Friends from Other Faiths Flock to the Eyre Hall in the Curia of the Archdiocese of Glasgow
by Duncan McLaren, Member of the Bishops’ Committee
Members of the Scottish Bishops’ Committee for Interreligious Dialogue were delighted with the turnout of faith leaders on 28th September.
This was our first Interfaith Reception since the Covid pandemic which stopped the annual meeting from taking place for three years.
Over 60 leaders from communities representing the major faiths as well as friends from the other Churches, local politicians and the Director of Interfaith Scotland were welcomed by the new Interfaith Officer, Joe Sikora. He was standing in for the President, Bishop Brian McGee, who had to go to Belfast due to a family bereavement.
The guests enjoyed a talk by Sr Isabel Smyth SND, the former Secretary of the Committee and a renowned and well-loved promoter of interfaith dialogue in Scotland. She reflected on what she had learned over three decades about interreligious dialogue and talked about how her interaction with other faiths led not only to knowledge about them but how it transformed and increased her own faith. She focused on four things.
Firstly, on the need for gratitude. Gratitude for the wisdom and insight gained from the faith of others, for the widening of her perspective so that my notion of God, faith has expanded beyond what it was in my own tradition, and for the friendships of many of the people she has encountered over the years.
Secondly, she reflected on the need to “honour the pain” that has marked the chequered history of religious encounters, including the exclusive and oppressive aspects of her own religion, and a long-held belief that the Catholic faith contained the only truth and others lived in ignorance.
She also reflected how interfaith dialogue had given her the ability to see things “with new eyes”. In particular the diversity found within faiths which makes interreligious dialogue so interesting and challenging.
Finally, Sr. Isabel reflected on the way forward or “going forth”, as collaborators in a vast project to make the world a better place for everyone to live in justice and peace.
Everyone was relieved to meet up again which could be heard in the conversations, the laughter and the invitations given out so freely. Over a simple meal, the atmosphere was one of genuine dialogue, made all the easier because of the friendships forged previously.
A Shia Muslim guest commented: “I always enjoyed coming here and used to meet with the late Archbishop Mario Conti. We became good friends!”. A Hindu lady who never missed this event in the past said she felt “very much at home as usual”.
It is an occasion such as this that reminds us we are all building, through our interfaith work, peaceful communities which spread that message of living in harmony together throughout society.
The headquarters of the Bishops Conference of France in Paris was the venue for the European Bishops Interreligious Dialogue Conference from 13th to 15th September 2023.
This section of the CCEE is headed by Bishop Brendan Leahy and the conference brought together representatives from all over Europe to focus mainly on relationships between Catholicism and Islam. Time was also given to reflecting on relationships with Buddhism and Hinduism.
Conference listened to presentations and testimonies from academics, theologians and to hear first-hand from representatives of the Muslim and Buddhist communities in France about their experiences of interfaith dialogue and the challenge of building positive relationships between faith communities. Delegates also discussed their own local contexts and discussed potential topics for future conference meetings.
In his welcoming address to the conference Bishop Leahy quoted Pope Francis’ encyclical Fratelli Tutti:
“If we want to encounter and help one another, we have to dialogue. There is no need for me to stress the benefits of dialogue. I have only to think of what our world would be like without the patient dialogue of the many generous persons who keep families and communities together.”
The importance of this dialogue was picked up in the opening presentation by Fr. Laurent Basanese of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue whose address to the conference mentioned dialogue no fewer that 35 times. He also highlighted the need for faith leaders to lead by example, quoting an Anglican Bishop who said at a recent interreligious meeting for peace in the Balkans:
“If religious leaders don’t ‘walk’ together out of friendship, how can we expect our faithful to do so?”
This emphasis on dialogue and walking together set the tone for the conference and was picked up by Archbishop Turini, President of the French Bishops’ Conference. He noted that the objective of interfaith dialogue was to enrich each other and in doing so deepen our own faith. However, the conference recognised that interfaith dialogue is not without its complexities and difficulties.
What was clear was that the experience of Christian – Muslim interaction varies enormously for both communities depending on the history of their encounter which has in some places been much more challenging than in others. There is a balance to be struck between the need for constructive dialogue and the Church’s mission to proclaim the gospel. The first day concluded with evening prayer and Mass in the chapel within the Bishops’ Conference complex.
