Vatican hosts conference on women and interreligious encounter

By Francesca Merlo

An International Conference organised by the Dicastery for Promoting Interreligious Dialogue is due to take place from 25 to 27 January.

The Dicastery released a statement on Tuesday to present the conference entitled: "Women Building a Culture of Encounter Interreligiously".

The event was organised in collaboration with the World Union of Catholic Women's Organisations (WUCWO), and will be held at the Pontifical Urbanian University in Rome.

Interreligious networking

In the statement, the Dicastery for Promoting Interreligious Dialogue noted the multiple goals of the three-day conference.

"The event, on the one hand, aims to listen to interreligious initiatives from different contexts and, on the other, to develop a global network of religious traditions and spiritualities which, through the promotion of a 'culture of encounter' as well as of their own dignity and equality, can work together in solidarity for a growing re-humanisation of society through friendship, dialogue and cooperation."

The statement concluded with a quotation from Pope Francis' encyclical Fratelli tutti.

"To speak of a 'culture of encounter' means that as a people we are passionate about wanting to meet, seeking points of contact, building bridges, planning something that involves everyone. This has become an aspiration and a way of life."