Joint WCC-Vatican meeting strengthens interreligious dialogue

Staff of PCID and Office of Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation of WCC. Photo: WCC

The annual meeting of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID) and the World Council of Churches (WCC) was hosted by the WCC at the Ecumenical Centre, Geneva, and at the nearby Chateau de Bossey from 6-7 February.

Staff of both the PCID and the Office of Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation of the WCC exchanged news on various activities undertaken in the last year and looked ahead to future programmes.

A major feature of the meeting was detailed work on a joint document, 'Serving Together in a Wounded World: Towards Interreligious Solidarity.'

The two offices have been in collaborative engagement since 1977, completing a number of joint interreligious publications, including "Interreligious Prayer" (1994); "Reflection on Interreligious Marriage" (1997); "Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World: Recommendations for Conduct" (2011); and "Education for Peace in a Multi-Religious World: A Christian Perspective" (2019).

The PCID-WCC meeting was followed by two further events with wider participation. First, a round table discussion attended by leaders from different religions, as well as diplomats, interreligious practitioners, peace activists and grassroots actors, explored the topic "Rethinking Interreligious Engagement in a Wounded World." Second, the WCC hosted the launch in a new format of "Current Dialogue," the WCC journal on interreligious relations, which serves as a resource for interfaith practitioners, researchers, students, academic institutions, and all those interested in the study of religions.

Expressing happiness over the increasing mutual collaboration between the two offices over the years, both delegations reiterated their desire to continue their common engagement, ecumenically, in the service of interreligious dialogue.