On day two of the conference Professor Juliette Galonnier gave a detailed presentation from a sociological perspective on the experience of young Muslims in France. The professor highlighted the fact that the use of the word Muslim can be problematic in itself. She noted that the “Muslim” label covers a diverse reality made up of distinct pathways of religious experiences. Looking at it that way, it is most productive to understand Muslims as a community of debate about Islam, rather than seeing them as a homogeneous community holding similar ideas and practices. Consequently, we need to be careful not to generalise when talking about Muslims or Islam but to recognise the individual nature of each encounter.
Later, Dr Michele Brignone of the Oasis Foundation, an organisation based in Milan that studies the interaction and fosters mutual understanding between Christians and Muslims within the global context, gave a detailed account of the wide variety of ways in which social media is being used to communicate Muslim teaching. One of the complexities that the widespread use of social media creates is the question of authority. Which social media teaching is the right one given that there many and diverse answers to important questions. He concluded that social media is transforming the religious experience of Islam giving rise to new characters and influencers.
Day two continued with a meeting with Rector Chems-eddine Mohamed Hafiz, President of the Great Mosque in Paris. In his talk he highlighted the opportunities that good interfaith dialogue presents to Christians and Muslims especially when it comes to engaging together in acts of charity. However, he did not shy away from some of the challenges that try to separate and break the links that bind the Abrahamic faiths together. He echoed earlier comments of the conference stressing the need to work publicly together to face up to these challenges. He highlighted issues of Islamic extremism and also issues of discrimination against Muslims.
The day’s discussions concluded with small group meetings for the delegates in which potential lines of work for the next conference as well as the opportunity to report on experiences of Islamic-Christian dialogue from within our own national contexts.
The day concluded with a short walk to the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal for Evening Prayer.
The last day of the conference began with a brief report from Bishop Leahy on a seminar that had taken place in the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue between Catholics and Hindus. However, the bulk of the morning was given over to Professor Dennis Gira, a specialist in Buddhism and the testimony of Lama Jigme Gyatso, Co-President of the French Buddhist union. Just as the diversity of Islam had been highlighted in earlier sessions it was made clear that breadth of the Buddhist experience is something that needs to be taken into consideration as part of any dialogue. It very much depends on where we are, what branch of Buddhism we will encounter. But again, the focus was on the need for dialogue. Dialogue that is based on cooperation and action, religious experience as well as dialogue between academics and theologians.
The final contribution from Lama Gyatso gave an insight into his own personal religious journey to Buddhism before he went on to reflect on the experience of Buddhist in France and the challenges they face being properly accepted and engaged by the authorities in vital areas including prison and hospital chaplaincy.
As is often the case with conferences, the networking that took place outside the main hall over lunch and coffee was just as enlightening. In my conversations with delegates from Sweden, Germany, Austria, Malta, Lebanon, France, Italy and Croatia, I learned huge amounts about the diversity of experience and engagement in interreligious dialogue across Europe.
Welcome to our first “Interfaith Insights” conversation. Over the coming weeks Anthony MacIsaac will have conversations with fellow students of different faiths.
Catholic Theology Student Anthony MacIsaac interviews fellow students of other faiths.
Interview 1 Abigaëlle Chalom – Jewish student
Anthony: Hello Abigaelle, thanks for agreeing to discuss some elements of your faith with me. It’s good to have the chance to talk about your faith and theology. To begin with let me ask… Is belief in God important for you? What is God in your opinion? I know that is a big question to start off with!
Abigaëlle: Belief just isn’t Jewish core material. God is self-evident, the very starting point of any thought, sensation, emotion or perception. It’s in the very Name, the Tetragrammaton,(YHWH) which is related to the verb “to be”. So if something “is”, it’s God, period. So, believing or not believing isn’t really the question, ever. Life, and how to conduct one’s life, that’s the central matter of Judaism, to me. Furthermore, by definition, no person could embrace God’s point-of-view, so to speak. This means that God isn’t a theory or an addition of principles. Instead, God is the very essence of being. For us, being is not only mere action, but also questioning our own acts and motivations, our desires and needs. Not once and for all, not when so inclined, but as a way of life.
