2013-06-13 Vatican Radio - 'Compassion as a vital contribution to peace' was the theme of a meeting on Thursday between the head of the Vatican’s Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, and leaders of the UK’s Hindu community at a North London temple or Mandir.
Surrounded by Catholic and Hindu scholars, as well as local school children, the cardinal reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s commitment to interfaith dialogue as a way of knowing and appreciating other religious traditions and of creating the conditions for all people to live in freedom and peace. Compassion, he said, finds its natural expression in the practice of non-violence, whose modern-day apostle, Mahatma Gandhi, drew inspiration from both Hinduism and Christianity and their sacred texts. Pope Francis, he said, speaks of compassion that translates itself into the care and concern for every person but especially the vulnerable, poor and most marginalized.Among those travelling with the cardinal on his five day visit to the UK is Katharina Smith-Muller, inter-religious coordinator for the Bishops Conference of England and Wales.
Surrounded by Catholic and Hindu scholars, as well as local school children, the cardinal reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s commitment to interfaith dialogue as a way of knowing and appreciating other religious traditions and of creating the conditions for all people to live in freedom and peace. Compassion, he said, finds its natural expression in the practice of non-violence, whose modern-day apostle, Mahatma Gandhi, drew inspiration from both Hinduism and Christianity and their sacred texts. Pope Francis, he said, speaks of compassion that translates itself into the care and concern for every person but especially the vulnerable, poor and most marginalized.Among those travelling with the cardinal on his five day visit to the UK is Katharina Smith-Muller, inter-religious coordinator for the Bishops Conference of England and Wales.