Cardinal Arinze Visits Bethlehem University

March 2, 2001

Cardinal Francis Arinze, President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, visited Bethlehem University on Friday, March 2, and gave a presentation on "The Role of the University in the Islamic-Christian Dialogue."

The Cardinal is active in promoting inter-religious studies and dialogue, in order to further mutual understanding and respect. Originally from Nigeria, Cardinal Arinze came to know both the Moslem way and the Catholic way because he worked and lived alongside his Moslem compatriots.

His message is unique because he draws from his boyhood experience growing up in a predominantly Moslem community. He speaks about coexistence, and asserts that all believers are the children of God. He is also the recipient of the prestigious Gold Medal from the International Council of Christians and Jews.

The presentation was delivered to an audience of approximately 100 people consisting of guests from the local community, the Bethlehem University faculty and staff, the De La Salle Brothers, and a number of school principals. Most notably, H.B. Patriarch Michel Sabbah also attended.

Brother Vincent Malham, FSC, President-Vice Chancellor of the University welcomed warmly Cardinal Arinze and stated that this is indeed a great day. He added that since its founding in 1973, Bethlehem University distinguished itself on fraternal relations between Christians and Moslems. He also stated that the University is honored by this visit and he thanked Cardinal Arinze sincerely for it.

The University' s Chancellor, H.E. the Apostolic Delagate welcomed Cardinal Arinze, and thanked him for his encouragement, collaboration and support.

This visit, and the presentation, highlights the role of Bethlehem University in promoting religious tolerance and respect. The University is under the administrative supervision of the De La Salle Brothers, and the only Catholic institution of higher education in Palestine, yet no less than 60% of its students are Moslems. Cardinal Arinze's message on religious tolerance came to an audience who appreciated very much his talk and his ideas. A lively debate ensued, and Cardinal Arinze responded in a way creating a pleasant and lively atmosphere and rapport with all participants.

Following is the presentation made by Cardinal Arinze:

The Role of the University in the Promotion of Interreligious Dialogue
Francis Cardinal Arinze
President, Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue

March 5, 2001

Bethlehem University

1. A Theme of Great Relevance
   
   As we enter the third millennium, we cannot but note that growing religious plurality is one of the remarkable dimensions of life in our times. Christians, who constitute one-third of the world population, live and work side by side with Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and people of other religious convictions in Damascus, Bangkok and Seoul; in Melbourne, Wellington and Port Moresby; in Cairo, Accra and Pretoria; in Rome, Berlin and Lisbon; in New York, Toronto and Brasilia. Here in the Holy Land we have the extraordinary and centuries-old presence of Jews, Christians and Muslims, with places sacred to their religious traditions.
   
   People of various religions interact. They meet one another. They see the necessity to build a more harmonious society, to dialogue and to share religious, social and cultural values. Interreligious collaboration is not an option. It is a necessity.
   
   A university, as a community of scholars and students, cannot be outside the discourse. I am, therefore, happy to be invited by this renowned seat of learning to propose to you some thoughts on "The Role of the University in the Promotion of Interreligious Dialogue."
   
   We shall first examine the importance of objective information on the religions and of the role of the university in disposing students to live with religious plurality. The right to religious freedom had to be defended, while religious fanaticism and indifferentism are to be shown to be untenable. Some universities are linked to particular religions and therefore some special orientation is expected of them. A word has to be said about what the university can do to safeguard both the need to meet other believers and the right to share one's belief. We shall close with a consideration of the university contribution to religious collaboration for the promotion of peace.
   

2. University True to Its Name
   
   To fulfill well its role in the promotion of interreligious dialogue, the university should first of all be true to its identity.
   
   A university is an academic public forum, a community of students and teachers in search of truth, a crossroads where many currents of thought meet. A good university should shine forth as an academic community dedicated to the protection and advancement of human dignity and of a people's cultural heritage through research, teaching and various services offered to the local, national and international communities.
   
