Archbishop of Sydney

Interfaith Meeting

Chapter Hall of Saint Mary’s Cathedral

By + Cardinal George Pell
Archbishop of Sydney
18/7/2008

MOST HOLY FATHER:

This year we mark the tenth anniversary of the encyclical Fides et Ratio (Faith and Reason) published on the twentieth anniversary of the election of Pope John Paul the Great. As your beloved predecessor’s close collaborator, that encyclical benefitted from your many years in theological research and teaching.

Since your election as Bishop of Rome, you have deepened that argument, reminding us that not only do faith and reason both lead to the truth, but that reason needs faith to expand its horizons and to give a full account of the human experience. The presence here today of leaders from other faiths is an acknowledgement that this wisdom is not limited to Christians alone, but to all believers whose faith can contribute to our knowledge about God and about ourselves.

There are a few today, noisier in the English-speaking world perhaps than elsewhere, who reject that wisdom. They see in the world of faith a cauldron of fundamentalism, fanaticism and violence. Faith is a threat to genuine freedom, an incitement to violence, and an obstacle to understanding.
 
The good relations we enjoy in Australia between different faiths ought to put the lie to that. But it is not only a matter of good manners, or friendly encounters. Together, as fellow believers, we must demonstrate that true faith in God is a cause for unity and comity, not division and hatred. Our meeting here today is surely a significant sign in that regard.

The century just begun will be a more religious one than the one just concluded. Whether Australia will contribute to that future a reasonable faith – one which enriches rather than degrades our common life – depends very much on the religious leaders who have come to meet you today. The future of Australian society in turn depends very much on whether our culture will embrace the deepest aspirations of our people, or restrict itself merely to the here and now, a flat world inhospitable to the human spirit. In this room this morning, we have allies in the struggle to avoid that outcome, and to build a better Australia instead.

Your Holiness, it is a joy to welcome our fellow believers in God to this Cathedral Chapter Hall, and for them to share our joy in your visit.