Anthony: What impact does Scripture have on your faith?
Abigaëlle: Since Judaism is not dependent on faith, as far as I am concerned, the Scriptures impact me as would a machine that could travel in Space and Time. Scriptures are a millennia-old writing process, enacted through so many civilisations – all of them born, all of them grown, and all of them eventually lost – sharing the tales of God’s unending diversity, and at the same time God’s breath of constancy.
Anthony: Do you consider Scripture as literature, or as something more?
Abigaëlle: I consider the Scriptures as a powerful generator of symbolism, and as one of the oldest relays of one simple but essential fact, life is hard and confusing, it has been, it will be. Beyond literature, it is the most ancient testimony of our shared struggle and responsibility.
Anthony: What about rituals? Are these important for you?
Abigaëlle: I do believe rituals are at the essence of Judaism, creating a bridge between spirituality and life. Like bridges, we must worry if everybody walks on them at the same pace, and all at the same time, for the bridge will collapse. A Jew remains a Jew, but his identity in Judaism intrinsically demands that he question everything about Judaism. Some Jews will study exclusively, some will maintain a few traditions, some will do both, there are as many variations of Judaism as there are Jews, even an Jewish atheist is still Jewish.
Anthony: In Catholicism, we have the Sacraments. These are centred on worshipping God, but also on our relationship with God. They tend to touch each person emotionally, as they associate all of this with music, art, and even theatre. Do the rituals of Judaism have a similar impact? Do they touch the individual in the same way?
Abigaëlle: I think they do in a way that has been progressively enhanced by successive diasporas. First things first, Judaism excludes images of God, this extends to a complex definition of idolatry. As we said before, God is “to be” but experiencing being – this is human. The depiction of God’s interactions with humanity has always been focused on the human point-of-view in the Jewish Scriptures, and the Jewish arts play with that limitation.
Anthony: Perhaps we can also talk about prayer? One form of prayer is contemplation. In the Church, this is often accomplished by asceticism, the monastic life, and even hermitage. This can also be achieved to a degree in the ordinary devotion of a life well-lived. Is contemplation important for you?
Abigaëlle: Judaic prayer tends to put each thing in its place, to actively celebrate life. Even the austere aspect of some Jewish Orthodox communities contains a constant flow of feasts and celebrations squared by prayer as a conscious rest and focus. So, as a consequence of having no proper eschatology (theology concerned with death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind), Judaism does not seem really “contemplative” to me.
Anthony: As I understand more traditional forms of Judaism, I thought there was some eschatology, even if not well defined. Within the Kabbalah, is there not the idea of Tikkun Olam, that is of repairing and restoring the world to what it should be? Is there not also a world to come in Jewish prayer?
Abigaëlle: One of the most structural ideas in Judaism revolves around the end of times as an undefined and undefinable perspective. The end of time marks a partition between the Olam Hazeh and the Olam Haba – Olam Haba as the continuous here and now, the strictly absolute future. Since potential and realisation are mutually exclusive, human expectations are paradoxical, as shown in the few pages of the Talmud’s Sanhedrin that debate these issues. To act or to wait is the messianic question with the most discrepancy in Judaism.
Moreover, since the end of time is an absolute, nothing is to be humanly said about it and the very question of trying to put a date on it is rejected: “let their breath be taken away, those who try calculating the end of time” say the masters. However, those masters had to manage expectations raised by fears and hopes. To this end, the Talmud refers to the “messianic time”, as a transitional era between our world and the one to come, an era we can discuss to drive our expectations forward. During this era, changes are to occur, but once more, nothing can legitimately be said about the world that is to come because it is within God’s plan and as such, an absolute.
“All the prophets, without exception, prophesied only for the messianic times, but as for the world to come, the reward is not quantifiable, as it states: no eye has seen it except You, Elohim, who will act for him who awaits You.” (Sanhedrin)
As to Tikkun Olam, I understand it as a goal to target, but not to reach. To me, the idea of a perfect world or a perfect experience is contradictory with humanity. Instead, it is God’s field of existence, while ours is relative, complex and imperfect.