   A university, therefore, should be a center where objective research and information are pursued, where free speech is respected and where academic courage and honesty do not allow people to sweep facts and figures under the carpet.
   
   Society has also expectations of the university in the way of responding to some of the needs of that society. A university should not forget to be at the service of its surrounding community. The promotion of interreligious dialogue is one of the needs of society where the university is expected to make a significant contribution.
   

3. Objective Information on Religions
   
   One of the services which a university should offer is objective information on the various religions, especially the religions prevalent in the region where the university is situated. In religious matters, many people are not correctly informed. They may have inherited prejudices in their religious community against people of other religions. They may be misled by religious propaganda sometimes transmitted by some mass media. Or they may be simply unaware of what others believe. And quite a number of people are not even clean on the beliefs, rites and codes of conduct of their own religion!
   
   And yet, religion is a very important dimension of life. In the various religions, people are seeking answers to those major questions which concern and accompany human earthy existence. Examples are the purpose of human life, the nature of moral good and evil, the road to happiness, the explanation of suffering, the fact of death and what people can know about what follows it. Above all, people ask questions about God, the Creator, the Ultimate Reality (cf. Nostra Aetate, 1; Catechism of the Cath. Church, 28).
   
   The University should not ignore this deep desire of the human heart. Without trying to turn every student into a professional theologian, the university should have serious courses on the major religions, especially those to be found in the area where it is situated. Occasional colloquia in which experts from differing religions take part and the students are exposed to healthy interaction between them will also be helpful. Objectivity and fairness in stating beliefs and histories of religions should be insisted upon, as befits a university worthy of the name.
   
   Some universities will find it possible to have a definite faculty of theology on one religion with which the university is particularly associated.
   

4. Form Students to Accept Religious Plurality
   
   Religious plurality, as earlier stated, is a fact in the world of today. The only question that remains is what attitude people will adopt in front of this reality.
   
   A particular person may be unhappy with this situation. The person may wish that everyone, at least in that country or region, had only one religion. Since this is in fact not the case, the reasonable thing is that that person should seek an acceptable formula for living with this fact.
   
   Force or pressure is not an acceptable means for promoting religious unity, whether that force be political, economic, moral, physical or otherwise. In any case, a religious position arrived at as a result of force, is not a worthy offering to be made to God. Religion should well up from the human heart as a free response to God's love.
   
   Universities train people who are likely to occupy positions of leadership in society. It is a blessing for a society if its universities not only inform but also form citizens who appreciate that one has to live in peace, harmony and collaboration with other people, including those of different religious persuasions. It universities do not help in finding answers to religious bigotry and group myopia, would we not be justified in thinking that such universities have failed in one of their responsibilities?
   
   Moreover, it can be added that religious diversity is not the only kind of plurality to be found in society. There are also diversities that are ethnic, cultural, linguistic, political and ideological. Respect for religious diversity can be indicative of respect for other differences.
   

5. The Right to Religious Freedom
   
   After the right to life, the next dearest of all human rights is the right to religious freedom. "This freedom means that men are to be immune from coercion on the part of individuals or of social groups and of any human power, in such ways that in matters religious, no one is to be forced to act in a manner contrary to his own beliefs. Nor is anyone to be retrained from acting in accordance with his own beliefs, whether privately or publicly, whether alone or in association with others, within due limits" (Vatican II, Dignitatis Humanae, 2).
   
   Only if people are free will they be able to bear full personal responsibility before God for all their actions. This principles leaves intact the duty of everyone to look for religious truth and, having found it, to embrace it.
   
   The right to religious freedom is based on human dignity. It comes from God the creator. It is not a concession from Governments, societies or other associations. It therefore follows the human person everywhere. It is valid in all countries aand should be freely exercised everywhere. The United Nations Organization recognized this in paragraph 18 of its 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. "It is never lawful for anyone to force others to embrace the Catholic faith against their conscience" (Canon 748, par. 2), says Catholic Canon Law. "No compulsion is there in religion" (S 2.256), says the Qur'an.
   
