"Too Many" Interfaith Dialogues: Vatican
IslamOnline.net & News Agencies
"There's a risk of overlapping," Tauran said. (Google Photo)
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican believes there are "to many" interfaith overtures which could lead to overlapping and confusion, noting that participants involved do not speak one voice.
"In my opinion, there are too many Christian-Muslim initiatives," Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, told Reuters.
"Everybody's doing it. One doesn't know where this will go."
Tauran said the Vatican had several established and unlinked dialogues with Al-Azhar, the highest seat of religious learning in the Sunni world, Shiites in Iran and the World Islamic Call Society in Libya.
He contends that though it could be seen as a good phenomenon, it bears a lot of risks.
"That proves there is a great interest, but it sows a bit of confusion.
"There's a risk of overlapping…It may be the price to pay for all this interest that interreligious dialogue incites."
The Vatican hosted last week a three-day landmark meeting with Muslim scholars, the first since both sides agreed in March to establish a forum to meet regularly to bridge their gap.
Tauran and other Vatican representatives would take part on Wednesday and Thursday in a Saudi-initiated, UN-sponsored interfaith gathering in New York.
King Abdullah bin Abdelaziz has initiated an ambitious campaign early this year to enhance dialogue among followers of all faiths.
A broad interfaith conference was also held in Madrid last July.
Muslim scholars and intellectuals last year directed an open letter to Christian spiritual leaders for dialogue between the two Abrahimic faiths.
No Single Voice
Tauran, the Vatican's top official for interfaith contacts, said all dialogues still lack a united voice.
"There is no single voice. For the moment, it's not possible."
A broad spectrum of churches recently met near Geneva to try to get an overview of how each is interacting with Islam, but till now no coordination has since been made between them.
The French-born cardinal said hailed the Muslim Common Word group, which organized last week meeting, for representing both Sunnis and Shiites.
"There is a desire to represent the Islamic world…It is broader than others."
Tauran said he was most struck by the openness and mutual respect that prevailed despite clearly stated differences.
"What's important is that this continues."
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