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Catholic World News News Feature

Charity requires inter-religious dialogue June 09, 2008

Inter-religious dialogue is inspired by Christ's command of love for neighbors, Pope Benedict XVI said at a June 7 audience.

The Pope met with the participants in a plenary session of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, led by their president, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran. He told them: "It is the love of Christ which impels the Church to reach out to every human being without distinction, beyond the borders of the visible Church."

Citing Pope Paul VI, the Holy Father said that the Church's first responsibility is "service to the Truth." Under that rubric, he said, discussions with believers of other faiths provides an opportunity "to propose, but not impose, faith in Christ."

Noting the sharp rise in inter-religious discussions in the years since Vatican II, the Pope noted that these efforts call for careful discernment. Participants, he said, must be "well formed in their own beliefes and well informed about those of others."

Inter-religious efforts can give rise to unmistakable concrete benefits, the Pope noted, referring to initiatives at "helping the sick, bringing relief to the victims of natural disasters or violence, caring for the aged and the poor: these are some of the areas in which people of different religions collaborate."