The annual event was co-hosted by Australian Catholic University (ACU) and Speaker of the House Milton Dick MP in Canberra on 21 November.

It brought together more than 200 attendees, including parliamentarians and faith leaders.

Kohn highlighted the risks of ignoring religion's contributions to society.

Australian democracy relied on acknowledging the contributions of religion and history, not "distorting the past and pouring contempt on our faith traditions" she said.

Criticising what she called the "Vanguard of the New", Kohn noted that misrepresenting the past undermines the values underpinning democratic progress.

"The Vanguard of the New presents our history as a litany of failure, denies every virtue that our forebears upheld and rubbishes every step of progress that they laboured to achieve in the most adverse circumstances."

Mission to foster harmony

Drawing from her family's experiences of Nazism and Communism in Czechoslovakia, Kohn described how their suffering shaped her rejection of totalitarian ideologies.

She now advocates for religion's positive role in promoting dignity, community and shared purpose.

She cited St Mary MacKillop's example of collaboration across faiths, noting how a Jewish businessman provided shelter for MacKillop's school during her temporary excommunication. Such stories, she argued, reflect religion's ability to unite people in shared values.

Vice-Chancellor of ACU, Professor Zlatko Skrbis, praised Kohn's speech saying it echoed the interfaith breakfast's mission to foster harmony.

"For a decade, this event has brought together people of diverse faiths and backgrounds to engage in dialogue, prayer and reflection" he said.

Kohn produced and presented more than 1,700 programmes in her career, during which she interviewed thousands of respected religious leaders. Her guests included Archbishops, Chief Rabbis, the Dalai Lama and local clerics.

She also spoke with imams, laypeople, professionals and scholars. Additionally, she highlighted "unsung heroes" who discovered a greater purpose through their faith.

In the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours, Kohn was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for "distinguished service to the broadcast media - particularly radio, as a creator, producer and presenter, and to Jewish studies".

Sources

Australian Catholic University

CathNews New Zealand

The pontiff made the appeal during a speech to national leaders in Jakarta on 4 September at the start of his three-day visit to the country.

Speaking with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and other officials, Pope Francis highlighted the nation's cultural and religious diversity as a source of strength.

Francis emphasised the importance of mutual respect and collaboration among different ethnic and religious groups to maintain social harmony.

"Just as the ocean is the natural element uniting all Indonesian islands, mutual respect for the specific cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious characteristics of all the groups present in Indonesia is the indispensable and unifying fabric that makes Indonesians a united and proud people" the pope said.

"A harmony in diversity is achieved when particular perspectives take into account the needs common to all" he added.

Religious extremism

While Indonesia is known for its general climate of tolerance, incidents of religious extremism have caused concern.

In recent months, authorities foiled an alleged plot by Islamic extremists to bomb two Catholic churches in East Java. And Catholic students in Jakarta were assaulted by a mob while praying.

Although these incidents were not directly linked to the Pope's visit, they illustrate challenges faced by minority religious communities in the country.

Interfaith dialogue

Pope Francis reaffirmed the Catholic Church's dedication to strengthening interfaith dialogue, emphasising its importance in promoting mutual understanding and cooperation. He noted that this approach is crucial in tackling shared challenges to combat extremism and intolerance.

He said that these efforts can overcome prejudices and develop a climate of mutual respect and trust. They will also help address "the imbalances and suffering still present in some areas".

Pope Francis will privately meet Jesuits serving in Indonesia after meeting with national authorities. He will then meet with bishops, clergy and members of religious communities serving in the country, and young people involved in the Scholas Occurentes organisation.

Pope Francis is in Jakarta during a broader 2-13 September visit to Asia and Oceania. He will stay in the city until 6 September when he flies to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea.

Sources

Crux Now

Catholic News Agency

CathNews New Zealand

The evening gathering on April 5 drew about 30 people representing both congregations. As the Masjid Muhammad Mosque, located a few blocks away, is undergoing a building expansion and renovation, Holy Redeemer has opened up its lower church hall for its Muslim neighbours to have their Jumah Friday prayer there.

In addition to participating in the interfaith discussion on fasting, two imams from Masjid Muhammad led men and women from their mosque in the Maghrib call to prayer at sunset and then in the Iftar fast-breaking evening meal, which they shared with the Holy Redeemer parishioners and guests.

Read More

A scholar and an active and committed person, he spent a life working for peace and interfaith dialogue, with involvement and dedication to his mission from his years of youth until today.

The award ceremony is set to be held on 14 May in Tokyo, Japan, and the chosen recipient highlights the importance of the commitment to dialogue and reconciliation in a region like the Holy Land, which is still the scene of wars and violence caused by religious, political, and social divisions.

Read More

Jamiyah Singapore - the Muslim non-profit organisation behind the award - aims to "work and contribute towards the welfare and overall development of the Muslim community and mankind", according to its website mission statement.

