Together in prayer and dialogue for peace
From 16-22 October, His Eminence Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, Prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, will undertake his first official visit to the UK to meet with representatives of Dharmic religions.
The visit has the theme Together in prayer and dialogue for peace, and will take place in London and Birmingham, with meetings and special events organised for representatives from different religions.
Speaking ahead of the visit, Cardinal Koovakad said:
“For the Catholic Church, interreligious dialogue is fundamental because it is an occasion, an opportunity to witness our faith. It is a shared responsibility that we, together, promote mutual understanding, respect, and peace in the world.”
Reflecting on dialogue with Dharmic religions, on which this visit will focus, the Cardinal said:
“Nowadays we do not live in a situation where there is only one religion or one spirituality or one vision. It is a multicultural, multi-religious global situation, because of migration and people moving around the world for different motives. So, it is important that the people who are religious, who believe in values and in God, know and respect each other.
“That is why this visit for me is very important… when there is a friendship, then we can work together to promote mutual respect, understanding, and peace.”
Itinerary
On Saturday 17 October, Cardinal Koovakad, a bishop of the Syro-Malabar tradition, will join the celebration of Holy Qurbana in the Syro-Malabar Rite with Bishop Joseph Srampickal, Bishop of the Catholic Syro-Malabar Eparchy of Great Britain. They will be joined by priests, religious and lay faithful to mark the Eparchy’s 10th Anniversary.
There will be two interreligious events held at Westminster Cathedral Hall over the weekend. The first, titled, Religions as builders of Peace in the Spirit of Assisi, will take place from 5pm on Saturday 17 October and will mark the 40th anniversary of the first gathering in Assisi of religious leaders with Pope St John Paul II in October 1986, the first World Day of Prayer for Peace.
The second event will take place on Sunday 18 October, titled, ‘In Prayer for Peace’, and will bring together ecumenical and Jewish representatives, as well as representatives from other religions to join in prayer for an end to conflict.
On Monday 19 October, Cardinal Koovakad will visit Shri Swaminarayan Temple in Neasden, London, in the morning. This will be followed by a day conference at Global Cooperation House, the London headquarters of Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University, titled, Hindus and Christians: Together to build a just and peaceable world. Over three sessions, panellists will explore Christian and Hindu approaches to peacebuilding and interreligious dialogue, followed by an opportunity for group discussion and sharing.
On Tuesday 20 October, Cardinal Koovakad will undertake a private tour and visit to a Jain Derasar. He will then join the Jain community for a day of dialogue on the theme, Jains and Christians: Together to promote “Ahimsa” (Nonviolence) for peace in the world.
On Wednesday 21 October, the Cardinal’s visit moves to Birmingham, where he will meet with the Sikh community. The focus of this day will be, Sikhs and Christians together to promote solidarity and service for peace in the world.
The day will conclude with Sung Vespers with interreligious guests at St Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham.
The visit ends on Thursday 22 October with a visit to Birmingham Oratory.
Catholic seminarians training for the priesthood from Allen Hall Seminary, London, and Oscott Seminary, Birmingham, will join the meetings on the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of the visit.
Mutual respect, reconciliation, and human dignity
The meetings during the visit will provide an opportunity to stand together in prayer for peace, to strengthen relationships between communities, and to witness to the values of mutual respect, reconciliation, and human dignity.
They are also an expression of the growing commitment of Christians to walk together in greater unity, recognising that a common Christian witness strengthens the Church’s contribution to dialogue and understanding with people of other faiths.
Archbishop Bernard Longley, Archbishop of Birmingham and Chair of the Department for Dialogue and Unity of the Bishops’ Conference, said:
“The Holy See’s Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue has given our Bishops’ Conference a welcome opportunity to strengthen the bonds of friendship and mutual understanding between the Catholic Church and a wide range of representatives from three of the Dharmic Religions in the United Kingdom, alongside the wider family of faith communities. We are grateful that the Dicastery’s Prefect, Cardinal Koovakad, is spending more than a week in London and Birmingham, accompanied by Mgr Michael Santiago. Their presence and the dialogues undertaken here underline the significance of interreligious relations in England and Wales and we look forward to building on this week of dialogue in the years ahead.”
Bishop Patrick McKinney, Bishop of Nottingham and Lead Bishop for Interreligious Dialogue for the Bishops’ Conference, said:
“I warmly welcome the visit of Cardinal Koovakad, with its focus on peace, as an important recognition of the vital and ongoing work of Interreligious Dialogue across the UK which takes place in various ways recognised and encouraged by the Catholic Church: the ‘dialogue of life’, where people of other religions get to know each other in everyday encounters and which is founded on friendship and trust; the ‘dialogue of action’ where people work together for the common good; the ‘dialogue of religious experience’ where people visit each other’s places of worship to share how their faith inspires the way they live their lives; and then the ‘dialogue of theological exchange’ which is what will take place through the various days of dialogue during this visit.”
Speaking ahead of the visit, Cardinal Koovakad said: “For the Catholic Church, interreligious dialogue is fundamental because it is an opportunity to witness our faith. It is a shared responsibility that we, together, promote mutual understanding, respect, and peace in the world.”
Previous visit
Cardinal Koovakad’s visit echoes that of one of his predecessors, Cardinal Jean Louis Tauran who came to the UK in 2013. Read more on this link: Cardinal Tauran’s UK visit 2013.