D I A L O G U E · 2018-07-09 · Editorial Sammelan XV - 3 : July-Sept. 2018 u 2 SEEKING WISDOM IN THE POST-TRUTH & FAKE-NEWS SOCIETY Many analysts and commentators of the contemporary

D I A L O G U E

The Bombay Archdiocesan Commission for Inter-Religious Dialogue

President : Cardinal Oswald Gracias

Secretary : Dr. (Fr.) S.M. Michael SVD

Office Add. : Institute of Indian Culture, Mahakali Caves Road, Andheri (E) Mumbai - 400 093

Telephone : 2836 8038 Website : www.archbomird.org

Email : [email protected]

Members : Fr. Aniceto Pereira, John Misquitta, Noella Colaco, Dolphy D’Souza,

Stanley Fernandez, Joseph Miranda and Bernardine Fernandes.

Admin Assts. : Marie D’Souza, Thelma Cardoz

Printed at : Ganesh Offset, Dadar, Mumbai - 400 028. Tel.: 2437 8688

Vol. XV No. 3 July - Sept. 2018

1. Seeking Wisdom in the Post-Truth & Fake-News Society

Editorial S. M. Michael SVD 2

2. The Tragic Attraction of Fundamentalism Myron Pereira SJ 4

3. The "Karwan-e-Mohabbat"

Continues its Journey Harsh Mander 6

4. Let's Inhale and Exhale

Patriotism & Tolerance Theresa Aguiar 8

Independence Day Inter Religious Gathering

DeeDees nce je°êrÙelee keâer meeBmeues Deewj Goejlee keâer meeBme ÚesÌ[s ~ DevegJeeokeâ - heer. Skeäme. mJeeceer

mJeleb$elee ØeeLe&vee meYee 2018

ONLY TRUTH THAT CAN SET US FREE

IN A TIGHTLY NETWORKED WORLD

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

MAY GOD BLESS OUR COUNTRY!

Editorial

Sammelan XV - 3 : July-Sept. 2018 u 2

SEEKING WISDOM IN THE

POST-TRUTH & FAKE-NEWS

SOCIETY

Many analysts and commentators of the

contemporary world suggest that today

people are living under the influence of "fake

news" in a "post-truth" society. Abuse of

social media leading to rumours has killed

people suspected to be child-lifters. Fake

news and misuse of social media for political

purposes and for selfish interests have

marked a new low in the breakdown of civil

society. People are not able to cope with the

fast acceleration of economic, social,

political and cultural life. The chasm

between the demands of society arising from

the revolutionary and disruptive changes,

and the political dispensation and

institutions unable to meet these demands

and challenges, leads to the use of every

method to keep the latter in power. This

results in the demise of historical thinking

leading to fake news.

There is pessimism that we cannot do much

to change the world. This has given rise to a

thinking that pursuing the truth hardly

seems pertinent because however hard you

look, and even if you find it, you cannot

expect to change anything anyhow. This

thinking has accelerated with the increased

use of the internet. The statisticians give the

following information with regard to our

internet connectivity. The world has a

population of 7.6 billion people. Of them, 5.1

billion have subscriptions to mobile phones,

4 billion have access to internet, and 3.1

billion are active users of the social media. In

just one internet minute, 4,50,000 tweets are

sent, 9,00,000 people log onto Facebook, 1.8

million snaps are created, 3.5 million

searches hit Google, 4.1 million YouTube

videos are seen and over 156 million emails

are sent. The point: The world must not

ignore the consequences of being so tightly

networked. In this situation, a large

proportion of the population really cannot

distinguish reality from fantasy and are not

able to fact-check the news of the internet

and other digital media.

Political commentators have studied the

impact of the 24-hour news cycle which tries

to please the emotions and expectations of

the viewers instead of reporting factual

events and happenings. Post-truth politics is

a political culture in which debate is framed

largely by appeals to emotion disconnected

from the details of policy, and by the

repeated assertion of talking points factual

rebuttals to which are ignored.