   A university is an ideal institution which should share these values and help to propagate them. It is obvious that respect for this right is an obligatory road to meaningful interreligious harmony and collaboration.
   
   Let it be added that to uphold the human right to religious freedom is not the same as encouraging a supermarket of religions. Every individual is bound to look for God's will in matters religious, and to follow it when it has been found. There is a worrying growth of sects, new religious movements and pseudo-religious groups which tend sometimes to trivialize the fundamental right of every human being to be left that freedom of conscience and action necessary for fully responsible human religious choices.
   

6. Religious Fanaticism
   
   Some people go to extremes in matters religious. They assume a rigid or extremist position which they assert as the only legitimate form their religion should take. Sometimes they say that that is the original shape of their religion and that all their coreligionists are bound to return to that form.
   
   Some religious extremists go further and demand that their religion should be the only one to be allowed in their country or region. And they do not hesitate to invoke the force of the law or to resort to physical violence in the pursuit of their vision.
   
   A university can help to meet such tragic situations, or, better still, to prevent them altogether from ever taking place. By its inbuilt ability to promote multiple discourse, mutual listening and courage to look facts in the face, a university has a crucial contribution to make. It should help to cure those who seem to write over their threshold: "Don't confuse me with facts."
   
   Religious extremists have to be helped to realize that no matter how sincere they might be, sincerity is not the ultimate criterion for truth. Every teacher of arithmetic knows this. The correct answer to a mathematical problem is one, the objective one. All the students who arrived at wrong answers may indeed be sincere, but that does not thereby prove them right. No one has the right to violate the rights of other people or to do violence to them, all in the name of a religious stand. A university is an ideal institution to help eradicate religious fanaticism and all the harm it brings.
   

7. Religious Indifferentism
   
   Another error from which a university should help people guard themselves is religious indifferentism. It is a subtle error and one that can look attractive to some academicians.
   
   The religious indifferentist refrains from commitment to any religion, or regards religion as an optional matter if not even a cause of tensions and divisions. The answer is that we human beings are creatures. We owe to God adoration, praise, thanksgiving, expressions of repentance for sins, and requests for what we need. This is what genuine religion is all about. It is not optional. It is obligatory. It is a debt which we owe to God, our Creator. Moreover, true religion teaches love of God and love of neighbor and helps to resolve conflicts rather than cause them. It is, however, true that people who have other agendas - political, ethnic, economic or simply greedy selfishness - can exploit and abuse religion to start or exacerbate conflicts. Religious leaders should help their coreligionists to analyze situations of conflict.
   
   Let it be asserted, therefore, than an attitude of religious indifference is no proof of a sophisticated or liberal culture. Life without religion is like a journey without a purpose, like soccer without goal posts. A person without religion is basically disoriented in life, has not come to terms with the reason for human earthly existence, has not the most secure matrix, locale and anchor for moral laws and values, is lacking a firm reference point for duties towards the neighbor, and is in difficulty to offer a viable and humanly enriching attitude to disappointment, sickness and death. Religious indifferentism is therefore not to be recommended.
   
   A university should be able, by sound philosophy and reasoning not necessarily peculiar to any one religion, to share these deep convictions with its students. It is a question of appreciating that we human beings are God's creatures and therefore owe him the debt of religion. Without this conviction, not only is interreligious dialogue not thinkable, but a clear religious allegiance has not even begun.
   

8. Additional Role of a University Linked with a Religion
   
   Many universities are not linked with any particular treligion in their history or foundation. Some religious communities, however, have founded universities. Such universities should be true both to the identity of a university as everywhere understood, and to the religious vision of the community in question.
   
   A Catholic university, for example, as a university, should be efficient, respectable and attractive in its cultural milieu. As Catholic, it should create a climate that is inspired by the Catholic faith. With reference to interreligious dialogue, it should share and spread the attitude of the Church towards people of other religions, guide Christians to appreciate whatever is good, noble or true in other religions as coming from the Holy Spirit, and encourage Christians to meet other believers and collaborate with them to promote harmony, justice and peace and defend family and cultural values (cf. Nostra Aetate, 2).
   
