Interreligious dialogue

The Chief Minister of the Borneo state, Abang Johari, has praised the work of Unifor, the department for non-Islamic communities, which since 2017 has allocated 685 million ringgit to places of worship and support for schools founded by missionaries. This is a unique model for a region of Malaysia where Christians make up over 40 per cent of the population.

The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue brought together Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Christian religious leaders from Europe, at the Angelicum for a conference on dialogue and collaboration. For Cardinal Koovakad, fraternity among religions is not a utopia. The more they meet, “while respecting one another’s traditions and beliefs,” the more they “contribute together for the good of all in society”.

In his message for Hari Raya Aidiladha, the Festival of Sacrifice celebrated on 27 May, Sharafuddin Idris Shah issued an appeal against hatreds and divisions in response to tensions in his state, Malaysia's most populous territory. The sultan urges his compatriots to close ranks and avoid divisions that could weaken the community.

The pontiff had a phone conversation with the Coptic Orthodox Patriarch this morning “in a cordial and fraternal atmosphere," the Vatican Press Office reported, to give "impetus" to the celebrations for the Day of Friendship. Leo also expressed hope that work “with all Churches of the Oriental Orthodox family” can resume.

The cardinal who recently left his post in Damascus reflects with AsiaNews on his long service in the country amid the suffering of children and the faces of friends who have disappeared. A nation ‘destroyed and humiliated’ that must find the basis for rebuilding its future in the ‘ecumenism of suffering’. The few remaining Christians have the task of ‘being the glue’. Advice for the next generation of Vatican diplomats: ‘Live with the people, learn to adapt to reality’.

In Cuttack’s Indoor stadium, a large interfaith gathering brought together representatives of the Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, and Christian traditions to join in a call for “universal brotherhood”. For Archbishop John Barwa, “when faith communities stand together for truth, compassion, and the protection of human dignity, they become a transformative force for good.”

Controversy over a circular from the Department of Religious Affairs, which went viral on social media, stating that the decorations are reminiscent of a Christian holiday. The holiday is a religious, not a cultural, event and raises ‘issues related to faith’. But experts and officials say such a measure violates the spirit of tolerance and openness in the country.

AsiaNews met the prelate in Awali, at the headquarters of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia, during a reportage in the Gulf countries. There are many challenges for a Church that is ‘growing’, from the catacombs in Saudi Arabia to the repercussions of the war between Israel and Hamas in the region. The solidarity of the population, close to the suffering of the inhabitants of the Strip.

For Bishop Palinuro, the presence of Leo XIV has restored "enthusiasm" to a Catholic community that had fallen into a certain torpor. The encounter with Orthodox leaders represented a return "to the origins of our faith," even if challenges remain. The pontiff's simple gestures have lifted “biases" among Muslims. The Vatican and Turkey are equally committed to peace in the Middle East through diplomacy.

On the day of Pope Leo XIV's arrival in Turkey, AsiaNews publishes a reflection by Metropolitan Job. The theological dialogue between Orthodox and Catholics does not seek compromise. On the contrary, it produces fruits and agreements on the path towards visible Christian unity. The common condemnation of Uniatism as a method and the interdependence of primacy and synodality.

Ahead of the Pope's visit to Turkey, Monsignor Antuan Ilgıt, the first native to lead the Apostolic Vicariate of Anatolia, speaks: ‘I feel close to young people because of my life experience,’ he says. ‘Our Church? It is a seed for the world.’

Sarah Bernstein, executive director of the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue in Jerusalem, spoke at the Vatican. For her, Nostra Aetate, promulgated by the Second Vatican Council 60 years ago, teaches that dialogue must address the burning realities people may seek to avoid. Attacks by Jewish extremists on Christians and Muslims and their places of worship betray the very foundation of being Jewish. Leo XIV said, “The Church cannot tolerate anti-Semitism”.