230th Anniversary of the “Royal Temple of Chetupon (Wat Pho)" celebrated from the  
1st to the 11th of November 2018

Most Venerable Phra Thepweeraporn,

 The Holy Father Pope Francis was pleased to be informed of the grand festival commemorating the 230^th Anniversary of Wat Phra Chetuphon (Wat Pho) from 1 to 11 November 2018. Allow me to bring warm greetings and best wishes in the name of His Holiness Pope Francis, along with those of our delegation, to you and to the Sangha Assembly of the Royal Temple Phra Chetuphon as well as all Buddhists in Thailand on this happy occasion. It is an honour and a privilege to be invited to participate in this commemorative event and we sincerely express our gratitude for the invitation.

 The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue esteems the enduring friendship between the Wat Pho and the Catholic Church. The ties of mutual trust and cooperation between us began with the first delegation of Buddhist monks from Thailand on 5 June 1972 when they had an audience with His Holiness, Pope Paul VI. On this occasion the Pope noted “We hope that there will be increasingly friendly dialogue and close collaboration between the traditions that you represent and the Catholic Church” (Insegnamenti, 1972, X, pp. 604-605). One of the three monks of the delegation was Most Ven. Somdej Phra Wanaratana (Pun Punnasiri), former abbot of Wat Phra Chetupon (Wat Pho), who was later elevated to the 17^th Supreme Patriarch of the Kingdom of Thailan. We also vividly remember the recent visit of Ven. Phra Rajratanasunthon and his delegation to the Vatican to present the translations of the Sacred Scriptures Khom of Phra Malai to His Holiness Pope Francis. On this occasion as well, the Pope expressed his sincere appreciation for the Wat Pho. “It is a tangible sign of your generosity and of the friendship that we have shared for so many years, a journey made of many small steps” (To the Buddhist Delegation from Thailand, 16 May 2018).

 Our presence today is a clear sign of our bond of friendship. We take this occasion to thank the Sangha Assembly of Wat Pho for their continued commitment to interreligious dialogue. May our visit today contribute to furthering our ties and build bridges to heal today’s disturbed world plagued by violence, strife, mistrust, and the resulting suffering to millions of people.

 With renewed gratitude for the invitation, we wish you a happy and meaningful cultural and spiritual celebration!

H.E. Bishop Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, M.C.C.J

Secretary, Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue

Final Statement - Second Christian-Taoist Colloquium 
Father J.M Beurel Centre, Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, Singapore

5-7 November 2018

1. The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID), the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore, and the Taoist Federation of Singapore (TFS) jointly organized the Second Christian-Taoist Colloquium in Singapore from 5-7 November 2018. The theme of the Colloquium was “Christian and Taoist Ethics in Dialogue.” Seventy Christian and Taoist scholars and practitioners of interreligious dialogue mainly from Singapore but also from China, France, South Korea, Malaysia, Switzerland, Taiwan and the Vatican, took part in this event. The participants included a representative each from the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences and the World Council of Churches.

2. Mr. Tan Thiam Lye, Chairman TFS, gave the welcome address and several other representatives offered their greetings. H.E. Bishop Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, Secretary PCID, delivered the keynote address.

3. The Colloquium focused on the following topics: Today’s Crisis of Ethics and Hope for Tomorrow; Taoist and Christian Responses to the Crisis of Ethics; Social Institutions and the Transformation of Human Persons; Spiritual Development and Self-Cultivation; Global Ethics and the Interdependency of All Human Beings; Fostering a United and Harmonious Society; and Emerging Orientations for Future Christian-Taoist Engagement. The program also included cultural and interreligious visits to the Taoist Kew Ong Yah Temple, the Catholic Church of the Transfiguration, and the Harmony in Diversity Gallery.

4. Inspired by our spiritual and interdisciplinary exchanges, we the participants agree on the following:

a. We acknowledge that the Second Christian-Taoist Colloquium has helped strengthen our bonds of friendship and nurture our desire for further collaboration.

b. We shared our concerns and hopes for the future.

c. We affirm - because of the fundamental ethical teachings of our religious traditions to do good and avoid evil - that no one can escape the moral responsibility of transforming unjust socio-economic, political, cultural, religious and legal structures.

d. We recognize that today’s crisis of ethics requires a rediscovery of universal values based on social justice, integral ecology, as well as the dignity of human life at every stage and circumstance. Therefore, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) remains a shared fundamental expression of human conscience for our times and offers a solid basis for promoting a more just world.

e. We believe in the capacity of our religious traditions to inspire a multi-faceted response to the challenges of our times. Therefore, it is necessary improve the methods of communication our traditions and stories in a language that is easily understandable.

f. We believe that families, educational institutions, and religious communities are places of spiritual and moral formation where today’s youth can learn to shape tomorrow’s world into a better place.

g. We have seen that interpersonal and scholarly exchanges between our religious traditions enabled us to work together to shape the ethical frameworks needed for the common good of this and future generations.

The participants express their gratitude to institutions and all people, for the warm hospitality, support and friendship that they have experienced.

