Vatican Delegation Urges Youth and Students to Promote Interfaith Harmony

“Interreligious dialogue is not about changing someone’s religion. It is about listening, understanding, respecting, and building trust. It is about mutual enrichment,” said Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, Prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, during an international seminar on interfaith dialogue and harmony at the Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) in Dhaka on September 8.

The Cardinal, along with a delegation of Vatican officials, is on a week-long visit to Bangladesh that began on September 6.

Political and religious leaders, foreign diplomats, teachers, and students from different faiths attended the seminar.

Referring to the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together, signed by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed Al-Tayeb, on February 4, 2019, in Abu Dhabi, the Cardinal highlighted it as a key milestone in interreligious dialogue. He urged all believers to work together as brothers and sisters, cultivate a culture of mutual respect, end the cycle of innocent bloodshed, and protect the earth as our common home.

Professor Muhammad Elius of the Department of World Religion and Culture at Dhaka University stressed that diversity is a universal phenomenon, making unity in diversity vital. Quoting the Qur’an, “If your Lord had willed, He would have made you one community”, he noted that Muslim scholars recognize humanity’s religious differences as permanent. “Muslims must accept these differences positively, with love, cooperation, and mutual understanding,” he said.

Speaking on religious harmony in Hinduism, Professor Milton Kumar Dev of the Department of History at Dhaka University said all religions teach love, peace, and human brotherhood. Yet, he added, today’s world is troubled by conflicts, hostility, and religious hatred. 

“It is a well-known fact that hatred leads to violence, and violence in its extreme form becomes terrorism. Hatred is the opposite of human brotherhood, and hence human brotherhood is the antidote to cure this deadly disease called hatred,” he emphasized.

Vatican Ambassador to Bangladesh, Archbishop Kevin Randall, remarked that interreligious harmony is not new in Bangladesh. “The challenge for the future is to allow no person, no philosophy, no charismatic leader to interrupt that peace. The rise and fall of nationalism or sectarian thoughts tend to divide people. Avoid this,” he urged.

Archbishop Bejoy D’Cruze of Dhaka stressed the need for spirituality alongside religious practice. “While many tend to focus on rituals, which are important, what is even more important is to develop spirituality. A spiritual person cannot harbor any communal bias,” he said