"Inter-religious dialogue is not an optional extra: it is part of the evangelising mission of the Church," said Seow, a member of the Canossian Daughters of Charity, at the award ceremony.

She said "an effective way of making Jesus known and loved is to be with our sisters and brothers of other faiths so that they will know we are Christians by our love, our acceptance and our words.

"May all of us work quietly for inter-religious peace and harmony in our everyday lives, guided by God's Spirit of peace, because human efforts alone will not make peace happen."

Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who presented the award, said interfaith harmony is not just an intellectual idea or attitude of mind.

It is an active and concerted practice in Singapore, he said. This is not just among religious leaders, but also in day-to-day matters of religious institutions.

He gave examples of interfaith cooperation. Of mosques and churches coordinating on practical day-to-day matters such as traffic and the sharing of parking spaces. Those same mosques and churches also invite congregants to their respective festivities.

"Interfaith harmony is a distinctive part of our identity," he said.

Seow's work

Seow has been involved in interfaith dialogue since the 1990s.

She is a member of the Singapore Archdiocesan Catholic Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue.

Since 1995 she's been the archdiocesan representative to Inter-Religious Organisation, Singapore (IRO), an interfaith forum.

In 2003, Seow became the IRO's first woman president.

She was appointed by Pope John Paul II as a consultor of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue and held that position from 2001 to 2004.

Seow is the executive director of Canossaville, a children and community services facility run by her congregation.

Singapore's multi-mix

Multi-religious, multi-cultural Singapore has a 5.64 million population which includes about 31.1 percent Buddhists, 18.9 percent Christians (including about 360,000 Catholics in 32 parishes), 15.6 percent Muslims and five percent Hindus, official data from 2021 says.

Followers of traditional Chinese faiths such as Taoism account for 8.8 percent.

Source

• UCA News

Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster's inclusion was the first time for hundreds of years a Catholic cardinal or bishop has had a role in a royal funeral.

Nichols is the president of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales.

He was one of a number of non-Anglican Christian leaders asked to lead the congregation in prayers during the state funeral last week.

In his prayer, Nichols expressed thanks for the monarch's "commitment to the Commonwealth throughout her reign". He prayed for a "spirit of mutual honour and respect" and for figures in authority to "promote justice and the common good".

At the funeral, Archbishop Leo Cushley represented the Catholics of Scotland and Archbishop Mark O'Toole represented Catholics in Wales.

The Vatican's Liverpool-born foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, represented Pope Francis.

Since the 18th century, all British monarchs have been obliged, under oath, to be Anglicans. They vow to discharge the office of the supreme governor of the Church of England.

Queen Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, were interested in ecumenism. They welcomed St John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI to the UK.

During a recent reception for religious leaders at Buckingham Palace, King Charles signalled he would continue to pursue dialogue.

He said he recognised his "duty to protect the diversity of our country, including by protecting the space for faith itself and its practice through the religions, cultures, traditions and beliefs to which our hearts and minds direct us as individuals.

"The beliefs that flourish in, and contribute to, our richly diverse society differ. They, and our society, can thrive only through a clear collective commitment to those vital principles of freedom of conscience, generosity of spirit and care for others which are, to me, the essence of our nationhood.

"I am determined, as King, to preserve and promote those principles across all communities, and for all beliefs, with all my heart."

Commentators predict that the new King's coronation next year is likely to include members of non-Anglican churches. Other faiths may also be included for the first time.

Source

• National Catholic Reporter

That was the decision of a group of students at a northern Michigan engineering school back in 2016.

Following the success of the first ice chapel, each subsequent iteration included more embellishment.

An altar was made from ice cut from Lake Superior. To encourage social distancing last year, students built snow pews. Read more

The Shinto belief of animism teaches that everything can have a spirit or soul. The doll funeral speaks to this idea. Read more

The duo answered some frequently asked questions about their faiths and addressed misperceptions each tradition has about the other. Read more

Longhurst, (on left in the photograph above) is a theology lecturer at Te Kupenga — Catholic Theological College.

He is also on the New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Committee for Interfaith Relations and the Wellington Interfaith Council.

KAICIID was established in 2012 to promote interreligious dialogue to prevent and resolve conflict and enhance understanding and cooperation.

Named after the then-King of Saudi Arabia (who died in 2015), it was founded by Saudi Arabia, Austria and Spain, with the Holy See as a founding observer.

Its board consists of representatives of major world religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism).

KAICIID fellows are educators from academic religious institutions worldwide, who learn skills to teach their own students and communities about interreligious dialogue, so they, in turn, can become facilitators and leaders in dialogue and promoting peace in their communities.

Longhurst's fellowship involves training and capacity-building in dialogue through three intensive in-residence training sessions and online learning programmes.