   A Catholic university should also introduce Christian students into a clear theological synthesis of their faith and strive to develop a theology inspired by faith in Jesus Christ to underpin the effort to meet other believers and dialogue with them.
   
   If a university is linked with Islam or with another religion, its faculty of theology or religious studies will be expected to offer a similar service.
   
   A university linked with a particular religion, should respect the religious freedom of those lecturers and students who belong to other religions. This will include leaving them free to practice their own religions and to be better informed on them.
   

9. Dialogue and the Spread of One's Religion
   
   This paper has pleaded for the role of the University in the promotion of interreligious dialogue. But it is also true that a person sincerely convinced of a faith shoul dwant to share that religious conviction with other people. How does the university reconcile the desire to collaborate with other believers with the wish, or even the duty, to spread one's religion.
   
   The methods adopted in spreading one's religion must however be worthy and acceptable. The dignity and freedom of the person to whom it is proposed should be respected. It would be wrong, for example, to entice a poor student to my religion with a study bursary, or to promise employment or promotion to someone if that person would join my religion. That would be proselytism. It is to be condemned. But if the freedom of the other is fully respected, then everyone should have the right to propose a certain religion to all who freely listen. St. Paul felt the duty to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He said to the Corinthians: "Not that I do boast of preaching the Gospel, since it is a duty which has been laid on me; I should be punished if I did not preach it" (I Cor. 9:16).
   
   The Catholic Church regards both dialogue and proclamation as elements in the entire apostolate of the Church. They are interchangeable. Each has its own characteristics (cf. John Paul II: Redemptoris Missio, 55). They should be complementary because the better one can dialogue with people of other religions, the less difficulty it will be to present one's religion to them.
   
   A University should help to clarify these concepts, to encourage people to share ideas of them, and to dispose them to a peaceful and friendly approach to both dialogue and the spread of one's religion.
   

10. Interreligious Collaboration for Peace
    
    It is true that the major thrust of religion is on the vertical dimension: on attention to God manifested in adoration, praise, thanksgiving and petition. But religion does not forget the horizontal dimension, the attention to one's neighbor, to one's duties in society and in the world. One of the major areas in which religions around the world know that they should contribute is in the promotion of justice and peace. Here the university can help.
    
    The university should put before its students the great values of peace and the heavy demands it makes on people to build it up and to maintain it. At the same time the horror and devastation brought by war should be another impulse towards peace. "Nothing is lost by peace. Everything can be lost by war," said Pope Pius XII in his August 24, 1939 Radio-message just before the outbreak of the First World War (in Discorssi e Radio message di SS.Pio XII, vol. 1, p. 306).
    
    The university can stress the role of religions, singly and together, to promote peace. Religions can inform their followers, inculcate the virtues of justice, love, self-restraint and respect for the rights of others, and help people overcome greed, pride, hatred and the desire for vendetta. Genuine religion can appeal to the human heart for conversion as just outlined. Then the weapons of destruction will fall from the hands of the belligerents.
    
    The key place of justice, as the obligatory road to peace, has to be stressed by the university. Unless we respect the rights of other people and allow them to have what is due to them, there cannot be peace. The university has to keep on reminfding humanity of the indispensable need for justice as one of the pillars of the building called peace.
    
    A university, as one of the best cultural heritages of humanity, is in a position to share such convictions among people across religious frontiers.
    
    Respected President, Deans, Professors, other Staff and Students of the University of Bethlehem, I greet you. I thank you for the excellent work you have been doing under difficuly circumstances. Yours is the privilege to dedicate time and talent to the pursuit of high values. Among your manifold contribution to the good of society, is also the promotion of harmonious relations between people of differing religious convictions. May God give you, and all university people worldwide, the grace and strength to answer this call with uncommon competence, admirable perseverance and constant joy.