On 15th June 2023 a Buddhist Delegation from Thailand met with representatives of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue in the Vatican. Having been due to meet with the Pope who was recovering from surgery, the delegation left him a letter of prayers and well-wishes.
One minute of silent reflection “to really bring everyone here and now” opened the meeting between a delegation of Buddhist monks, and their entourage, and representatives of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue at the Augustinianum on Thursday 15 June.
The delegation had been due to meet with Pope Francis during their two-day visit to the Vatican, but due to the Holy Father’s ongoing recovery in Hospital, they wrote him a letter, signed by the Venerable Somdet Phra Mahathirachan, Abbot of the Royal Temple of Wat Phra Cetuphon, instead.
The delegation from Thailand consisting of around eighty people, was made up of members of the Supreme Sangha Council of Thailand, the Sangha Assembly of Wat Phra Chetuphon, the Regulatory Office for Overseas Dhammaduta Bhikkhus and the Staff of the King Prajadhipok’s Institute, convened in the main hall of the Augustininum institute. There they were joined by members of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, including Cardinal Miguel Angel Ayuso, Prefect of the Dicastery, and Msgr. Indunil Kodithuwakku.
The letter to Pope Francis, written in Italian on behalf of all the members of the delegation, as well as the Archbishop of Chiang Mai, Francesco Saverio Vira Arpondratana and the Embassies of Thailand to Italy and to the Holy See, opened with assurance to the Holy Father that they hold him deeply in their prayers.
The delegation members recounted their activities in the Vatican, including having prayed for peace and having paid a visit to the tomb of the late Pope Benedict XVI. The monks then lead everyone to pray for Pope Francis, wishing him a speedy recovery.
In his address to the delegation, Cardinal Miguel Ángel Ayuso, Prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, reiterated the prayers of the Buddhist delegation for the Holy Father’s wellbeing, and reminded them that we share, as friends do, “the same joys, sorrows, concerns and visions”. The two delegations, Catholic and Buddhist, in fact, do represent a pilgrimage of friends, the Cardinal continued, one which Pope Francis has witnessed.
A terrifying encounter that turns into a moment of human understanding; experiencing a Buddhist temple for the first time; a conversation about the meaning of fasting with a Muslim woman; a collaboration to foster peace in an area fraught with religious conflict…
These are some of the interreligious experiences recounted by collaborators of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue in a new series of videoson the topic “Stories of interreligious dialogue.”
The Dicastery works to support the work of dialogue that is happening around the globe. These videos were created with the hope of sparking more awareness of how interreligious dialogue can be lived in concrete situations.
The Dicastery is publishing the first two videos and will continue to publish a video every succeeding month.
The series begins with the testimonies of Ms. Nicoletta Bernasconi, Consultor for the Dicastery and member of the Focolare movement and Bishop James Massa, a Member of the Dicastery and Rectory of St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers, New York.
By Joseph Sikora, Secretary for Interreligious Dialogue
In April, Duncan MacLaren and myself attended the demonstration Passover Seder at the Glasgow Reform Synagogue in Newton Mearns.
Lead by Rabbi Pete Tobias, we were, along with a number of other guests representing various faith traditions and local civic society, taken through the rich symbolism and meaning of the Seder.
As a teacher of Religious Education for 30 years, I had often taught my students about the story of the Exodus and Passover but every day is a school day and I learned so much just from being with Jewish community and Rabbi Tobias.
The celebration of the Seder itself is based on one simple line from the Torah “And you shall tell your children on that day ‘This is what the Eternal One did for me when bringing me out of Egypt’”. In this short verse we find two of the most important elements of the Seder.
Firstly, that it is meant to be told to Jewish children by their parents so that they understand the importance of the that led to their ancestors being freed from slavery and secondly, that the struggle for freedom continues and that it is a responsibility for every generation of Jews.
With insight and humour Rabbi Tobias, ably assisted by members of the synagogue at the various tables, took us through the symbolism of the various food that are found on the Seder plate, the somewhat odd custom of leaning to the left to drink the cups of wine, and the various ‘tricks’ that are used to keep the children focused on the meaning of the celebration and the important messages that the Seder holds for the whole community.