Post- truth dif fers from tradit ional

contesting and falsifying of truth by

rendering it of "secondary" importance. In

the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, George

Orwell cast a world in which the state

changes historic records daily to fit its

propaganda goals of the day. In 2016, "post-

t ruth" was chosen as the Oxford

Dictionaries' "Word of the Year" due to its

prevalence in the public domain.

The fake news circulated in the digital media


like WhatsApp and Facebook has done

immense harm in India. If we account the

dreadful events which took place due to fake

news during the last few months of 2018, we

can understand how Indian society is

changing from peaceful and compassionate

society to intolerant and violent one. In May

2018, in the State of Telangana, a man

suspected to be a robber was lynched to

death at Jiyepalli. He had gone to meet his

relatives. During the same month two

persons were bludgeoned to death in

KarbiAnglong district of Assam by the

villagers who suspected the duo to be child

abductors. In Gujarat, a 40 year-old beggar

was hacked to death in Ahmedabad in June

2018, having been mistaken for a member of

child-lifting gang. In May 2018, a mob beat a

homeless man to death and hung him from a

bridge, mistaking him for a kidnapper, in

Pulicat in Tamil Nadu. Recently on 1st July

2018 five persons of a nomadic community

were lynched in Dhule district of

Maharashtra on suspicion of being child-

lifters.

The above few incidents during this year

point to the society which is emerging in this

post-modern, post-truth and fake-news

world. Various analyses point out that

although word of mouth played a key role in

spreading the rumours that set off mob

violence, it was social media that spread

most of the rumours. Rumours and fake

news had become a big menace, amid

reports that around 20 people had been

lynched in different parts of the country in

the past one month following child-lifting

rumours spread primarily through

WhatsApp. Union Minister of State for

Home Kiren Rijiju said, "Rumours and fake

news are posing a danger to innocent lives".

The majority of our print and TV media have

given up all pretence of independence.

Without much verification and seeking

truth, they transmit news pleasing to

politicians with half-baked, twisted,

poli t icized news. They circumvent

established procedures to verify facts.

In the face of the collapsing state of trust in

the media and political leaders, people must

be wise to discern the truth behind the

rumours , fake news and pol i t i ca l

statements. Today, there is too much

information which may be false, half-truth

or politically motivated, the wisdom lies in

the shifting of information to seek the truth

and not to become a victim of post-modern

and post-truth society.

A true service to the nation and also for one's

own religious belief is to discern the truth in

the midst of myths, fiction and fantasies and

imagination to seek for truth and justice

which will empower the poor, the week and

the marginalized for equality, fraternity and

social justice which are enshrined in our

Indian Constitution. As we celebrate the

71st Anniversary of our Country's

Independence, we need to commit ourselves

not to be led by fake news, rumours or

politically motivated statements of non-

truth; but to strengthen ourselves to be

watchful and discern to build India of the

Founding Fathers.

Happy Independence Day!

S.M. Michael SVD


“The 21st century will be religious, or it will

not be at all," said the French writer Andre

Malraux. For many of us, weary of the

a the is t ideologies o f fasc i sm and

communism, which wrought untold

suffering upon millions during the last

century, the return to a public religious

awareness was greeted with a sigh of relief.

But this was short-lived. The death of

ideology was followed by the return of

religious fundamentalism - the rigid grip of

medieval religious beliefs upon every aspect

of life, a rigidity moreover shared by almost

every religious tradition.

So why religious fundamentalism, and what

explains its hold upon so many of our

contemporaries?

Let me begin by stating firstly that

fundamentalism is not exclusively religious

- it can be economic or political as well.

Basically, it is the tendency among certain

groups to apply a strict literalism to specific

scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies.

There's also a strong sense of the importance

of maintaining in-group and out-group

distinctions ("you belong to us - they

don't!"). This in turn leads to an emphasis on

purity, and the desire to return to a previous

ideal from which it is believed members

have strayed. No criticism is tolerated when

applied to these "fundamentals" and their

in terpreta t ion . Fundamenta l i sm is

unforgiving of any dissent whatsoever.

