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Visiting Dicasteries

Today we visited the Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity and the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue. I took a quick moment in each room to imagine all the important conversations that took place in these rooms – the people who gathered here with a genuine interest in promoting unity, community and understanding between human beings.

First, we met with Bishop Brian Farrell who is responsible for the Dicastery of Christian Unity. He is one of 24 people responsible for dialogues with Christians from all denominations. The dicastery is also involved as a partner, though not a member of the World Council of Churches. One of the reasons that the Roman Catholic church is not a member of the WCC is because of its population. Since voting is based on proportional representation, Catholic membership would mean a disproportionately powerful voice in decision making. This was a revelation to me. There are also theological and pastoral differences but these are not the primary reason for not being a member. The Catholic church is, however, a full member of the Faith and Order Commission which Bishop Farrell called “a pearl of great price. This commission is responsible for reflecting on the theological questions that have divided churches and working toward understanding.

After this, we went to the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue where we met with Monsignor Indunil Janakaratne Kodithuwakku Kankanamalage (who informed us that he has, not surprisingly, the longest name of anyone who works at the Vatican.) The Monsignor reminded us that in interreligious conversations, our identity matters. As Christians, we believe we are created in the image of a Trinitarian God – a community of Love. If God is dialogical and we are created in God’s image, then we also must be dialogical. Monsignor also spoke of how interreligious dialogue is a sacred act because we are listening to the heart of the other where God also speaks. Thus, silence and prayer are important elements of the encounter with the religious other.

While both of these leaders spoke, I was compelled by the obvious humility in their personalities. This was demonstrated in the self-deprecating humour of Bishop Farrell recounting the story of the Holy Father John Paul II asking him to take on this position. “Not this position, Holy Father,” he said, “I would have to know something!” As well, we saw this in the honest admission from Monsignor Indunil that he did not have the expertise to answer a question asked by one of the students.

Each of the dicasteries was adorned a piece of art that conveyed something of its mission. An icon of Saints Peter and Andrew embracing in the first dicastery was a gift from Athenagoras, Patriarch of Constantinople, to Pope Paul VI in 1964. Peter is regarded as the traditional head of the Roman Church and Andrew, the traditional head of the Eastern Church. In the second, there was a painting of Pope Paul VI receiving guests from many different religious traditions. Both were powerful visual statements of the work being done.

By Christine







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