Fr Olivier Laurent sm, Toulon, France, has been engaged in Islamic-Christian, and other Inter-religious Dialogue Initiatives for many years.  Toulon is 150 km from Nice, where recent terrorist killings took place. At a time of heightened tensions in France, and on the world scene, we have this encouraging report sent by Fr Paddy O'Hare sm, in community with Olivier.    Olivier Laurent lived in Senegal for 30 years, a country 90% Muslim, where the Christian community has become well integrated. For ten years he took part in a project to improve the living conditions in Dakar's disadvantaged areas with a team that was 70% Muslim. He then spent four years at the Forum 104 in...

Fr Kevin Medilo sm, has just completed his Licentiate on Inter-Religious Dialogue:  his thesis is Living Together in Peace Through Interreligious Encounter: Christian and Buddhist Dialogue in Myanmar.   Kevin shares some of work with us here: on the Feast of St Francis, and the day after Pope Francis signed his Encyclical: "Fratelli Tutti"   There is a growing global awareness and realization of the crucial role of interreligious dialogue among the religious believers in the quest for world peace and sustainable development. For years, the United Nations agencies have partnered with faith-based organizations and inter-religious groups to work for lasting pe...

Fr Cyr Avalilgbe sm, recent manager of Institution Mariste Jean Claude Colin de Ndiakhirate, Dakar, Senegal, Africa sent this short report to our Commission for Inter-religious Dialogue. Our Founder, Jean Claude Colin, saw education as a ministry of bringing about a new creation in the students. So, this is a fitting reason to share this news in the current Season of Creation. The Ndiakhirate Marist School Complex is open to everyone without distinction of race, sex or religion. in Senegal, I am a school manager. We have a nursery school, primary and secondary school. We have 620 students and among them, only 80 are Catholics.Note: In the photos below: the photos without masks were take...

World Inter-faith harmony week, 2020, has just been celebrated 01-07 February. Fr. Hermes (Larry) Sabud, SM, Chair of the Marist Inter-religious Dialogue Commission prepared this paper for the occasion. 1. What is World Interfaith Harmony Week (WIHW)? The United Nations (UN) on October 20, 2010, recognizing the need of dialogue among different faiths and religions and their contribution for peace in the world, has proclaimed the first week of February of every year the "World Interfaith Harmony Week" between all religions, faiths and beliefs. The UN encourages "all States to support, on a voluntary basis, the spread of the interfaith harmony and goodwill. The celebration based on the love of...

​Donato Kivi sm, presented the following homily [abbreviated here] at an ecumenical and inter-faith celebration at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Suva, 17th September:       We are here because environmental protection is a concern for all of us – we are concerned about the well-being of our environment because it touches our very being as humans living on this planet we call home. Our environment covers many areas like food security, health security, energy security, economic security, social security, cultural security and so forth. This all comes down to our human security. The first couple, Adam and Eve who Jews, Muslims and Christians believe as their first par...

Fr. Hermes Bajao Sabud, SM  - Superior of our Marist Community in Ranong, Thailand, has written this Article for us.   The full title is:  "Marist Commission for Inter-Religious Dialogue and Reconciliation (MCIRDR)"  A missionary Church:    "Dialogue is mission, and mission is dialogue." This expression has been inspiring many missionaries to commit and engage in promoting good relationships among peoples of different cultures and faith traditions. Ad Gentes states that "The pilgrim Church is missionary by her very nature, since it is from the mission of the Son and the mission of the Holy Spirit that she draws her origin, in accordance with the d...