THE TRAGIC ATTRACTION OF FUNDAMENTALISM

So let's situate fundamentalism in its

historical setting.

The last quarter of the 20th century has been

marked by two major phenomena, among

others. They are firstly, mass migration; and

secondly, technological domination.

Both these phenomena create fear and

apprehension in most societies, as they

upset the stability upon which most societies

are built.

Mass migration, first. There are three kinds

of mass movements which cut across

frontiers and overwhelm local populations.

They are firstly, tourism; then the migration

of those seeking better employment; and

finally, people fleeing persecution and

violence: refugees. All three movements

cause displacement of peoples, and bring

serious problems both to individuals and to

society.

But mass movements of people are not the

only instruments of change. We live in a

world dominated by technology - mostly

media and information technology - which

dictate every aspect of our lives. More and

more, what we eat and drink, the friends we

converse with, our secret worlds of

imagination and feeling are all "mediated"

- that is, they are modified, processed and

're-presented' by technology.

For the young, media technology is

exhilarating: duniyamutthimein ("the world

within one's grasp"). But older people, the

poor and the illiterate find themselves


precluded and displaced by technology's

hectic pace. They fear being made irrelevant.

In an older world, whether in the East or

West, people grew up in a unity of faith and

politics. Put more simply, what you and your

family believed in was shared by the whole

clan and city-state. If there were others who

configured their beliefs differently, they

were marginalized and sequestered. They

were a 'minority'. Usually, they were never

given equal rights. For "error has no rights",

only concessions - if the majority were

generous. When the majority was not so

inclined, the persecutions and the pogroms

began.

This was the medieval world in which all

religious societies lived - Christian, Jewish,

Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist. Incidentally, this

was also the Catholic world before Vatican

II. But it is not the modern world of secular

democratic ideals, the world of "liberty,

equality and community" of societies which

grant human rights to all.

A friend of mine expressed it thus: all

democracies rule in tension. The tensions lie

between wanting a society where every

right must be negotiated and fought for,

where religious values are constantly

re-interpreted, and where one perforce must

live next to groups with different cultural

aspirations. Yes, democracy is cacophony.

Between all of the above - and a society

w h i c h b l i n d l y b e l i e v e s i n t h e

"fundamentals": one people, one nation,

one leader, one faith, one uniform civil code,

one language, one common destiny for all -

is the choice facing our peoples today. For

thus does politics shrewdly use faith to

promote simple-minded beliefs.

"Those made to believe absurdities,"

observed Voltaire, "can equally be led to

commit atrocities."

And as we as a nation regress more and more

into the feudalism of the past, and as the few

elements of modernity increasingly collapse

before religious and communal revivalism,

and as fundamentalism asserts its control

over public behaviour, we may possibly look

upon those distant decades, the 1950s and

60s, as our all too brief 'tryst with destiny'.

Yes, it was a tryst with liberty, democracy,

and inclusivity, once brokered by Nehru,

Gandhi, Ambedkar, Azad, Bose and their

generation, but sadly sabotaged by those

who came after.

For democracy is not a matter of winning

elections. That's the easy part. Democracy is

related to the uplift and dignity of each

individual and social group in this huge

country. It is connected to the right to

question and dissent - the very opposite of

fundamentalism.

And God knows, we are far, far from being

an example of a democratic nation to the rest

of the world!

Fr. Myron Pereira SJ

Media Consultant based in Mumbai.

Courtesy: Source - UCAN


THE 'KARWAN-E-MOHABBAT' CONTINUES ITS JOURNEY

Extracts from a report, for discussion and reflection

The Karwan-e-Mohabbat - a caravan of love

- set out from Nagaon in Assam on

September 4, 2017, and concluded its travels

on October 2, 2017, in Porbandar, a small

coastal town in Gujarat where 148 years ago

Mohandas Gandhi was born, with a candle-

light vigil. The group has resolved to

continue its mission with four initiatives:

Firstly, to continue its journey not just

metaphorically but also literally. During its

travels, the karwan bore witness to such

intense and pervasive suffering and fear

fashioned by hate violence, and such

extensive state hostility to its most

vulnerable citizens, that we resolved that the

caravan of love must continue its journey.