A truly joyful occasion somewhat bizarrely rounded off with the singing of a song about the Matzah unleavened bread to the tune of Mama Mia. I didn’t see that one coming.
A grateful thanks to the community of the Glasgow Reform Synagogue for the invitation and a lovely evening.
The photograph above shows Rabbi Pete Tobias extreme right talking to some of the guests. Duncan can be seen at the rear centre of the photo and Joseph is to the left, back to the camera.
On Thursday 18th May Bishop John Keenan, Bishop of Paisley and Vice-President of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, joined the Rt Rev Iain Greenshields, Moderator of the Church of Scotland and Imam Shaykh Hamza Khandwalla, Imam of Dundee Central Mosque, at the Scottish Parliament to sign a statement urging MSPs to vote down a proposal to legalise assisted suicide in Scotland.
The joint statement expresses “deep concern” that assisted suicide “inevitably undermines the dignity of the human person” and that it could “put pressure on vulnerable individuals to opt for assisted suicide.”
The statement ends with a firm commitment by the Church of Scotland, Roman Catholic Church, and the Scottish Association of Mosques to oppose assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Bishop John Keenan said: “Assisted suicide attacks human dignity and results in human life being increasingly valued on the basis of its efficiency and utility. Implicit in legal assisted suicide is that an individual can lose their value and worth.
“Evidence from countries where assisted suicide or euthanasia is legal shows that vulnerable people feel pressured to end their lives through fear of being a burden. In such situations the option of assisted suicide is less about having a ‘right’ to die and more about feeling the full weight and expectation of a duty to die.
“When vulnerable people, including the elderly and poor, express concerns about being a burden, the appropriate response is not to suggest that they have a duty to die; rather, it is to commit to meeting their needs and providing the care and compassion they need to help them live.”
Later this year Liam McArthur MSP is expected to present a bill before the Scottish Parliament proposing the legalisation of assisted suicide.
In their Joint statement the faith leaders said: “On behalf of the faith communities we represent, we wish to express our deep concern about the proposed Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, which will shortly be considered by the Scottish Parliament. Our faith traditions are united in the principle that assisted dying in itself inevitably undermines the dignity of the human person, and to allow it would mean that our society as a whole loses its common humanity.”
“The ways in which similar laws in other countries are being applied, and the effect that its introduction would have on some of the most vulnerable in our society, including the disabled and the elderly, would be extremely detrimental.” The statement ends with a call to “Members of the Scottish Parliament to consider carefully the implications of this Bill, to express their concerns, and to vote against it.”
Bishop John KeenanRt Rev Iain GreenshieldsImam Shaykh Hamza Khandwalla
Recently I represented the Committee at the first in person residential conference of the Churches Forum for Interreligious Relations, since the COVID pandemic.
Held in the tranquil setting of the Quaker Woodbrooke Centre, Birmingham, this was a chance for me to meet and establish links with people from all over the UK who have, in many cases devoted their lives work to developing interfaith relations.
The first keynote speaker was Dr Elizabeth Harris on dialogue with Buddhists and what it means for Christian faith and witness. Her involvement with Buddhism was the result of what she calls a “pivotal visit to Sri Lanka in my early thirties” which led to her studying Buddhism there. She lived in the country for over seven years was inspired and influenced by Fr. Aloysius Pieris SJ. Her reflections on living among and engaging in interfaith dialogue with Buddhism was truly enlightening.
Later on the first evening, Canon Andrew Smith, Director of Interfaith Relations for the Bishop of Birmingham, spoke about the changing face of multi-faith Britain and Birmingham in particular, exploring the challenges and successes of positive inter faith dialogue. Of particular interest was his explanation of the diversity within the Muslim community.
The first day concluded with a discussion of the Interfaith Relations Paper produced by IFTAG (the Inter Faith Theological Advisory Group) with a reflection on the role of mission and evangelisation.
On day two, the keynote speaker was Rev. Dr John Parry, a United Reformed Minister who has studied Sikhism for over 30 years. He quickly took us through the history of Christian/Sikh encounters from the first encounters through trade and empire through to the present day. He highlighted some of the real benefits to communities that come with well established interfaith links and also pointed towards some of the fundamental missteps that can occur when entering into a dialogue with different faith groups.
