Interfaith communities listen and share
Local
Faith community representatives from across Adelaide gathered for ‘interfaith dialogue’ in April hosted by Archbishop Patrick O’Regan and his support staff.
Held online due to COVID concerns, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Baha’i and Buddhist representatives engaged in a discussion about issues and questions currently impacting faith communities.
As part of the Archdiocese of Adelaide’s consultative initiative to listen to a plenitude of voices within the local Church and among the wider community, participants were asked to share what they most wanted to say to the Catholic Church as it discerns its future. A similar process was held earlier in April with Leaders of Christian Churches in South Australia (LoCCSA).
Building on the September 2021 Diocesan Assembly, feedback from these consultations contributed to discernment processes presently unfolding at the national level.
After Archbishop O’Regan observed a shared context of journey and dialogue towards healthy, rich communion, community leaders each spoke appreciatively of the Church’s deep, longstanding commitment to social justice, integral ecology, and interfaith dialogue – being a reliable ‘voice for the voiceless and the oppressed’.
There was common agreement that faith communities continue to gather together in respectful dialogue. An ecumenical and interfaith prayer service in March this year, ‘Healing Prayers for a Wounded World’ hosted by the Catholic Church, was considered an exemplar for ongoing interfaith and ecumenical dialogue in Adelaide.
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