Sr. Marianne Farina and three of her students were chosen as delegates from DSPT to attend The Council of the Parliament of World's Religions held in Melbourne, Australia from December 3 through December 9, 2009. Over 6,000 people gathered from 213 countries, representing 225 religions. Their travel and expenses were funded by a generous grant from the Henry Luce Foundation.
The Parliament, established in 1893, was the first major gathering of leaders from Eastern and Western spiritual traditions and it gave birth to formal world-wide interreligious dialogue. The first Parliament of World's Religions met in Chicago. It was the largest conference of the World Columbian Exposition (an early version of the world's fair). In his opening address, Swami Vivekananda spoke eloquently about the need to promote religious understanding. His words also speak to today's reality:
"Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful Earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often with human blood, destroyed civilization, and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now."
Recognizing the need to create interreligious dialogue programs, various national and international meetings followed these initial efforts. Since its reconstitution, the Council has met every five years and has expanded by including more religious communities and countries from around the world.
The 1993 Parliament opened with a keynote address on the ecological crisis and the need to promote environment justice. In light of this call, Hans Kung introduced, Towards a Global Ethic, a document offering a comprehensive approach to justice and later ratified by both faith communities and theological centers. In 1999, the Parliament met in Cape Town, South Africa, focusing on ways religions could address the AIDS epidemic. In 2004, the Parliament met in Barcelona, and representatives addressed issues about religiously motivated violence, diminishing natural resources e.g., safe water, the fate of migrants/refugees worldwide, and the elimination of external debt in developing countries.
The theme of the 2009 Parliament was Making a World of Difference: Hearing Each Other, Healing the Earth emphasizing the need for religions, civic groups, scientific, economic, and political thinkers to form partnerships capable of addressing critical needs raised in this forum since 1893. The hosts for this fifth gathering were the Aboriginal leaders of the Wurundjeri tribe, original owners of the land on which Melbourne resides.
The 2009 Council focused on ways to transform thought and action so that faith communities can "make a difference in the world and make a world out of differences." The Council's activities were divided into seven major sub-themes, program clusters, and a daily routine investigating ways to address the needs of global communities. (See http://www.parliamentofreligions.org)
The DSPT delegates prepared a question for the group regarding the virtues and skills needed for multi-faith ministry. They stated that multi-faith leadership requires the theological virtue of caritas, love of God and love of one another in God. Love of God calls us to greater solidarity with all people. We need to see another person or religion as a neighbor and partner. Connected to caritas and solidarity are virtues of sincerity, humility (which includes the ability to critique oneself), and reciprocity, which requires openness, forgiveness, and reconciliation within and among faith communities.
In addressing the skills needed for multi-faith education, the group spoke of the need for training in compassionate listening and the development of linguistic tools to "speak" a common language. They also noted the importance of developing a pastoral vision for multi-faith ministry that, informed by the historical, cultural realities of religious traditions, will dynamically engage faith communities. The specific content of the DSPT delegate’s response sparked a lively conversation, recognizing that developing virtues and skills for multi-faith leadership is critical because it calls for the formation of the character, i.e., concentrating on ways of friendship within and among faiths.
During the final plenary of the gathering, Sr. Marianne found herself reflecting on the entire week through the lens of the indigenous people, the first custodians of Earth. Their respect for creation and their openness to discover the truths Earth teaches are models for the type of holistic networking central to the Parliament's gathering. The indigenous communities teach us ways to protect the bond we share with all creation and to acknowledge and share the gift of Earth. Pope Benedict XVI's recent encyclical, Caritas in veritate, and his 2010 Peace message highlights this important aspect stating that “The way humanity treats the environment influences the way it treats itself, and vice versa” (CV #51).
As the theme of the 2009 Council of the Parliament of World's Religions illustrates, "Hearing Each Other and Healing Earth" are not two separate projects. In light of this truth, perhaps the next generation of religious leaders, will be versed in ways to "counsel" with all creation and all world religions. In closing, the Dali Lama, Spiritual Leader of Tibet, sent the Parliament's attendees forth to "Go, Go, and Do, Do" what all had learned.
