Bishop urges open minded dialogues between religions

On the occasion of the Pontifical Council for Inter–religious Dialogue, an Indian Bishop reiterated the need for a "dialogue between religions" that is "truly open minded."

At the Council's 10th assembly themed “Dialogue in Truth and Charity,” which is currently underway, Mgr Thomas Dabre, Indian bishop of Vasai and a member of the Pontifical Council urged the need to cogitate together to bring about peace, harmony, trust and unity as well as encourage "inter–religious dialogue" and the "Church's missionary role" in India.

“We have, on the one hand, modern society with some of the problems that entails, namely fundamentalism, extremism, fanaticism,” the bishop said; “on the other, there are issues linked to ecology, human rights violations, justice and peace, atheism, secularism, agnosticism, sexual immorality and the decline of the family, i.e. all factors on which believers can find a common voice if they want meet these challenges.”

Speaking about the recent conversion allegations, the Bishop said, "It is wrong to compare missionary activities to forced conversion given the fact that proclaiming the Word of Christ is an appeal to the conscience and liberty of each individual.”

Indeed “the spirit of reciprocity is essential in inter–religious dialogue,” he stressed, because it represents “a bridge that unites” various parties “who feel legitimised, recognised and enriched,” quoted AsiaNews.

The Bishop urged missionaries never to be hindered in their mission of announcing good news and to always follow the path of Christ.

The Interreligious dialogue sessions in Rome took into consideration some practical issues regarding interreligious relationships: identity of the dialogue partner, religious education in schools, conversions, proselytism, reciprocity, religious freedom and the role of religious leaders in society.