From the 26 – 28 April, I travelled to Istanbul in Turkey to participate in the meeting of the European Council of Religious Leaders. This council is part of the global network of Religions for Peace.
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Meeting of the European Council of Religious Leaders. (ECRL) |
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From the 26 – 28 April, I travelled to
Istanbul in Turkey to participate in the meeting of the European Council of Religious Leaders. This council is part of the global network of Religions for Peace.
The council is made up of 5 Muslim representatives (the Grand Mufti of Bosnia and 4 imams), 5 Jewish representatives (the Chief Rabbi of Russia and a number of Rabbis), 5 Protestants (a Lutheran Bishop from Norway and another Protestant Bishop from Germany), 5 Catholic representatives (Cardinal Danneels, the Bishop of Cretiel and others), 5 representatives from the Orthodox Church (the Archbishop of Russia, the Bishop of Greece and others) and 5 representatives from other religions with a minority presence in Europe (Zoroastrianism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Hinduism). All have a common objective which is to overcome division in order to work together for peace and reconciliation.
The council was principally made up of male representatives; however a proposal was made that that at least one of the members of each religious group should be female. I was the only female member of the council and there were two other catholic women who participated as consultants.
The diversity of membership and the responsibility of the members who made up the council demonstrated the importance of the council itself. At the end of the meeting we were received by the Patriarch of Constantinople, the ecumenical patriarch of the Orthodox Church. It was a fraternal encounter and it was very meaningful and for me it was a wonderful experience of the plurality of the Church, enriched by diversity.
The theme of this meeting was: “At the crossroads: justice, equality and sharing as bases for a culture of peace”. In a Europe where there is an interconnection of civilizations, cultures and religions, it is urgent that efforts be made to establish dialogue and tolerance.
For me it was an immensely rich experience – there was open and honest dialogue, profound respect for different beliefs and openness to all kinds of differences during our time together.
There was a felt common spirit, a deep sense of the holy, a common search for God in a diverse, plural world, a sharing of faith which went beyond external manifestations.
If our experience of God is an experience that calls us to Life, we must set out to transform our beliefs into dialogue and practice.
Once more the meaning of the word “communion” was widened, diversified, enriched. The call to interreligious dialogue in our world demands that, in the name of faith, we break the chains that create barriers and knock down the walls that separate us as brothers and sisters. So out of this meeting has come the Istanbul Declaration on Tolerance and a commitment to Justice, Equality and Sharing.
We have committed ourselves to working as individuals and as groups in order to transform attitudes of tolerance into acts of tolerance. I sincerely believe that our vision and call to live communion with the whole of creation is closely linked to this commitment. We strive for unity, tolerance, sincere respect; we work for justice and equality so that all may be transformed into a path to peace for the whole of our world.
Marian Murcia
General Bursar - Rome
ISTANBUL DECLARATION ON TOLERANCE OUR COMMITMENT TO JUSTICE, EQUALITY AND SHARING