Quick Facts
Nostra Aetate, or In Our Time, is the Vatican declaration on the relation of the Church to non-Christian religions from the Second Vatican Council
The declaration states that the Church embraces the true and holy in other religions and asks all Christians to live in peace with their neighbors
The Benedictine Order has a particular charge to be leaders in interfaith dialogue
Benedictine University has been a long-time leader in interfaith dialogue on college campuses
From the first Nuns in the West meeting in 2002 at the Hsi Lai Temple near Los Angeles
Dr. Mohammad Ali Shomali and Fr. Benoît Standaert sharing a meal at the Monastic-Muslim Dialogue Kenya September 2017
The Benedictine Order has a long history of involvement in interreligious dialogue. They see their calling in this area as a faithful response the Rule, Ch. 53, "On Hospitality," which asks monks to welcome all guests as if they were Christ.
Perhaps one of the first Benedictines to engage in interfaith dialogue was Peter the Venerable of Cluny (d. 1156), who traveled to Islamic Spain to commission the first Latin translation of the Qur'an. While Peter wrote polemical texts against Islam, he respected texts enough to realize the importance of studying the Qur'an, even if to argue against it. In the mid 1900s, some Benedictines living in India became involved in Hindu-Catholic dialogue, like Bede Griffiths and Henri Le Saux. Also inspired by Hindu-Catholic dialogues happening in India, a Benedictine nun, Sr. Pascaline Coff, founded a monastery for dialogue called Osage Forest of Peace in Oklahoma (now under lay leadership). Another monk, Thomas Merton, a Trappist (a different order, but still in the Benedictine orbit), became involved in Catholic-Buddhist dialogue in the 1960s. His abbey in Kentucky, Gethsemani, hosted several formal Buddhist-Benedictine monastic dialogues in the last thirty years. Their rich conversations about prayer, social justice, the afterlife, and more, were published in the book Gethsemani Encounter. Benedictines were also instrumental in founding the international organization for monastic interreligious dialogue, DIMMID. https://dimmid.org/ Finally, the Trappist monks of Tibhirine, recently beatified, were also proponents of grassroots Catholic-Muslim dialogue. The Tibhirine monks lived in peace with their Muslim neighbors in Algeria, serving them in a free medical clinic, and refusing to leave them during the violent civil war of the 1990s.
Our very own St. Procopius Abbey here in Lisle has also been involved in both interreligious and ecumenical (intra-Christian) dialogue; in fact, one of the reasons Dorothy Day wanted to become an oblate to our Abbey was because of its work in East-West Christian ecumenism in the 1950s. Fr. Julian Von Duerbeck and Br. Gregory Perron are two present-day monks who have been quite active in interreligious dialogue on the local, national, and international levels.
-Dr. Rita George-Tvrtkovic
Brother Gregory Perron OSB and Dharma Master Heng Sure at Monks in the West 2012
Fr. Julian von Duerbeck
Dr. Rita George-Tvrtkovic, from our Benedictine University Theology department, has recently been appointed by Pope Francis to the Pontifical Council on Interreligious Dialogue. If you have taken one of her classes, you know how profound her contribution will be! Read more about it here.
Benedictine University is like a melting pot. It is very diverse and unique. Here we can find different people with different religions, ethnicities, and backgrounds. Despite these differences, we all share a common thing, and that is: We are Benedictine. As I was entering BenU, I was hesitant. I was worried about the fact that I am a Muslim entering a Catholic University. “How am I going to fit in? How are they going to treat me?” These were all questions circling around my head.
After a short period of time, I never thought the same. I was thrilled by how welcoming BenU is to students of different faiths. The fact that there is a whole room for prayers with all the needed materials, such as hijabs, prayer rugs, and much more is very amazing and heartwarming. In addition, the ablution room is a big thing on its own. It has always been embarrassing performing ablution in the restroom, especially when somebody walks and sees your foot up on the sink. LOL! Because of the ablution room I can perform my washing comfortably, and this is something I greatly appreciate. I feel that my faith has strengthened and deepened.
One of my favorite events at BenU is Interfaith Week. This year, I am the Interfaith Coordinator for Campus Ministry Cor. Being part of Cor has helped me embody a philosophy of welcoming to every single one, no matter what background they came from. At the same time, I get to learn a lot from other people’s faiths, and it gets me to grow closer to them. My interfaith experiences at BenU make me less judgmental. They make me realize, "who I am to judge?"
Fatma Hussein, Campus Ministry Cor Interfaith Coordinator
Pope Francis washes the feet of Muslim, Christian, and Hindu refugees, both men and women, during a Holy Thursday Mass with refugees in Castelnuovo di Porto, outside Rome, Italy, March 24, 2016.
Sipa USA/AP Images
openness to others
When asked to sum up Benedictine spirituality in one word, Sr. Christine Kouba said "hospitality." So often this word makes us think of the hotel industry, not spirituality! However, having a hospitable spirit means always having room for others, their joys and their burdens. It means thinking about and preparing for the needs of others. If God knocked on your door, what would your welcome be? If every person is God's creation and bears God's image, how should we welcome them?