Father Innocent F. Okozi, PhD, okozisma@hotmail.com, The Southdown Institute, 18798 Old Yonge St., Holland Landing, ON, L9N 0L1, Canada, Mid-Career
Dialogue and collaboration with members of other religions on shared human values, mutual wellbeing, and social justice form part of the tenets of Catholic teaching and practices. Hence, the Church’s leadership at the Second Vatican Council produced the document, Nostra Aetate, Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions, to highlight the importance of engaging in positive relationship with people and communities of other religious traditions. This call to dialogue and invitation to promote interfaith dialogue in a world with growing socio-political, economic and religious tension and conflict between and within nations and diverse groups of people with opposing positions and worldview, is of greater importance in today’s world in order to begin to heal divisions and restore harmony among nations and peoples in the society. Pope Francis’s Angelus message on September 1, 2013, is greatly needed today than ever. He stated, “It is neither a culture of confrontation nor a culture of conflict which builds harmony within and between peoples, rather a culture of encounter and a culture of dialogue; this is the only way to peace.” In this COVID19 era, the emphasis on treatment, limiting the infection rate and the economic impact has also threatened the need for interfaith dialogue and collaboration, especially as each religious society seeks to focus on ministering to their own members and following the protocols and orders from the political governing bodies. However, there is much effort invested in interfaith collaboration to ensure that different political governments also take into account the realities and needs of, and impact of COVID on religious institutions. In this panel discussion, I will share some of those collaborative approaches enhanced by interfaith dialogue during the COVID pandemic, highlighting how Catholicism approaches social justice.
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