Interreligious

"In our times, when every day men are being drawn closer together and the ties between various peoples are being multiplied, the Church is giving deeper study to her relationship with non-Christian religions.  In her task of fostering unity and love among men, and even among nations, she gives primary consideration in this document to what human beings have in common and to what promotes fellowship among them.”---Nostra Aetate, Documents of the Second Vatican Council, October 28, 1965. Among the many originalities brought to the life of the Church in the Second Vatican Council were the Church’s Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions, Nostra Aetate, and the establishment of the Pontifical Secretariat for Non-Christians (later to emerge as the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, as it is known today).  These innovations of the Holy Spirit, aimed at laying the foundation for a new era in the Church’s relationship with the peoples and communities of non-Christian religions, were at the time both unexpected and surprising to many. But in today’s increasingly globalized world in which the vast human society finds itself everyday more intimately connected across geographical, cultural, and religious boundaries, and in which the world’s estimated 1.5 billion Catholics face the challenges of modernity alongside neighbors of every creed, one cannot underestimate the impact of the Church’s interreligious undertaking; fostering bonds of friendship, mutual understanding, and constructive collaboration among the world’s religions in the genuine service of mankind.

It was in this spirit and obedience to the Council that in 1966 the National Conference of Catholic Bishops expanded its ecumenical work to include dialogue with non-Christian religions. The name of the committee changed to the Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs (CEIA). The new name not only reflected the activities undertaken in conjunction with the American Jewish community, but also the task of fostering contacts and relationships with Muslims and other major religious communities in the U.S.

 Over the years ahead the Committee developed relationships and joint projects with the American Muslim Council, the Islamic Society of North America, the Islamic Circle of North America, Imam W. D. Mohammed's Muslim American Society, the Buddhist Sangha Council of Southern California and others. From 1987, the amount of work in interreligious relations increased significantly with the hiring of staff especially oriented for that work. By 1999, three regional dialogues with Muslims had been established, each with a Catholic bishop co-chairman, and bishops and staff were participating in several other projects with Hindus and Buddhists.  Beginning in 2003, the Committee sponsored a series of institutes for bishops on interreligious relations, focusing initially on Islam and Catholic-Muslim relations.   Today, the Committee is engaged in on-going or ad hoc consultations with national representatives of the Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh and Hindu traditions, and participates in a widening range of interreligious networks and activities of religious, social, academic or cultural impact.

In his 2008 apostolic visit to the United States, Pope Benedict XVI addressed representatives and leaders of the nation’s religions alongside the United States Bishops, illustrating the nexus of friendship and respect matured through years of dialogue and collaboration.

  “Dear friends, let our sincere dialogue and cooperation inspire all people to ponder the deeper questions of their origin and destiny. May the followers of all religions stand together in defending and promoting life and religious freedom everywhere. By giving ourselves generously to this sacred task -- through dialogue and countless small acts of love, understanding and compassion -- we can be instruments of peace for the whole human family. Peace upon you all!”  - Washington, DC, April 17, 2008.