Promoting Mercy, Mutual Understanding and Spiritual Companionship among Believers: Recommendations for Future Directions for Interreligious Dialogue

Pope Francis and the Future of Interreligious Dialogue Conference
13 September 2018
Georgetown University, Washington, DC

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     Future directions for interreligious dialogue, including how Pope Francis is promoting interreligious dialogue and relations, were the subject of candid conversations over two days at Georgetown University, September 13-14, 2018. Fifty church and religious leaders and scholars met in closed session to take stock of accomplishments, failures, and frustrations regarding official Catholic efforts intersecting with academic and pastorally and spiritually oriented efforts for interreligious dialogue over the five decades since the close of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council.

     At Vatican II, the bishops of the Catholic Church promulgated the “Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions” (Nostra Aetate) and other documents encouraging Catholics to enter into dialogue and relations to promote mutual understanding and trust, cooperation for the common good, and spiritual companionship. Pope Francis, in the five years since his election, has reinvigorated the commitment to the dialogue initiatives of Vatican II and added new orientations.

            In his words of welcome to participants, Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia referred to this commitment to interreligious dialogue as “this uplifting of human dignity through dialogue,” drawing from both Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter Evangelii Gaudium and a statement of the 34^th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus. He thanked participants for coming to Georgetown University, where this commitment is alive in various ways, and how their presence at the conference demonstrates “the ongoing importance of this commitment and enliven it, in this moment, in these times of challenge across our nation and our world.”

Five individuals who have kept close watch over Pope Francis’ efforts shared their views in a public session on Thursday evening, September 13, in Copley Formal Lounge on the campus of Georgetown University. An audience of 150 heard Rabbi Abraham Skorka, a long-time friend of the pope and still in frequent contact with him, emphasize Pope Francis’ enthusiasm to keep dialogue moving forward. “Pope Francis is always pressing forward for fresh insights and new horizons for joint activities,” the rabbi observed.

Lutheran Bishop Munib Younan, bishop emeritus of Jordan and the Holy Land, who as President of the Lutheran World Federation in 2016, in Lund, Sweden, opened a year of common commemoration of the Reformation with Pope Francis, attested to the commitment and personal engagement of Pope Francis to journey together with all peoples. The joint agreement in “Lund will not be a lonely event in Church history but the initiation of a long journey together in mission and together in the service of humanity to further God’s kingdom in our globalized world,” the bishop predicted.

Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, who for 19 years was secretary and then president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue in Rome, observed how Pope Francis has maintained truly the helpful orientations of his predecessors since Vatican II and has added new emphases, especially a desire for taking dialogues and relationships into local situations to address those needs. He reported that initiative for the Vatican’s Christian-Muslim dialogues had generally come from the Muslim partners during his years of service in Rome.

Sr. Margaret Mary Funk, a Benedictine nun from Our Lady of Grace Monastery in Indiana, served as executive secretary for Monastic Interreligious Dialogue, an association of Catholic monastics promoting interreligious cooperation and exchanges with Buddhist, Hindu and other monks and nuns. She drew attention to Pope Francis’ important role as a spiritual guide, following the Ignatian practice of Jesuits, as he seeks to encourage deeper spiritual companionship. She noted that there is more to do, especially including the leadership of women and their gifts in all aspects of church life.

Fr. Indunil Kodithuwakku, the fifth and final member of the public panel, is currently Under Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. He identified mercy as Pope Francis’ main message and suggested a number of ways for adapting interreligious dialogue for promoting mercy. Pope Francis’ message for this year’s World Day of the Poor, scheduled for November 18, encourages interreligious cooperation: “Dialogue between different experiences, and humility in offering our cooperation without seeking the limelight, is a fitting and completely evangelical response that we can give.”

            Invited participants met all-day Thursday and until mid-day on Friday in a series of six sessions reflecting on major events and initiatives in the last five decades, identifying achievements, frustrations, and lessons learned for more effective dialogues in the future. Before meeting, invitees were reminded of three critically important suggestions for interreligious dialogue that Pope Francis offered to a primarily Muslim audience at Al-Azhar Conference Centre in Cairo on April 28, 2017: “Three basic areas, if properly linked to one another, can assist in this dialogue: the duty to respect one’s own identity and that of others, the courage to accept differences, and sincerity of intentions.”

            One panel reflected on the way forward in Christian-Muslim relations, another panel, on relations between Christians and Buddhists and Christians and Hindus. Four participants summed up various suggestions and comments from previous panels and offered their insights. Three participants, Fr. Indunil Kodithuwakku, Archbishop Felix Machado of the Diocese of Vasai near Mumbai, India, and a former Under Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and John Borelli, the organizer of the conference for Georgetown University, drew a few interim conclusions. For example, they encouraged the Pontifical Council to spell out specific ways for promoting the theme of mercy as public notice and encouragement.

Participants also reiterated the importance of maintaining the dialogues of theological and other scholarly specialists and preparation of useful materials for religious instruction and formation for dialogue. They also acknowledged the value of drinking deeply from intellectual and spiritual traditions through dialogue and friendship. They underscored the importance of hospitality and the formation of friendships and trust especially for developing projects to benefit those suffering injustice, persecution and poverty. They also acknowledged that bigotry and resentment toward some religious groups and toward immigrants need to be seriously countered. Participants generally agreed that there is a pulling back in wealthy nations from welcoming and providing for new arrivals in their societies. They noted how complex issues continue to bedevil interreligious relations today based on unrest and worries felt, accurately or falsely, because of overlapping religious, ethnic, national and racial identities.

            A report is being prepared to share among participants and with various dialogue offices and initiatives represented by the participants.