Even during the month that we travelled,

news filtered in of one Dalit boy lynched for

watching garba and two battered for

sporting moustaches, a woman branded and

killed for being a 'witch', continued police

killings of Muslim youth, as also mob attacks

in the name of the cow. Until collectively, all

of us - we, the people of India - are able to

bring an end to this, our karwan cannot end

its journey. We commit that every month,

some of us will visit families in at least one

state.

Second, the members of the karwan will

establish, with wide collaborations, an India

Hate Crime Citizen Watch. We found during

the karwan that there are literally hundreds

of hate crimes unfolding, of which only a

small fraction are reported even in the local

press. A tinier fraction of these find mention,

even cursorily, in the national media. Even

among these, only very few - like

Mohammad Akhlaq, Pehlu Khan and Hafiz

Junaid - register in any enduring way in the

national consciousness...


Since… the government, the National Crime

Records Bureau and the mainstream media

are unlikely to inform the country about the

nature, scale and spread of hate crimes in

India, we are convinced that there is need to

a Citizen Watch of a national scale to

document hate crimes. For this India Hate

Crime Citizen Watch, we are issuing a call

for team of volunteers - students, lawyers,

journalists, academics, activists - in every

state affected by hate violence, to help

investigate and document as many hate

crimes as we are able to identify and

confirm. There are excellent on-going

initiatives such as by Citizens Against Hate,

Peoples Union for Democratic Rights and

others, to document in depth some of these

incidents. The karwan will also continue to

do this. What the Citizen Watch will try to do

is to try to build as comprehensive a

database as possible of hate crimes

occurring across the country, and will

incorporate both basic details of all incidents

and in-depth case studies of as many of these

as is possible.

The third on-going commitment of the

karwan is to try to support each of the

families affected by hate violence. There are

four kinds of support that they require. The

first is for legal justice. The second is for

psycho-social care, to help them cope and

deal with their suffering. The third is to

access their ent i t lements , such as

compensation from government, as well as

other needs such as education, pensions and

healthcare. And the fourth is for other

material needs, such as to rebuild their

livelihoods, often destroyed due to the loss

of a breadwinner and of livestock, or fear. To

assist the families for all of these, we hope to

try to recruit two community justice and

care volunteers to work with each family,

and to train and support them in the

fundamentals of law, entitlements and

psycho-social counselling…

And finally, the karwan has resolved also to

chronicle - through books, films, photo

exhibitions and public talks - the rise of hate

and fear that we bore witness to during the

karwan. We feel this is imperative to inform

and appeal to the public conscience. Many

travellers of the karwan have already begun

to tell the stories they heard and saw, and

plan to continue to do so, with pictures,

videos and words. In order to inform and

appeal to our sisters and brothers across the

country, to care, to speak out, and to resist.

There is an evil stalking our land, of hate and

fear engineered by cynical politics. To fight

these , to res tore compass ion and

constitutional values to our country, not just

this caravan of love, and many others, must

continue their journeys, into India's

troubled interiors as much as into the

shadows of our troubled hearts and minds.

Harsh Mander

Social worker and writer

Parish IRD Cells are urged to reflect on pgs 2 - 7 at their regular meetings, using the

“See-Judge-Act” methodology.

- Editor


Requirements: A table on which is placed the

Holy Books. The cross in the centre. A samai a

tricolor flag to be place behind the table if flag

hoisting is not done. Tri-colour flags [pin-ups] to

be distributed. Photographs of our freedom fighters.

A suitable bhajan to be played……..

India is celebrating her 72nd independence

day. Every year for 71 years we have had this

opportunity to celebrate our freedom but do

we come together as one family without any

fear of my neighbor on the road, railway, in

crowds and so on. This fear will only be

overcome if we begin to tolerate and treat

everyone with equality as man is born free.

