Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Abu Dhabi (Agenzia Fides) – A week of meetings, dialogues and visits to symbolic places in the Arabian Peninsula to experience and understand how different religions can really live together peacefully in the same place. These are the objectives of the first edition of the course on “Training and Exchanges in the Context of the Human Fraternity Document and its Receptions”, designed for delegates of the Episcopal Conferences who work in the field of ecumenical and interreligious dialogue.
As the creator of this initiative, Father Stefano Luca, OFM Cap, Director of the Interfaith and Ecumenical Dialogue Office of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia and Rector of St. Francis Church at the Abrahamic Family House, Abu Dhabi (where the course took place from Saturday 8 to Wednesday 12 February, a few days after the sixth anniversary of the signing of the document), explains, “after many months of planning, we launched the initiative with a very effective interreligious dialogue methodology: half-day training session at St. Francis Church, followed by half-day of visit of religious sites in order to gain insights from different religions present in the UAE. This enables delegates to acquire theoretical knowledge and to experience on the ground examples of best practices in terms of coexistence and dialogue”.
Fifteen Regional delegates from 11 ecclesiastical regions of the Italian Bishops’ Conference attended the program, along with 5 Delegates of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia that are part of three offices: Christian Formation, School Management, and Interfaith and Ecumenical Dialogue.
The presentations by experts and theologians were followed by several moments of discussions with the Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia, Bishop Paolo Martinelli. Many topics were addressed: "From the phenomenon of migration - suffice it to say that all the faithful and the clergy of the Vicariate are migrants without exception, of more than a hundred nationalities - to the history of the Catholic Church in the Gulf region," explained Father Stefano. The day dedicated to ecumenical dialogue was attended by Armenian Orthodox Archbishop Mesrob Sarkissian, who spoke about the ecumenical movement that has developed in the region in recent years.
The program continued with a visit to the four sites of the Abrahamic Family House (church, mosque, synagogue and Workshop Forum). The group then visited Sikh and Hindu temples, Greek Orthodox, Coptic and Anglican churches, as well as the great mosque of Abu Dhabi named after Sheikh Zayed.
“The special thing is that in all these religious sites, we met religious leaders, and we had the possibility to have interfaith dialogue sessions with them and we learnt about the model of peaceful coexistence implemented in the UAE,” emphasizes the Franciscan.
A very significant visit, says Father Stefano, “was to St. Joseph Catholic Church. Here the delegates immersed themselves in the life of a normal Sunday morning in our parishes. They took part in catechism classes and masses for children and adults. It was, as the delegates themselves said, an incredible experience." And “not just by the number of faithful (let us keep in mind that more than 25.000 hosts are distributed at the masses every weekend), but most importantly they were impressed and edified by the joy, enthusiasm, devotion, and faith of the faithful and the children during their participation in the catechism classes and Masses as well. The high level of preparation of the catechists also impressed the delegates."
These were "valuable days for us as a church in the Gulf. Moments of dialogue, encounters, and the exchange of experiences." "We are enriched in hearing about the experiences of those in Italy who are responsible for promoting interreligious and ecumenical dialogue, and on the other hand it is very interesting for us to be able to share the experiences that we have been having for some time now in this part of the world”, commented the Apostolic Vicar, Bishop Paolo Martinelli, who, together with Father Stefano, is already thinking about the future: “Our desire now is to invite other Episcopal Conferences to send their delegates to participate in our path of exchange and formation”. (F.B.) (Agenzia Fides, 18/2/2025)
