Catholic representation on Waikato Interfaith Council:
Paul Flanagan paul.flanagan@waikato.ac.nz
Teresa Fernandez teresa.fernandez@waikato.ac.nz - NZ Catholic Bishops Committee for Interfaith Relations (member)
Interfaith Service
Thanks to Lynnette Lopez-Raman who said a prayer at the Waikato Interfaith Service on 1st November 2020 at the Hamilton City Council Reception Lounge. She provided the Catholic representation amongst the many faiths that participated in the service.
"Thank you for giving me the opportunity (to represent the Catholics with a prayer). I thought for a moment, I would only be there for a while and leave after my prayer. I just could not leave as I felt that every one of them had some great words of wisdom and it was very enriching. I waited till the end and then left. I could not stay for the mingling as I had other commitments. In short .. the whole experience.. I felt that we were all one and all barriers were broken and we came together to give thanks to God our Creator."
Peace-making gesture of Muslim community toward Catholics in Palmerston North
Three people were killed in a stabbing attack at Notre-Dame de Nice, a Roman Catholic basilica in Nice, France, on the morning of 29th October. This brought about much grief and reopened wounds for the Muslim community in New Zealand. Br. Hazim, former president of the Federation of Islamic Associations in New Zealand (FIANZ), decided to take action and addressed the congregation at the Catholic Cathedral in Palmerston North after the Sunday morning mass on All Saints Day. Dr Mary Eastham, a committee member of the Palmerston North Interfaith Group and a member of the NZ Catholic Bishops Committee for Interfaith Relations, wrote this article to highlight the peace-making gesture of the Muslim community towards the Catholic people after this terrible event. Read the article by Mary Eastham here.
Pope Francis in his encyclical letter, Laudato Si, not only addresses Catholics but people of all faiths. The year 2015, marked 50 years since Nostra Aetate statement from the Second Vatican Council - an excerpt from it states:
"The Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions ... The Church, therefore urges her (children) to enter with prudence and charity into discussion and collaboration with members of other religions. Let Christians, while witnessing to their own faith and way of life, acknowledge, preserve and encourage the spiritual and moral truths found among non-Christians, also their social life and culture"
The NZ Catholic Bishops Committee for Interfaith Relations released a revised document "Promoting Interfaith Relations in Aotearoa New Zealand" in 2019 encouraging dialogue to foster understanding and mutual cooperation with different faiths.
Waikato Interfaith Council (WIFCO)
Click here for our national NZ Catholic Bishops Committee (NZCBC) for Interfaith Relations latest news.
Interfaith events will be highlighted on the Diocesan events calendar and Catholic representation is sought in these activities.