PRINCIPLES FOR INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE.pdf - CUEA

her sons and daughters to be aware of this noble and compulsory
task, to be well equipped for its achievement and then to carry it out
with prudence, love and charity. In recent times, Pope John Pall II
invited Christians to commit themselves to dialogue:
All Christians must, therefore, be committed to dialogue with the
believers of all religions, so that the mutual understanding and
collaboration may grow; so that moral values are strengthened; so
that God may be praised in all creation. Ways must be developed to
make this dialogue become a reality everywhere, but especially in
Asia, the continent that is the cradle of ancient cultures and religions. 9
But how can we be actively involved in dialogue with members of
other religions if we do not know the major principles and guidelines
for such enterprise? How can we know the procedures involved if we
do not study them and if we are not trained? How can we be prudent
- the document recommends- if we do not know where we are coming
from, where we are and where we are going? For instance, we know
that it is Christian to love a Muslim and it is Islamic to love a Christian.
But in which way Christians will express their love towards the
Muslims without hurting them?
We should not rely so much on the hope that the age of holy wars is
long past; that the wars of religious expansion and the crusades of
only of historical interest, for we have witnessed another set of
religious wars in the twentieth century, in Africa and elsewhere. 10
This course, as the title indicates, has a very limited scope, for it only
sets some guiding principles and procedures to be followed as we
enlighten our fellow human beings and take part in dialoguing with
non-Christian religions. This enterprise is really important if not
necessary to us as Africans since our continent has become more
than any period a highly pluralistic. A misguided Pluralism of
religious has caused and could still cause conflicts, divisions and
wars. Perhaps, the major features of their cultures –solidarity and
sharing- should motivate Africans more and more to consider
Interreligious dialogue not as an optional but as an imperative activity.
9 Pope John Paul II quoted by Jacques Dupuis, op., cit., p. 361.
10 Cf. Owen C. Thomas, op. cit., p. 4
Created by DEAN-FASSFrederic Ntedika Mvumbi, OP
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