Reverend Innocent F. Okozi, PhD, Catholic Priest, okozisma@hotmail.com, The Southdown Institute, 18798 Old Yonge Street, Holland Landing, ON, L9N 0L1, Canada
The present state of affairs in the world seems to be in disarray and has been further complicated by the impact of the discovery of new variants of COVID-19. As society evolves amid new ideologies that emerge, a growing number of proponents of these ideologies take steps to enforce their ideologies and convert many in the population to buy into and promote the ideologies or the platforms that sustain them. On one hand, there is the push to control the world order as well as the citizens of the world in various regions. What seems to have emerged is the instilling of politics as the measure of different positions and ideologies as well as the growing attitudes that seem to have created new tendencies with little or no more room for mutual respect, belief in our common humanity and collective freedom, as well as compromise, ability to listen to the other with respect and admiration. In the American society these days, it appears like a lot of opinions and decisions are viewed through the prism of political and religious divide. This creates a spirit of entitlement and vilification of the other who holds different opinion from me, and all human decency and respectful disagreement seem to give way to the “Us v. Them” mentality and stance. It also lends itself to false dichotomies not only in the way we view things but also in our attitudes and behaviors towards the other that is different. We need dialogue now more than ever, and it starts by setting our egos aside and seeing the other, not as an enemy but as someone who can help me become better through their challenging positions or viewpoints that may be different from mine. In this symposium, the important elements of dialogue from a Catholic perspective will be highlighted, including steps to facilitate dialogue between proponents of opposing viewpoints or positions.
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