During the term of his one-year fellowship, he will publish a handbook for teaching and learning interreligious dialogue through reflection on and conversation around pictorial art.

He said that the use of pictorial art could be "an effective and innovative technique to undertake interreligious dialogue", and he hopes that the handbook will be used in classrooms and academic centres teaching religion throughout New Zealand.

Longhurst hopes that KAICIID's worldwide mandate to promote dialogue and enhance understanding will be taken up by the New Zealand Government and key stakeholders to foster dialogue among people of different faiths and cultures in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Source

Supplied

He was giving the homily at a service to remember the victims of the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka.

"Speak out and be very clear that the extremists and the terrorists do not dictate or determine the conversation of interfaith dialogue and relations.

"The Sri Lankan community is small but deeply hurting, so it's important that we as a nation surround them with our love and our prayer," he said.

About 300 people from different faiths and communities lit candles and prayed during the special mass at St Mary's Catholic Church in Northcote on Saturday night.

The Mass was led by the assistant priest at St Mary's, Father Jude Algama, who was originally from Sri Lanka.

He said this week had been a very difficult time for his nation and also his local community in Auckland.

"They are really in a very desperate situation, crying and in pain and in fear.

"We have lost peace which we were enjoying the last few years after our civil war," he said.

A service was also held at St Peter and Paul's Church in Lower Hutt on Saturday evening.

A spokesperson for New Zealand's United Sri Lanka Association, Dr Chula Rajapakse, said the service was to show solidarity for those affected by the bombings.

Earlier in the week at the Anzac Day service in Auckland, Msgr Kiely had offered a prayer for the victims of suicide bombing attacks in Sri Lanka.

He asked for a moment's silence "to pray for our brothers and sisters affected by the atrocities in Christchurch and Sri Lanka.

"We pray for those who have grieved, for those who have died, for the wounded and for those disabled in body and mind," he said.

Source

• www.dailymail.co.uk
• radionz.co.nz
• tvnz.co.nz
• Image: impic.ie

It was begun by a group of friends who are part of an India-New Zealand business association.

They happened to be people of different faiths, including a very committed Catholic.

They approached Bishop Pat to ask if he would be patron and host of just one event nine years ago to mark what would have been the 100th birthday of Saint Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa).

It was so successful that the committee continued to meet and hold gatherings in November every year.

Recently an associated committee was formed in India. Next year special celebrations will be held to mark the 10th anniversary of the Committee.

Invitations are sent to MPs and civic representatives and a number of them usually come along.

During the service, each faith representative goes forward to light a lamp and, at the same time, a passage from their Holy Book is featured on two overhead screens.

Guest speakers are usually people from India (sometimes politicians) who come to Auckland for the annual Indian-New Zealand business dinner hosted by the Indian Newslink newspaper.

The guest speaker this year is the Hon. Todd McClay, former Minister of Trade and MP for Rotorua.

There will also be items by young people, music and a brief address by Bishop Pat.

The gathering lasts about an hour, and there are refreshments in the church foyer to follow.

This interfaith celebration is thought to be the only gathering of its kind in Auckland that represents the world's major faiths.

The meeting is at 2 pm on Saturday 24 November at Christ The King Catholic Church, 260 Richardson Rd, Mount Roskill.

Source

• Supplied: Catholic Diocese of Auckland
• Image: indianweekender.co.nz

The forum has been organised after leaders within the Muslim community met last year and identified areas that needed improvement. Continue reading

He is striving to have "the wealth of our differences" to be part of the conversations between religions. Read more

The National Council of Churches has called for Christianity to be further entrenched in the constitution.

The Archbishop said his representative on the National Council of Churches did not ask him for his opinion on the question of constitutional change.

He says it's wrong to identify Islam and terrorism, and the best way forward for all religions is peaceful dialogue.

"The Catholic Church is at the forefront of dialogue especially with non-Christian religions and I take that view too."

"I think we should open our hearts and our minds to Islam and not really rush into condemning Islam just because of terrorists."

Source

radionz.co.nz

Image: d2m2lkhawsaq1u.cloudfront.net

It was a joint initiative of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Committee for Interfaith Relations and the Wellington Abrahamic Council of Jews, Christians and Muslims.

The first part of the event was a panel presentation by three speakers.

JoEllen Dukkor (Jewish), Sister Elizabeth Julian (Christian) and Sultan Eusoff (Muslim) spoke about God's mercy in their respective scriptures.

During the evening, participants worked on a mosaic of mercy with key quotes from the scriptures and literature, punctuated with pictures illustrating the works of mercy.

"However, the works of mercy are a call to action," explains Sister Catherine Jones, Chair of the Bishops Committee, "so the reflective evening was followed by a day of action on Saturday 21 May."