India has created powerful technology to

traverse the skies and travel the depths of the

ocean, but we've forgotten the simple human

traits of empathy, compassion and love.

Martin Luther King very clearly puts it: "We

have flown the air like birds and swum the sea

like fishes, but have yet to learn the simple act

of walking the earth like brothers.”

Man is a unique creature of God; but he is

enslaved by the chains of society even in this

21st century. The chains of slavery, poverty,

class, sect are really a mark of ugliness on the

face of this beautiful world. Man is born free

but so-called civilized society enslaves him to

the chain of superior or inferior race

consciousness, ignorance, superstitions, etc.

But the chains are not from God; in fact man is

the enemy of man. These are man-made

fetters. God decorated this world for all human

beings regardless of the fact whether man is

obedient or otherwise, but man's attitude to his

fellow beings is that of a master and a slave.

LET’S INHALE AND EXHALE PATRIOTISM AND TOLERANCE

Independence Day Inter Religious Gathering

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Introductory Prayer

Leader: O Lord bless our country and make us

true to the ideals of tolerance, freedom,

patriotism and equality. Protect us from

natural calamities, man made dangers and the

sneers of the enemies that prowl on this

earth. Protect us from fear, exploitation,

discrimination, hatred, corruption. Fill our

leaders and bureaucrats with the wisdom to

discern the right and the wrong. Fill them with

understanding that they have been chosen by

the people and that they should work for the

welfare of the people. Help us to understand

our rights and responsibilities of the

citizenship we enjoy. Give us the strength to

fulfill the destiny you have designed for the

nation.

SACRED SCRIPTURE

Christianity: Colossians 3:13-23

Silent reflection

Hinduisim: Bhagvad Gita (47)

It is better to do one's own dharma, even

though imperfectly, than to do another's

dharma even though perfectly. By doing ones

innate duties, a does not occur sin. Dharma as

described in the Gita is duty not religion. One

should fulfill ones duty towards family, self,

society, nature an cosmos with love empathy

and a selfless attitude.

Silent Reflection

Islam: Koran : Chp 49,13:

"O mankind! We created you from a male and a

female and made you into nations and tribes

that you may know and honor each other (not

that you should despise one another). Indeed

the most honorable of you in the sight of God is

the most righteous."

Silent Reflection

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Sikhism: Grant Sahib:

Faith, contentment and tolerance are the food

and provisions of the angels. They obtain the

perfect vision of the lord, while those who

gossip find no place of rest.

Silent Reflection

Hymn: We are one in the Spirit….

INTERCESSORY PRAYER

Leader: O God, you have made us humans in

your image, and given us freedom and

responsibility : Freedom to love and

responsibility to serve. Grant us now a sense of

tolerance, the strength to trust that God is at

work in everyone's life. Let us recognize your

life in us and in all others.

R.: Lord help us to live as brothers and sisters

1. As we celebrate two important feasts on

August 15, and as India has globally

advanced in all fields, that we all may feel

proud to be Indians under the maternal

care of Mary, our heavenly mother, let us

pray.

2. That we submit unconditionally to God's

will for us, whatever it be, transforming it

into yeast in our lives, giving it taste and

meaning by hearing the Word of God and

acting on it, let us pray.

3. That we emulate our freedom fighters and

resolve to dedicate our lives to the service

of India, our Earthly Mother and free her

from the shackles of terrorism, corruption

and other social evils, let us pray.

4. That our country India may be

safeguarded by God's divine power and

that we may learn to walk with integrity

and make of our country a kingdom of

true brotherhood justice and peace, let us

pray.

||2|| efmekeäKeOece& : «evLe meeefnye : efJeÕeeme, meblees<e leLee yejoeMle keâjvee, otleeW keâe Yeespeve Deewj jmeo nw ~ GvnW ØeYeg keâe meÛÛee ¤he osKeves keâes efceuelee nw, ieheMehe keâjves JeeueeW keâes keâneR Deejece veneR efceuelee ceewve ceveve

