The department is responsible for ecumenical and inter-religious affairs and for liaison between South Africa and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, the Pontifical Council for Dialogue with Non-Believers and the World Conference of Religion and Peace.The department distributes documents from these Pontifical Councils and promotes dialogue with people of other denominations and faiths. In recent years the Directory for Ecumenism and the Document Fruitful Encounters for Inter-Religious Dialogue have been published. In collaboration with the Church Unity Commission and the South African Council of Churches, the department promotes the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

Regular dialogue with different Christian Denominations and encounters with Jews and Muslims are in place.

It is a small department, with no real means of generating its own funds at this time, and relies mostly on the Lenten Appeal for support in this ministry which Pope Benedict VXI envisions as essential to the Church’s apostolic work.

Publications

To consult the publications of the Department for Ecumenism & Inter-Religious Dialogue.

CONTACT