What came across most strongly from this meeting to me, as a newcomer, was the incredible levels of commitment and collaboration that exists within the Christian community as a whole to advancing interfaith dialogue. It also demonstrated how powerful interfaith dialogue can be in building up communities and strengthening responses to issues of significant social and moral concern.
Joseph Sikora, Secretary of the Bishops’ Committee for Interreligious Dialogue
A report on our Conference marking International Human Fraternity Day, by Joseph Sikora
In February we marked International Human Fraternity Day, celebrating the signing of the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam from Al-Azhar University, Ahmed el-Tayeb in 2019. The document led to the setting up of the Higher Committee on Human Fraternity, composed of Christians, Muslims and Jews and was instituted to promote human fraternity values in communities around the world.
Held in the Archdiocesan Offices in Glasgow, the event was hosted by Bishop Brian McGee, who heads the Committee for Interreligious Dialogue and facilitated by Brett Nichols. Brett is a Christian and is interested in all religions and how they influence the way we think, live and care for each other. He has worked with the Craighead Institute as well as serving on its Board.
This year we invited three members of the planning group, Duncan Maclaren, Ahmed Khweir and Sr. Isabel Smyth, to say three things that stood out for them in the document.
Duncan MacLaren
Duncan MacLaren began by noting that the Document tells me about how we should see one another- Christian and Muslim. “Faith leads a believer to see in the other a brother or sister to be supported and loved”. A move away from self-centredness to other-centredness, then act to improve the lot of the Other – orthopraxis (correct acting) over orthodoxy (correct thinking). In practical terms he argues this means “we in the Christian community must call out the casual racism that so many people of this peely-wally colour seem to think it’s their privilege to indulge in.” He concluded his observations by highlighting that, “we must take seriously in our lives the option for the poor and marginalised, reacting against those who believe desperate people fleeing persecution or poverty in boats should be sent to Rwanda or pushed back to sea. And we must show pride, not just tolerance, in having ‘New Scots’ in this country which we share and who enrich us all in so many ways.”
Ahmed Khweir
Ahmed Khweir reminded us all that, “dialogue isn’t just about exchanging pleasantries, it is actually about getting to know someone and seeing something from their perspective and actually understanding it from their perspective.” A culture of dialogue he pointed out “is seeing your brother and sister striving for peace and wanting to be part of it. Is seeing your brother and sister striving for justice and wanting to be part of it. Is seeing your brother and sister seek the beauty of God’s creation and wanting to share and reflect it.” In conclusion he said: The human being is created from the unity of God and our challenge is to show unity in God both spiritually and rationally.”
Sr. Isabel stressed that the document encourages the adoption of a culture of dialogue while avoiding unproductive discussions. She said: “I do believe that interfaith dialogue is a worthwhile activity in itself. But I sometimes wonder if those of us who are engaged in interfaith issues sometimes find ourselves in dialogue about matters in which we have no expertise just because we are interfaith activists.
Sr Isabel Smyth, Bishop Brian McGee
“What we want is that social action, justice and peace groups develop an interfaith approach to their work, working alongside others interested in the same things from different faiths and none. This is what Jonathan Sacks called ‘side by side’ engagement and the focus is on the issue.”
She concluded by asking the audience, “Do we have a special and unique contribution to make, not just to mutual understanding and respect but also to social issues?”
This was followed by three open questions:
The challenges in society that particularly concern me as a person of faith are…
The challenges facing interfaith relations are…
As a person of faith and someone interested in inter-religious dialogue, the ways in which we can foster fraternity and help us live well together are…
This led to lively discussion and there was much to ponder and consider. It was important to reflect a little on the nature of interfaith relations and the place of interreligious dialogue within that. The two are not the same thing.
The feedback from the groups of course showed a great variety of responses, including the importance of working together on issues such as climate change but also the need to understand and value the religion and cultural heritage of others and the ability to dialogue with each other with humility and a willingness to learn from another’s religion in a way that will enrich our own faith tradition and take us out of our comfort zone. There was still a call for education about other faiths – “we lack understanding of the other, we need more dialogue. This will add to respect for each other and overcome being prejudiced about other religions”.
