From within the Vatican, introduce the various ministries of the Holy See, their history, work goals and missions, and how these ministries that assist the Pope’s pastoral work operate. This time, Card Ayuso, Chairman of the Holy See Committee for Religious Communication, introduced the work of this ministry (part one).
(Vatican News Network) “A small group that serves three-quarters of humanity.” This witty remark by the Nigerian cardinal Francis Arinze is a true portrayal of the work of the Holy See Committee for Religious Communication. The cardinal served as the chairman of this committee. Undoubtedly, the work of this ministry is to promote the establishment of brotherly friendship with believers of different religious traditions. The current chairman of the Holy See Committee for Religious Communication is the Spanish Cardinal Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot. He emphasized that in religious conversations, words that express one’s identity should not cause prejudice and resistance.
Card Ayuso first introduced the history of this ministry to this news network. He said that the predecessor of the Holy See Committee for Religious Communication was the Non-Christian Secretariat. It was established by Pope Paul VI on May 19, 1964. It was promulgating the “Declaration on the Attitudes of the Church to Non-Christian Religions” and the closing of the Second Vatican Council. The previous thing. At that time, the church felt that what Pope Francis said today must go out and talk with the world, especially with believers of other religions.
“Since then, nearly 60 years have passed. Despite difficulties and lack of understanding, the inter-religious dialogue promoted by the Catholic Church has never stopped. In 1988, in accordance with the Charter of the Good Shepherd, the non-Christian secretariat The name was changed to today’s Committee for the Intercourse of the Holy See (PCDI). The new name is more conducive to conversations with people of different traditional religions, and it is more inclusive.”
This ministry will undoubtedly cooperate with the bishops of the local church in the service of the mission of the church’s extensive dialogue, especially through the religious dialogue committee of the bishopric. Card Ayuso said: “In fact, many members of our ministry are chairmen of the above-mentioned committees. Even if the dialogue activities are promoted by this ministry, we are always keen to involve the local church and the Pontifical Representative.”
From its establishment to today, the work of the Holy See Committee for Religious Communication has been greatly expanded, but it is also more clear. “We have many opportunities to get to know people of different religious traditions. From these encounters, there have been structural innovations in dialogue and cooperation with different institutions, both multi-religious and single-religious.”
Card Ayusso mentioned that the committee sends congratulatory letters every year on the occasions of other traditional religious festivals, such as Ramadan for Muslims, Vesak Day for Buddhists, Diwali for Hinduism, and the day for Jains to commemorate the Daxiong Venerable. , And the festival of Sikhs. In addition, this committee has maintained a stable relationship with the Religious Dialogue Office of the Ecumenical Committee of the Christian Association for many years, so it has an ecclesiastical range in cross-religious dialogue.
“Under the impetus of the previous popes, this ministry has undoubtedly made greater efforts. I remember that the Day of Prayer for Peace convened by Saint John Paul II in Assisi in 1986 was a milestone in the inter-religious dialogue. Afterwards, there was the “Document of Human Brotherhood” signed by Pope Francis and the Great Imam of Taib in Abu Dhabi on February 4, 2019, and Pope Francis’s “Brothers” in 2020. Encyclical.”
Card Ayoso went on to say: “Francis has followed the footsteps of his predecessor and has become a facilitator of dialogue on many and different occasions. He encourages us today to continue to walk the road of brotherhood with all well-meaning people. Just me. As far as the Holy See Committee for Religious Dialogue is concerned, I can say that we will make every effort to determine the specific steps to be completed, so that the themes of brotherhood and social friendship have increasingly become fertile ground for exchanges and actions between members of different religious traditions. .”
The cardinal finally emphasized, “Although we do not give up our identity and do not imitate easy-going religious conciliation, we must work hard and bravely to show that in order to build a brotherly and fraternal society, we must abandon prejudice, delay and difficulty.”
Link URL: www.vaticannews.cn
Photogallery
Office of the Holy See Committee for Religious Communication