Taipei (AsiaNews) - Forming
students to have an open heart and their gaze fixed on the future; this is the
mission of the Taiwan Conference on Religion and Peace (TCPR). Launched in 1994
by French Jesuit priest Alberto Poulet Mathis, every year the TCPR organises a
meeting on interfaith dialogue, which this year came to the 13th edition and
took place in Hualian on the east coast of Taiwan August 2 to 5 last. The event
was attended by representatives of 10 youth religious groups, including:
Buddhists, Taoists, Catholics, Protestants and ikuantaos. Caiqi Chen, a
professor in one of the largest Catholic schools in Taipei and TCPR scholar,
explained that "the main objective of the meeting is to acquaint young
people with each other to avoid easy misunderstandings between religions.
Talking and working together, the young people nurture authentic friendships
that pave the way for future cooperation and mutual enrichment. "
The meetings, which have become a tradition in Taiwan, always take place in the
summer. Caiqi Chen points out that this year the organization was also attended
by students from previous years: in this way, there is a continuity of
relationships and the older members bear witness to their friendship to
newcomers.
The professor also recalled the great work for Interreligious Dialogue of Fr.
Poulet Mathis, the founder of TCRP. He was the first to propose dialogue among
young people. "Father Alberto - says Chen Caiqi - was considered by
Taiwanese a symbol of dialogue between faiths. Talking to him brought you to a
deeper level. He knew how to enter the minds of Taiwanese. He was not afraid to
adopt the Buddhist, Taoist or Muslim way of thinking". After his death in 2010
Fr. Paul (in Chinese Baolin), a young Xaverian priest from the Congo was
appointed his successor. "Fr. Paul - he says - is the ideal person to
continue the work begun by Fr. Alberto. He worked and studied with him for many
years and has the appropriate sensitivity to communicate with people of
different religions."