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INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE A DUTY: USG DISCUSSIONS RELEVANT FOR ASIA-OCEANIA RELIGIOUS

ROME: 29th November -- The Union of Superiors General (USG), presently meeting at the Salesianum, Rome, have made inter-religious dialogue their central theme for this year's meeting. Speakers with experience in dialogue between Christians and Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists (among others) have offered a challenge to Religious: dialogue is a duty to be carried out even in the tensions and conflicts of today's world. This point was made especially in reference to dialogue with Muslims. Fr. Thomas Michel, S.J., Director of the Jesuit Secretariat of Inter-religious dialogue, in his introductory talk to a workshop on 'Development of Inter-religious dialog with Muslims' also noted that "Islamic-Christian dialogue can not expect that simple relationships will exist between the two communities". His experience of living amongst and teaching Muslims in universities in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, suggests that once trust is established, dialogue is not only welcomed but requested.

The Indian Superior General of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI),Fr. Alexander Thanippara, spoke of the experience of dialogue between monasticism and Buddhism and Hinduism. The Christian “Ashram” of India was born as a way of fully enculturating Christianity in a specific religious tradition and local culture in search of an “Indian identity” for the Church but also to respond to the “crisis” in evangelization and to get closer to the “elites”.

It is interesting to note that Ashrams exist elsewhere than India - in Fiji for example, there is an Ashram, originally administered by the Indian Missionary Society (IMS), which has sought over the years to promote dialogue especially between Indo-Fijians and indigenous Fijians, the majority of the latter being Christian, while the former are either Hindu or Muslim adherents.

Perhaps it was the opening words of the outgoing President of the USG, Bro. Alvaro Rodriguez, which best expressed the challenges facing ordinary Religious. He was quoting a Religious living and working in Asia (Malaysia):

“Our Communities tend to identify with a systematically organized work-service, to which we devote a lot of time and rely on the latest advances; their communities emphasize life in general especially the spiritual life; people share with them throughout the day and their work is less formal. In one way or another Catholic religious are seen as erudite and teachers while they are seen as people of prayer, holy and spiritual......Just as our religious communities are committed to justice and peace, they too have similar movements among themselves and bodies for working together. Their meditation and psalmodic prayer appear to be more solemn and less hurried than our vocal prayers. In some cases their religious communities are temporary centers of formation where followers of their religion undergo a substantial experience, without, however, embracing the religious life permanently”.

0761_INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE A DUTY: USG DISCUSSIONS RELEVANT FOR ASIA-OCEANIA RELIGIOUS

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