Yepeve - keâesF& GheÙegkeäle Yepeve (Skeâlee mebyebOeer)

ceOÙemLelee ØeeLe&veeDeiegDee : ns F&MJej letves nce ceveg<ÙeeW keâes Deheves Øeefle¤he yeveeÙee nw Deewj nceW Deepeeoer leLee efpeccesoeefjÙeeB oer nQ : Øesce keâjves keâer Deepeeoer Deewj mesJee keâjves keâer efpeccesoejer~ Deye nceW menveMeefkeäle Ùen efJeÕeeme keâjves keâer Meefkeäle os, efkeâ F&MJej nj Skeâ kesâ peerJeve ceW keâeÙe& keâjlee nw ~ nce mJeÙeb ceW Deewj DevÙe meye ueesieeW ceW lesjs peerJeve keâes peeves~

peyeeye : ns ØeYeg ! YeeF& yenveeW kesâ meceeve peer ves ceW nceejer meneÙelee keâj

1) Deiemle 15 keâes nce oes cenòJehetCe& lÙeesnej ceveeles nQ, Yeejle mebmeej kesâ nj #es$e ceW Deeies yeÌ{e nw, nceejer mJeieea ceelee ceefjÙece keâer ceele=keâ megj#ee ceW, nceW YeejleerÙe nesves keâe ieJe& nw~ peyeeye

2) nce ØeeLe&vee keâjW efkeâ nce efyevee Mele& kesâ F&MJej keâer Dee%ee ceeves, Jen pees Yeer nes Gmes Deheves peerJeve ceW Keceerj keâe ¤he os~ F&MJej keâer JeeCeer megveekeâj Gmes mJeeo Deewj DeLe& os efkeâ nce Gmekesâ Devegmeej keâeÙe& keâjW - nce ØeeLe&vee keâjs. peyeeye

3) nce Deheveer Deepeeoer kesâ j#ekeâeW keâe DevegkeâjCe keâjW Deewj Dehevee peerJeve Yeejle keâer mesJee ceW Dehe&Ce keâjW pees nceejer meebmeeefjkeâ ceeB nw, Deewj Gmes DeelebkeâJeeo Yeü°eÛeej keâer Deewj DevÙe meeceeefpekeâ yegjeFÙeeW keâer yewef[ÙeeW mes cegkeäle keâjW. peyeeye

4) F&MJej keâer efoJÙe Meefkeäle mes nceeje osMe Yeejle megjef#ele jns, nce melÙeefve‰ neskeâj Ûeuevee meerKeW Deewj Deheves osMe keâes meÛÛes YeeF&Ûeejs, vÙeeÙe Deewj Meebefle keâe jepÙe yeveeSB, nce ØeeLe&vee keâjW. peyeeye

~~2~~


5. That we make charity and a spirit of

service, the directing force of our actions

and thus emulate Mary, our Spiritual

Mother, the perfect presence and perfect

role model for all time, let us pray.

6. That we stand before You today as our

forefathers have stood in times gone by,

celebrating our history and all the great

things that our country has achieved, and

rejoicing in the favor You have graciously

given us. Let us pray.

Concluding Prayer:

Today we pay a mark of respect to our freedom

fighters because of whom we are breathing the

air of freedom which does not have the

elements of exploitation and repression. May

we not take our freedom, both physical and

spiritual, for granted. May we always

remember that our freedom was purchased at

a very high price by the sacrifice of their very

lives. Guard us from threats to stability and

security of our country within, and across the

borders due to terrorism and insurgency.

Help us to live our lives in a way that glorifies

you, Lord. Give us the strength to be a blessing

in someone else's life today, and grant us the

opportunity to lead others into the freedom

and tolerance that can be found in knowing

God. Amen.

Let us now stand and sing our National anthem.

Theresa Aguiar,

St Theresas' Parish, Bandra.

5) nce Goejlee keâes mesJee keâe YeeJe Deheves keâeÙeeX keâe efoMee efveoxMekeâ yevee keâj, Deheveer Deeeflcekeâ ceelee ceefjÙece keâe DevegkeâjCe keâjW pees ncesMee nceejer Yetefcekeâe keâe DeeoMe& jns Deewj efpemekeâer GheefmLeleer meJe&GefÛele nw nce ØeeLe&vee keâjs. peyeeye.

