained committed, and, I hope, energetic in promoting good relations with our Muslim and Jewish brothers and sisters ..."
This was how he began his involvement in inter-religious dialogue but "now, having experienced it, I add another reason: friendship. In my new encounters, I have made new friends. And I thank God for that."
After giving several detailed examples of inter-faith dialogue, he said that the course of interreligious dialogue did not always run smoothly, and no one needed to be surprised by that.
"If it did run smoothly all the time, we would have cause to question its authenticity. Difficulties have been experienced in meeting the challenges of resistance, indifference and differences."
There were different groups of resisters, he said.
"For example, on the night of the celebration of Prophet Muhammad's birthday in Parramatta, organised by Affinity and ourselves, there were Muslims praying on mats in St Patrick's Cathedral, Christian and Muslim children playing chasing together on the grass in the courtyard, evangelical Christians picketing the entrances to the cathedral and handing out anti-Muslim literature, some Armenians heckling the Turkish speakers in the hall, and a Christian migrant ready to go 15 rounds with anybody! Quite a mix!
"Our Muslim friends tell us that they too receive friendly and unfriendly warnings. All this is part of the process of change and there are people in our respective communities who find change very difficult."
Bishop Manning said that added to resistance was a layer of indifference, "the underlying reasons for which we don't know" although he guesses that "there are Catholics who are not sure about inter-religious dialogue".
And he warned that interreligious dialogue was not a facade of niceness.
"We have to work hard to show that acknowledging and, negotiating, differences is part of living in the real world, and it's no different in interreligious dialogue.
He said it was good to consider differences.
"First ... acknowledgement of differences helps us to clarify our thinking about our own faith, to appreciate what is unique, and to grow in respect for the convictions of others; in talking about our faith with others, we clarify things for ourselves.
"Secondly, the acknowledgement and exploration of difference frees the dialogue partners to be authentically who they are because we come to understand why they act the way they do. If we feel ourselves to be free, then there are no constraints on our honesty, no fear that our honest efforts will be repudiated. Instead, we can be confident that misunderstandings will be resolved in a spirit of good will.
"Thirdly, with an understanding and listening heart, we can develop ways of talking about our differences so that the end result is greater mutual understanding of our identity as Muslim or Christian."
Bishop Manning said that he had learned to appreciate the importance of culture and the misunderstandings which could spring from conflating cultural expression with religious expression.
"To give you an extreme example, I have been at meetings when some Christians have been quite hostile to what they incorrectly believe is the Islamic practice of female circumcision. They have been simply unaware that this practice is not a requirement of Islam; it was, and unfortunately, is a practice in some countries, where it is carried out by Muslims and non-Muslims alike."
Bishop Manning said that his involvement with Jews was more at the leadership level rather than the grassroots involvement he enjoys with Muslims.
He said he would be watching with interest a significant meeting to be held in Berlin, in July. The conference of the
International Council of Christians and Jews, was to meet with the main theme, "re-assessment of Jewish-Christian dialogue and its future". It was expected that a new document would be launched entitled the
Twelve Points of Berlin. (please see an update note at the end of this article)
"The document marks the 60th anniversary of the Ten Points of Seelisberg, Switzerland, which created the International Council of Christians and Jews as the basic platform for continuing exchange and Christian-Jewish co-operation.
"Although the Ten Points of Seelisberg were seminal for post-war Jewish-Christian relations, the points were addressed to Christians only. The new document constitutes a call to all: some points are addressed to Christians; some to Jews; some to both Christian and Jewish communities and others."
Bishop Manning said it would be true to say that the Seelisberg document was not enthusiastically received by the Catholic Church after the war.
"In 1950, the Church said that the International Council for Christian and Jews was 'indifferentist' and Catholics were precluded from co-operating with the ICCJ. It was not until the Second Vatican Council that the Church's position became more positive ... I await the Twelve Points of Berlin with eager anticipation."
Bishop Manning said he believed honest dialogue which leads to friendship was the inter-faith dialogue path to follow.
"Catholic bishops, Catholic priests and religious are not for the Catholic people alone.
"Our witness and our love is for all God's people because God loves all without exception and without distinction.
"This is my ultimate reason for engaging in inter-religious dialogue."
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editor's note: The International Council of Christians and Jews conference,
A Time for Recommitment, was held in Berlin from July 5-8, and the
Twelve Points of Berlin have been issued.
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