The Regensburg effect:
An inter-religious conference
at the Angelicum
by Lorenzo Biondi
Translated from
December 15, 2011
Last week, the city of Jerusalem, for security reasons, ordered the closure of one of the access roads to the Al Aqsa Mosque. A great uproar has ensued. As it does every time that conflicts arise in the management of the places considered holy by the three monotheistic religions. In short, Jerusalem remains a cause of scandal.
What if instead, the question of 'holy spaces' became an occasion for dialog, rather than for confrontation? Precisely to seek a common approach to the problem of contested holy places, scholars from 12 nations have gathered at Rome's Angelicum
[the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas] December 14-15. And so in the courtyards of the Dominican university, one was bound to run into Jewish scholars and Iranian ayatollahs, Catholic students and Sunni imams.
Between sessions, we spoke to Rabbi Jack Bemporad, theologian and director of the John Paul II Center for Inter-Religious Dialog. Italian-born, he fled with his family to the United States during the Shoah, and has been involved for decades in conversations among the 'people of the Book'.
Is it possible to dialog on controversial issues, such as that concerning the holy places?
The most fruitful dialog is that which can help to resolve concrete problems. But one of the problems that we most often encounter is that of conflicting claims to the same space: Those who believe that the Lord never left the Holy of Holies in Jerusalem will find it hard to accept that anyone else could have access to that space especially when he is prevented access to it. He may be right but that is not the point.
How then should such an issue be faced? Would a juridical perspective suffice? Or theological? The challenge is to find the widest possible viewpoint. One that will help the theologian and the jurist enlarge their own outlook.
These days the problem of access to Temple Mount [where the major Muslim mosques are now located in the Old City of Jerusalem; it was once the site of the great Temple of Jerusalem - where Jesus had worshipped - which the Romans destroyed in 70 AD] has come up again. Could it be an obstacle to meetings like this one at the Angelicum?
It is an old conflict which already emerged when Arafat, at the time of negotiations with Clinton, denied that a Temple ever existed there. But the fact that none of the Muslims present at this meeting denies the historical existence of the Temple in Jerusalem is already a positive factor. They are all authoritative figures, whose statements challenge the negationists to show concrete proof to defend their hypotheses. All of this will be of great help to dialog.
If one looks at the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, the situation is tense. Would you say the same for the dialog among religions?
This is a phase of redefinition. I am not saying that there is a danger that synagogues, churches and mosques will soon be empty. But for all the religions, it is a time of transition. No one knows which of the elements from the past will still be part of our future.
In the past, inter-religious dialog was based above all on the search for contact points among the various faiths. Today the basic question is different: How do I remain faithful to my belief in dealing with others?
It is right to seek points of contact, but how can I be sincere to my faith without being insincere to the faith of others? I would seek to present my faith in the most truthful way possible, asking my interlocutor to be similarly sincere and not to falsify my faith.
For a long time. Christians have been afraid, during common inter-religious prayer, to mention the name of Jesus Christ. Today, such differences are no longer hidden.
Since when has the approach changed among your Christian interlocutors? And has the election of Benedict XVI had any influence?
It is an approach that was first indicated by John Paul II at his first encounter with the Jewish community in 1979. But perhaps he was not heeded. In the 1970s and 1980s, it was established that all Catholic universities should offer study courses in Judaism, and some importance started to be given not just to listening to Judaism but learning about it, without being too concerned about exposing one's own positions. Today I think the dialog has become more mature.
What about Muslim participation in dialog?
An important aspect is that the basis for dialog with the Muslims are not common sacred texts. So the dialog is framed around theological questions - the question of pain and suffering, of God, of the end times. It is partly similar to what took place in the Middle Ages, when philosophers of the three monotheistic religions often met to discuss these great questions even without reaching agreement.
Remember the Pope's lecture in Regensburg? It is interesting that it had the effect of renewing - not of interrupting - the dialog between Christians and Muslims. Everyone has started trying to seek dialog on the themes that the Pope raised. Indirectly, the consequences have been extremely positive. Today, many Muslims acknowledge that teachings on love of God and neighbor found in Jewish and Christian Scriptures are just as valid as the Koranic texts. Even for them, they have become part of Revelation.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 16/12/2011 01:35]