Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue

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The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, previously named Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID), is a dicastery of the Roman Curia, erected by Pope Paul VI on 19 May 1964 as the Secretariat for Non-Christians, and renamed by Pope John Paul II on 28 June 1988.

Despite its name, the PCID does not have responsibility for relations with other Christian religions, which are the responsibility of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, which also has oversight of the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews.

The latest president of the PCID was Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, who served between 25 May 2019 until his death on 25 November 2024.

Mission

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The PCID is the central office of the Catholic Church for promoting interreligious dialogue in accordance with the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, in particular the declaration Nostra aetate. It has the following responsibilities:

to promote mutual understanding, respect and collaboration between Catholics and the followers of other religious traditions;
to encourage the study of religions;
to promote the formation of persons dedicated to dialogue.

While the Council is responsible for the promotion of inter-religious dialogue, it does not cover Christian-Jewish relations. This is the responsibility of the entirely separate Pontifical Commission of the Holy See for Religious Relations with the Jews, which reports to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and is headed by the Cardinal President of that Pontifical Council, Kurt Koch.

The PCID is the central hub for dialogue in the Catholic Church. However, dialogue is often carried out at the local level by individual churches, many of which are supported by regional or national dialogue commissions. The PCID works closely to support these commissions and encourages their formation in areas where they do not yet exist.

The PCID is restricted to matters of religion and interreligious dialogue. It does not address social or economic issues, which are covered by other departments in the Roman Curia.

The Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims is part of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. The Commission's place within the Council’s structure reflects a degree of independence. The Council's president is ex officio president of the Muslim Commission, but the Commission has its own secretary and its own group of eight consultors.

Current activities

The PCID undertakes a range of activities that support its work of promoting mutual understanding between Catholicism and other religions. It welcomes visitors to Rome, it visits others, runs meetings and participates in many more. It publishes a bulletin called Pro dialogo three times a year, containing "significant Church texts on dialogue, articles, and news of dialogue activities throughout the world" as well as an Interreligious Dialogue Directory.

Creation and later reorganization

The council was created on 19 May 1964 as the Secretariat for Non-Christians by Pope Paul VI with his apostolic letter Progrediente Concilio. It was renamed the Council for Interreligious Dialogue by Pope John Paul II on 12 June 1988.

On 11 March 2006, Pope Benedict XVI altered the status of that Pontifical Council by combining the Council's presidency with that of the Pontifical Council for Culture, then led by Cardinal Paul Poupard, who shared Benedict's skeptical view of interreligious discussions. This organizational change reflected Benedict's view of the nature of dialogue with non-Christians, which he thought could not be theological and needed to focus on shared values, questions not of doctrine but culture. In the tense atmosphere of Catholic-Muslim relations at the time, just months after Benedict’s Regensburg address was met with outraged reactions in the Muslim community, Benedict's organizational move was seen as "downgrading" the significance of Catholic-Muslim relations. After some criticism, Benedict restored the independence of the Pontifical Council distinct from the Council for Culture, separating the presidencies once again and appointing Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue on 25 June 2007, effective 1 September 2007.

Structure

The PCID consists of a decision-making body, an advisory body and executive body.

Decision-making body

The Members of the Council is the PCID’s decision-making body. Around 30 in number, members include Cardinals and Bishops from around the world. Every two or three years, a Plenary Assembly is convened to discuss important issues and to set guidelines for the work of the Council.

Advisory body

The PCID has an advisory body of around 50 advisors, called Consultors, who provide research, advice and information to the Council. The Consultors are specialists in religious studies or in the practice of inter-religious dialogue, hailing from all corners of the world.

Executive body

The PCID’s executive body comprises the President, Secretary, Under-Secretary, bureau chief for Islam, staff members for Africa and Asia, a staff member for new religious movements, as well as administrative and support staff.

Presidents:

Cardinal Paolo Marella (1964–1973)
Cardinal Sergio Pignedoli (1973–1980)
Archbishop Jean Jadot (1980–1984)
Cardinal Francis Arinze (1984–2002)
Cardinal Michael Fitzgerald, M. Afr. (2002–2006)
Cardinal Paul Poupard (2006–2007)
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran (2007–2018)
Cardinal Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, M.C.C.J. (2019–2024)

The Secretary of the PCID since 3 July 2019 has been Fr. Indunil Janakaratne Kodithuwakku Kankanamalage. He was previously Undersecretary for seven years. A Sri Lankan, he has taught at the missiology faculty of the Pontifical Urban University. The Under Secretary is Paulin Batairwa Kubuya, S.X. appointed 11 November 2019; he taught at Fu Jen Catholic University and was executive secretary of the commission for interreligious and ecumenical dialogue of the Regional Episcopal Conference of Taiwan.

Notes

"The PCID has a special commission for relations with Muslims."
The Vatican, atypically, announced the restoration of the independence of the Council on Interreligious Dialogue a month in advance of the official change, through a statement by the Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone in late May 2007.
"Batairwa Kubuya, Paulin, SX is a Xaverian priest from Congo (Kinshasa). He obtained his MA in Theological Studies at Maryhill School of Theology (Quezon City) and has been in Taiwan for seven years . He is based at the Tien Educational Center, Office for Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation. He is doing his doctoral studies at the Department of Religious Studies of Fu Jen Catholic University in Taipei."

References

^ "The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue". Vatican.va. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
Pope Paul VI (19 May 1964). "Progrediente Concilio" (in Italian). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
^ "Rinunce e Nomine, 11.03.2006" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 11 March 2006. Retrieved 26 May 2019. Il Papa, al fine di favorire un dialogo più intenso fra gli uomini di cultura e gli esponenti delle varie religioni, ha unito per ora la presidenza del Pontificio Consiglio per il Dialogo Interreligioso a quella del Pontificio Consiglio della Cultura...
Kramer, Jane (26 March 2007). "The Pope and Islam". The New Yorker. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
de Souza, Raymond J. (8 February 2019). "On Islam, Francis Follows in Benedict's Footsteps". Retrieved 26 May 2019.
Allen Jr., John L. (30 May 2007). "Council for Interreligious Dialogue to be restored, Vatican says". National Catholic Reporter.
^ "Rinunce e Nomine, 25.06.2007" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 25 June 2007. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
Pullella, Philip (28 May 2007). "Pope in about-face over Muslim dialogue office". Reuters. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
Hofmann, Paul (27 February 1973). "Pope Paul Appoints Key Church Administrators". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
"Rinunce e Nomine, 02.10.2002" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 1 October 2002. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
"Rinunce e Nomine, 15.02.2006" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 15 February 2006. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
"Rinunce e Nomine, 25.05.2019" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 25 May 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
"Resignations and Appointments, 03.07.2019" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. 3 July 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
"Rinunce e Nomine, 12.06.2012" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
"Rinunce e nomine, 11.11.2019" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
Batairwa Kubuya, Paulin (2008). "Body and Prayer: Comparing Taoist and Christian Methods of Meditation". East Asian Pastoral Institute. Archived from the original on 7 January 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2019.