Hindu Catholic Dialogue Commemorative Brochure 20150523

Author(s): United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Publisher: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

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Welcome from the USCCB's SEIA:
“The Church, therefore, urges her sons and daughters to enter with prudence and charity into discussion and collaboration with members of other religions. Let Christians, while witnessing to their own faith and way of life, acknowledge, preserve and encourage the spiritual and moral truths found among non-Christians, also their social life and culture." Nostra Aetate, 2
The year 2015 marks the 50th anniversary of the promulgation of the Catholic Church's Declaration on the Relation of the Church to non-Christian Religions, more commonly referred to as Nostra Aetate. This seminal document, understood by many to be the Catholic Church's Magna Carta for interreligious dialogue, serves as an irrevocable mandate for Catholics to engage in dialogue with members of other religious traditions for the promotion of greater understanding and mutual esteem.
Over the last decades, we in the Catholic Church have witnessed remarkable fruits produced as a direct result of establishing networks of intentional dialogue, such as the mutual commitment to intertextual study of sacred texts, engaging together on issues of common concern in the public square, sharing in interreligious prayer services and events, visits to one another's sacred places of worship, et al. The most precious fruits of dialogue, fruits that prove to us how effective dialogue truly is for the well-being of humanity, are the concrete ties of friendship and bonds of trust that have emerged and are expanding-ties that for centuries were demonstrably absent and, on account of this absence, can rightly be judged as the source of so much suffering and brokenness in the human family. Accordingly, we are convinced that dialogue occupies a central place in the life of the Church and the Church's vision for a reconciled world.
With the creation of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops committed itself to the full promotion and implementation of this vision of Nostra Aetate. It is our purpose and goal, therefore, to establish strong and lasting networks of dialogue between the Catholic Church and members of the world community of religions.
Having established ties to many religious communities across the country, including the Vaishnava Hindus, it is a great joy to be welcomed this day by the Durga Community of Fairfax! We anticipate that this meeting will lead to a more robust relationship with Hindus and so we look forward to our future friendship and mutual collaboration in the public square.
--Rev. Mitchell T. Rozanski, Bishop of Springfield, MA, and Chairman of the Bishops' Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the USCCB