This part of the event included collection and preparation of hygiene kits and toiletries for the Wellington Night Shelter and the Wellington Homeless Women's Trust, baking some sweet treats for the Compassion Centre Soup Kitchen, and a visit to the patients and residents at Te Hopai Hospital and Rest Home.

Outdoor activities "to care for our common home" were curtailed because of bad weather, but some braved the elements to work in the Taputeranga Marae gardens.

The Year of Mercy is celebrated in many ways, and in particular in this encounter with people of other faiths, working together in service of those most in need.

Source

Supplied

Further information from Sr Catherine Jones, smsm

In the 1990s, Pastor James Wuye and Imam Muhammad Ashafa led opposing, armed militias, dedicated to defending their respective communities as violence broke out in Kaduna, northern Nigeria.

In pitched battles, Pastor James lost his hand and Imam Ashafa's spiritual mentor and two close relatives were killed.

Now the two men are co-directors of the Muslim-Christian Interfaith Mediation Centre in their city, leading task-forces to resolve conflicts across Nigeria.

The Imam and the Pastor tells how they made this remarkable transition. It is both a moving story of forgiveness and a case-study of a successful grass-roots initiative to rebuild communities torn apart by conflict.

Read more

Following the screening, there will be light refreshments, and a group discussion.

This evening has the full support of the NZ Catholic Bishops Committee for Interfaith Relations.

When: Friday evening, 12 February 2016, 6pm
Where: Wellington Islamic Centre, 7-11 Queens Drive, Kilbirnie

You can download a poster to help spread the word.

Supplied

This is an annual event held by The Mother Teresa Centennial Committee.

This year's meeting was held on November 21 at Christ the King Church, Auckland and saw the Minister of Ethnic Affairs, Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga, attending and addressing the gathering.

The Catholic Bishop of Auckland, Diocese Patrick Dunn also addressed the gathering and said that Mother Teresa's message of love is the most important to heal the world. Continue reading

Methodist Church director of mission Trevor Hoggard said the church wanted details about objective religious teaching in schools.

"With all the troubles we're seeing all around the world today, [we feel] New Zealand children need to have a basic grasp of all the major religions."

"We're all global citizens....That's the context in which our children are growing up in."

Victoria University professor Paul Morris' reviewed two Churches Education Commission (CEC) syllabuses obtained by the Secular Education Network called Launch 1 and Life Choices.

He found the material was unsuitable for non-Christian, non-evangelical students.

The organisation's website said volunteers who went into New Zealand classrooms to teach the CEC material were to use phrases like "Christians believe" rather than stating religious beliefs as fact.

However, Morris said the statements on the website do not honestly reflect CEC's viewpoint as it is expressed in the syllabuses.

CEC's use of prayers to God and Jesus were "inappropriate and likely objectionable" to secular, non-Christian and non-evangelical parents and students, he said.

The prominence given to Christian scriptures, heroes and practices were not suitable for non-Christian students.

Referring to the CEC's website, Morris said "I do not consider that the assurances to parents and [school] trustees are sufficient to make the content clear or honestly reflect their minority viewpoints".

He also rejected CEC's claim that the values in their lessons supported those of the New Zealand Curriculum.

Morris said "religious formation" as used by CEC was appropriate for a religious community but not for a state school.

Morris said knowledge of Christian traditions and churches in was essential to appreciate New Zealand's artistic, musical, legal, moral and political traditions.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• tainuischool.edublogs.org
• Image: teara.govt.nz

According to the extremists, the Protestant group was not authorised to organise any public activity, especially, they claimed, since Ramadan had begun on 18 June, and public activities that violate the sacred nature of the holy month are not allowed.

Elsewhere an Indonesian born Muslim has gained worldwide recognition for his dedication to peace and tolerance.

Imam Shamsi Ali is an Indonesian born Muslim who says "I've been known informally as the face of moderate Islam in the west."

He is the founder of the New York based Nusantara Foundation.

Nusantara is an Indonesian word for archipelago.

The Indonesian archipelago, or cluster of islands is composed of six thousand islands.

Indonesia hosts three hundred ethnic groups and seven hundred and forty languages all under one flag.

Raised in rural Indonesia, Ali studied in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia before immigrating to the United States in 1996 at age 29, whereupon he earned a PhD in political science.

"We are committed to promoting a peaceful and moderate of Islam….Islam Nusantara is the form of Islam that reflects the deep, universal characteristic of Rahmatan lil-alamin, or 'merciful blessing for all humankind,'" he says.

"Islam Nusantara emphasizes friendship, peace, and love."

"We firmly believe it is time to replace the rigid, narrow, obsolete, and cruel public images of Islam with an alternative — the Islam that is friendly, sociable, rational, visionary, and capable of advancing friendship and cooperation above antagonism and conflict."

Source

• asianews.it
• israelnationalnews.com
• Image: scout.org