VATICAN CITY: Women’s voices should be brought “from marginalization to the mainstream,” an international conference on women’s contributions to interreligious dialogue called at the Vatican.
The conference, with the slogan “Women building a culture that confronts interfaith,” is being held in Rome this week. The conference is organized by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Interreligious Dialogue in collaboration with the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organization (WUCWO).
Secretary of the Dicastery Mon. M. with Vatican News. Indunil Janakaratne Kodithuwakku Kanganamalage spoke regarding the conference and its aim to foster a culture of interfaith harmony.
The role of women in interfaith dialogue
Mon. Indunil responded to their decision by quoting Fratelli Tutti, the encyclical of Pope Francis, when asked why they are organizing a religious harmony conference with the inclusion of only women.
“Unifying societies around the world are still far from clearly demonstrating that women and men have equal status and rights. We say one thing with words, but our decisions and reality tell another story.
He said the conference therefore aims to give space to women’s “special contributions to interfaith dialogue” and to “bring their voices into the mainstream instead of marginalizing them, to include their stories in discussions and thus inspire them”.
A global women’s network
Mon says another goal is to create a network of women involved in interfaith dialogue. Indunil said. Conference attendees from 23 different countries will be encouraged to make connections. And so they are from the Vatican
Local and national interconnected networks will begin to be established upon returning home.
Another idea, he added, is to hold another series of individual conferences within a year, one on each continent, to encourage greater cooperation.
Create an interfaith culture
Mon says a culture of encounter makes us more attracted to others. Explained in Indun. This motivation should come from our spirituality and religious studies. Because God is a God of conversation, Scripture explains that God has been in conversation with men from the beginning.”
When we meet people of other faiths we see many differences. “Religions are not all the same,” but there are many similarities. He pointed out that because “religions have integrated values, which we call ‘universal’ values. Those values are law, justice, peace, unity and coexistence.
“On the basis of these universal values” we can build bridges and plan projects that will include everyone and connect each other, Mon. Indunil added.
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