6) nceejs osMe ves keâF& #es$e ceW ye[er meHeâueleeSB Øeehle keâer nQ Fmeer keâer KegMeer ceveeles ngS Deepe nce lesjs meeceves Gmeer Øekeâej KeÌ[s nw efpeme lejn nceejs hetJe&pe lesjs meeceves KeÌ[s nesles Les ~ Deepe nce Gve ke=âheeDeeW keâe Deevevo ues jns nQ pees ke=âhee keâjkesâ letves ncehej keâer nQ, nce ØeeLe&vee keâjW. peyeeye.

Debefle ØeeLe&vee : Deepe nce Deheves mJeleb$e mesveeefveÙeeW keâe Deeoj keâjles nQ nce Gme mJeleb$elee keâer nJee ceW meebmeues jns nQ efpemeceW Mees<eCe Deewj oceve kesâ leòJe vener nQ ~ nce Deheveer Yeeweflekeâ Deewj Deeeflcekeâ Deepeeoer keâes ceecetueer ve mecePeW ~ nce Ùeeo jKeW efkeâ nceejs mJeleb$e mesveeefveÙeeW ves Fmekesâ efueÙes Deheves peevekeâj oskeâj yeÌ[er keâercele Deoe keâer nw ~ osMe keâer megj#ee leLee mLeeefÙelJe keâes osMe kesâ leLee yeenj kesâ DeelebkeâJeeo leLee efJeõesn mes nceejer j#ee keâj ~ ØeYeg nceW Ssmee peerJeve peerves ceW meneÙelee os efpememes lesjer ceefncee nes ~ nceW Ssmeer Meefkeäle os pees otmejeW kesâ efueÙes DeeMeerJee&o yeves, Deewj nceW Ssmee DeJemej os efkeâ nce otmejeW keâes Gme mJeleb$elee Deewj Goejlee keâer Deesj ues Ûeues pees F&MJej keâes peeveves mes efceueleer nw - Deecesve

DeeDees Deye meye KeÌ[s neskeâj Dehevee je°êrÙe ieerle peeSB

DevegJeeokeâheer.Skeäme.mJeeceer, ceerje jes[

It is with deep sadness and sorrow that

the Pontifical Council for Interreligious

Dialogue(PCID) informed us that the

revered President His Eminence

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran passed away

on 5 July 2018 in the USA.

A great spiritual person who guided the

Holy See's ongoing Dialogue with

religions has left us. Let his contributions

be blessed and let us continue his

mission today.

Cardinal Tauran said inter-religious

dialogue was a "moral imperative". He

said, "Christians and Hindus are called

to be a "light of peace" in order to

challenge violence and hatred", in his

recent speech to a conference at the

Pontifical Gregorian University.

HIS EMINENCE CARDINAL JEAN-LOUIS TAURAN

The president of the Pontifical Council for

Inter-religious Dialogue told delegates

that religions are not the cause of violence

and hatred, "but rather are part of the

solutions to problems created by

religious fanatics with vested interests".

Cardinal Tauran said: "Our aim is that,

more and more, we become Lumen Pacis -

the light of peace in this world. Therefore,

this conference marks a new beginning,

moving towards a new set of possibilities

in the field of Hindu-Christian dialogue.

These wonderful exchanges not only help

us to increase our knowledge of the life

and faith of the other, but also to deepen

our faith. Every genuine exchange of life

and faith like this enriches our way of

being and living." The conference

brought together organisations including

Religions for Peace, Focolare and the

Italian Hindu Union.

SAMMELAN mourns the death of Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran.May his soul rest in peace.

Documents

D I A L O G U E · 2018-07-09 · Editorial Sammelan XV - 3 : July-Sept. 2018 u 2 SEEKING WISDOM IN THE POST-TRUTH & FAKE-NEWS SOCIETY Many analysts and commentators of the contemporary