“Diversity not as a threat, but as gift to be received with gratitude…”
Posted On August 27, 2014
The 26th Annual NAIN Connect Conference
by Fr. Michael Davitti SX, Director Interfaith Outreach USA Xaverian Missionaries specializing in Buddhism
The Inter-Faith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit hosted the 26th North American Interfaith Network (NAIN) Connect Conference: “Bridging Borders and Boundaries” on the Wayne State University campus from Sunday August 10 through Wednesday, August 13, 2014.
Participants listed 46 different religious affiliations, representing an impressive cross-section of North America’s religious thought and spiritual identity. I had the privilege of attending it as the representative of the Xaverian Missionaries, and it was quite a memorable experience.
There were two mornings of interactive workshops which included topics such as: “Exploring values that bridge boundaries”; “Spirituality and meditation”; “Welcoming the stranger.”
In the afternoon we had site visits showcasing the city of Detroit and its rich tapestry of faith communities. It was good to see how our shared values, and interesting differences, can become means to build vibrant communities where people of different religions and creeds can live in friendship, side by side. Detroit’s interfaith community had much to share with us by way of experiences and best practices.
Focusing in particular on the area of education, Prof. Robert Bruttell, of Religious Studies at the University of Detroit Mercy and Chair of Interfaith Leadership of Metropolitan Detroit, noticed how very few people know much about other people’s religions, and more lamentable, how most people in the United States know so little about their own religious traditions. This “religious illiteracy,” as he calls this phenomenon, “is making it difficult for us to live together.” (Message from the IFLC Chair).
The Conference looked like more of a reunion of old friends than of a formal Symposium. A bit nervous and hesitant at the beginning, since I was new to the group, I become more confident and at ease as we were progressing, and found myself among friends and at home at the end.
Thumbing through the booklet and the various messages of welcome and the conference sponsors, I noticed that, seemingly, leaders of the great historical religions were missing at the Conference. It was regretful since events of this kind are a golden opportunity to gain a better knowledge and understanding of each other. The patient weaving of connections that made the Conference possible was done at grass root level, by the so -called “laity.” It turned out to be a “blessing in disguise” since the discussions became more informal and cordial.
Desks in the Atrium Hallway displayed flyers and hand-outs about the religious beliefs of participants, showcasing the variety of religious groups and creeds.
In the course of the conversations there were no attempts of proselyting, only the witness to the personal faith-beliefs and the desire to clarify and dispel possible misrepresentations and prejudices.
Talks over a cup of coffee during breaks became a precious way of collecting information and beginning new friendships.
There were moments of silent prayer: I especially liked the one led by Bill Secrest at the end of the Conference. In the deep silence which enveloped us, we came to realize how silent-prayer can help people to connect at a very deep level, deeper than any verbal discussion.
This powerful experience made me wish that, alongside with the time dedicated to “sharing” and “bonding,” equal amount of time should be given to “listening” and “silence.” (Silence in this context to be understood not only as the absence of noise, but, most so as the absence of the chatter of the “ego.”)
Failure to listen leads to judgment, prejudice and fear.
Also the reality, God/divine, we try to describe defies words. Since our knowledge of God is limited, our language about this reality is equally so. We can name God only by taking creatures as our starting point, and in accordance with our limited human ways of knowing and thinking.
We are aware how between Creator and creature no similitude can be expressed without implying an even greater dissimilitude”; and concerning God, we cannot grasp what he/she is, but rather only what he/she is not.
Believers can only point at, not describe this reality. The best way to honor it is silence; at this stage it is no longer a silence of ignorance, but a silence of fullness. Similar to the one between lovers, when the simple holding of hands tells more than words. It is like wanting to “describe the fragrance of a rose,” in the words of late Fr. Anthony De Mello. It is simply impossible.
The various speakers also tried to dispel prejudices emphasizing what unites us as far more than that which could divide us, recommitting themselves to the pursuit of peace.
With so much violence in our current headlines, it is important that people of all faith orientations support peace and justice. It is necessary that all factions in the bloody conflicts across our globe should be urged by believers to work out peaceable and just solutions.
In this context, I was impressed by a statement which came at this time from Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue. It called on all religious leaders, especially Muslims to directly condemn the attacks and take a stance against jihadists and their “unspeakable criminal acts.” Failing to do so, reads the statement, would undermine the credibility of religion, its followers and its leaders.
The Vatican documents states clearly that “no cause and no religion can justify such barbarity such as the killing of people based on their religion,” including beheadings and crucifixion, forced conversion to Islam or paying a tax for not converting, abductions of girls and women and the occupation or destruction of places of worship. (See for further reading http://www.global-catholic.org/2014/08/declaration-of-condemnation-of-islamic.html).
The Vatican document described in a more articulated manner, what was the common feeling among the NAIN participants: namely that all war is a crime, but “religious war” is a blasphemy, in the awareness that the only “holy” war that a believer can wage is the one against his/her own ‘ego’ in order to surrender in silent adoration to God/divine.
The well-known prayer of St. Francis makes it clear:
“Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is despair, hope;
And where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”
At the end of the Conference we realized how two full days are too short a time to tackle problems of this caliber, nevertheless we had taken one more baby steps in the journey towards that peace which is the aim of all religions.
The journey ahead of us is long and it can be covered only one step at a time.
Fr. Michael Davitti SX
