Archbishop of Sydney

Inter-Faith Co-Operation

By + Cardinal George Pell
Archbishop of Sydney
19/3/2006

We all know about religious strife and violence in Iraq, Northern Ireland, Lebanon, the Sudan.

Religion can be powerful for good and occasionally for evil purposes.

Last week I attended a meeting of nearly 200 leaders from 15 countries of all the major faiths from South East Asia and the Pacific held in Cebu, Philippines.  Our ambition was to be part of the solution, to dialogue and cooperate to build peace and development.

Everywhere in our region such mixed get-togethers were rare twenty years ago, but they are now increasingly common; and across Sydney too.

This was the second meeting of a continuing series sponsored by the governments of Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand and the Philippines, the first being held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia in December, 2004.  Now the Indonesian Government has drawn up plans for a permanent inter-cultural and inter-religious centre there, on land donated by the Sultan.

All these governments see the dialogue as supporting the stand of the moderates, against those who would use violence to impose religion, or resort to terrorism.

The President of the Philippines Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo opened the conference with an eloquent address, where she acknowledged the importance of the Catholic faith in her own life and said that faith is the great antidote to terrorism. 

Out and about there is some scepticism about the usefulness of such meetings and I remember being asked by a Year Twelve student in Lakemba “What do we gain from all this talk together?  What are the results?”  I replied, with the help of one or two examples, that it was better for us to be talking together than fighting.  All agreed.

But the question still remains.  What results are there?

A meeting like Cebu’s of turbaned Sikhs, saffron-robed Buddhist monks, Hindu and Jewish leaders, Protestant, Orthodox and Catholic bishops is an important symbol in itself.

While there was little press coverage in Australia, there has been significant press interest in the Philippines.  Different religions meeting and mixing together send a good message.

Such meetings also build networks of friendship across faiths which are useful in times of crisis, such as in the aftermath of the Cronulla riot and the Church-burning in Auburn.

All the participants are committed to working to maintain religious freedom in their countries and there is a proposal to encourage joint study groups on the various traditions’ sacred texts.

In the Philippines there has been even more significant fruits.  There is now a cease-fire in the Muslim rebellion in Southern Mindanao and the prospect of a definitive peace soon.  The work of faith groups and other non-government organizations in encouraging dialogue, building trust and bringing about effective reconstruction and development played a big part in this progress and was actively encouraged by the Philippine government.