The Human Fraternity document, which was signed in the name of God and suffering humanity, covers a broad sweep of social issues which is something that we have come to expect from Pope Francis. It is truly aspirational and envisions a world free of poverty, violence, injustice, and inequality, and recognises the importance of faiths working together to establish this.
In The Scottish Catholic this month, our outgoing Bishops’ Committee Secretary Sr Isabel featured in the ‘Ordinary Catholics – Extraordinary Lives” section. We’re delighted to reproduce the article here.
Ordinary Catholics – EXTRAORDINARY LIVES
Sr Isabel Smyth is a Sister of Notre Dame who has led the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland Committee for Inter-Religious Dialogue for many years. Soon to retire from the position, she reflects on her life of building ecumenical relations and inter-religious understanding.
UPBRINGING
Growing up, we were all Catholic. I went to a Catholic primary school and then to Catholic secondary, going to church meant a lot – it was part of the fabric of growing up. I think I always had some sense of a religious vocation. One of my earliest memories is of my grandmother reading me the lives of the saints, many of whom were religious. Often at First Communion, family ask: “And what do you want to be when you grow up?” I remember saying, ‘I’m going to be a nun.’ It was there in the atmosphere.
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE SCOTTISH NUN When I went to school, there were nuns around. Religious life was always a possibility for young people in my day. It’s not the case anymore. We’re losing a lot because of that: strong intelligent women who are committed and give a service that is second to none. They offer a commitment to the Church that is unique. Others might do the work, but for a religious it’s seen as ministry, not work. I do think the Church is going to miss us if we all die off. For me, religious life has been a great adventure in my own inner journey as well as my own outer journey of ministry. I would say to young people to listen to their heart and respond to what God is calling them to, that religious life could be a legitimate way of life for them.
TEACHING After high school I trained for primary teaching at Notre Dame College, where I met the Sisters of Notre Dame. I felt very at home with them, and I was eventually ready to join them. Not long after my final vows I went to Lancaster University and stayed at the campus on weekdays. That was the first time I had lived in a secular environment, believe it or not. I studied other faiths and got to know people who practised them. This was quite a challenge for me: I had never previously given any thought to any other faiths except for how to convert them. I knew that when I returned to Glasgow I wanted to retain that experience. When I took up a post at the Notre Dame College of Education, the law had changed so that world religions had to be taught in the curriculum. It was a blessing: I had to visit other places of worship and introduce students to the writings of other faiths.
A GROWING PASSION I also met an amazing woman named Stella Reekie, a Church of Scotland deaconess who worked with people from Asia who had just come to Scotland. She believed that people would be accepted in society and understood if people understood their religion. And so she set up the very first interfaith group in Scotland: The Glasgow Sharing of Faiths Group. When I first went to meet her, she pulled me into the flat by the hand and said, ‘you’ll be on my committee, won’t you?’ And I’ve been on this committee ever since.
FAITH IN RELATION TO OTHERS Sometimes, you only understand yourself in relationship to others, and it can be the same with faith. One of the many things that I value was that I was invited to do a week of interfaith dialogue at Samye Ling Monastery with a Buddhist nun. For about 10 years, we would set up things on Buddhist-Christian dialogue. She too was a nun, and I think it was quite a surprise to me, in the beginning, just how much we had in common. I got to know her very well. We became good friends.
THE OFFICE We now have the Committee for Inter-Religious Dialogue. Before Covid, every year Archbishop Mario Conti – who was the president of that committee – would have receptions for faith communities. We would give talks in parishes and work with young people to put on a school conference. As I give up the office, I look forward to this being sustained after me: I can’t go on until I die! But I will still continue to work, particularly with the Council of Christians and Jews and work on interfaith at a local level with my parish, St Aloysius’. It’s in my blood.
The guests enjoyed a talk by Sr Isabel Smyth SND, the former Secretary of the Committee and a renowned and well-loved promoter of interfaith dialogue in Scotland. She reflected on what she had learned over three decades about interreligious dialogue and talked about how her interaction with other faiths led not only to knowledge about them but how it transformed and increased her own faith. She focused on four things.
