Address: Theological Dialogue & Practical Ethics

 LAUNCH OF PLATFORM FOR THEOLOGICAL DIALOGUE & PRACTICAL ETHICS

Celebrating the Historical Meeting between His Grace Pope Francis & Grand Ayatullah Sestani on 6 March 2021

Ahlul Bait (AS) Foundation of South Africa

Address by the Venerable Mark Long, Chairperson of the WCRLF | 27 April 2021

 

Mowlana Haider, Archbishop Brislin, fellow guests and people of Faith

 

In my capacity as the Archbishop of Cape Town’s representative on the Western Cape Religious Leaders’ Forum (WCRLF) I bring you greetings from his Grace, Thabo Makgoba. Together with his Grace, Archbishop Brislin, they are both valued Patrons of the WCRLF. As Chairperson of the WCRLF I bring you all greetings this afternoon from the various religious groupings and organisations that we represent.

 

Thank you for the generous invitation to address this important gathering today as we celebrate 27 years since the advent of democracy in South Africa, and in the context of this gathering as we celebrate the historic meeting of the Grand Ayatullah Sestani and his Holiness Pope Francis earlier this year. I am thankful for their courage and their example of reaching out to each other, and for this opportunity on the tip of Southern Africa to begin our own journey of theological dialogue and practical ethics. Thank you, Mowlana Haider, for motivating this engagement and for your personal commitment to this journey.

 

We have been asked to consider the important document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together, signed by Pope Francis and Mufti al-Tayyib of Al-Azhar University in February 2019, as a potential basis for our ongoing dialogue and practical implementation. I was struck in the introduction to this document by its focus on the safeguarding of creation, of the entire universe, of all persons (especially the poorest and those most in need); and its emphasis on seeking to attend to the issues of our times, the consequences of the arms race, social injustice, corruption, inequality, moral decline, terrorism, discrimination, and extremism; and that this is placed at the centre of inter-faith dialogue with an invitation to all people who have faith in God and in human kinship to work together in advancing a culture of mutual respect among all human beings based on the gift of divine grace. This focus is without doubt relevant to our Southern African context, the broader Western Cape, and the more specific challenges of Cape Town. The document itself goes on to commit to a culture of dialogue as the path, mutual cooperation as the code of conduct, reciprocal understanding as the method and standard.

 

We are here today to celebrate a wonderful and amazing willingness by the leaders of dominant world Faiths to set an example in reaching across the inter-faith divide for the greater good of humanity and the wider creation that sustains us. While this example is without doubt inspiring, it is meaningless if it doesn’t find traction at grassroots. My prayer is that today’s launch will give traction to a renewed commitment in our context, and that we will build on the evident openness of the religious sector in the Western Cape towards an increasing commitment to working together to address the common challenges we face, and through theological dialogue to identify the common principles of our divergent faith perspectives in ethically addressing the needs of the poorest in our society in practical and life-sustaining ways.

 

There are a number of initiatives already taking place in identifying the issues various faith-groupings and organisations are already addressing in our communities, and opening opportunities for dialogue and support in addressing the multitude of issues that plague our communities and broader society. Housing, gangsterism, gender-based violence, the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines being a few of those concerns that all too easily come to mind, often exacerbated by corruption, inequality and injustice. These initiatives align with the purpose of today’s gathering and underline the importance of a platform such as this.

 

The Western Cape Religious Leaders Forum has no hesitancy in aligning itself with this important and critical initiative.

 

Again, thank you for the invitation to be present and for the opportunity to address this gathering. Please be assured of our support going forward as together we seek with God’s help to address the critical issues of our time. And in the words of Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, “God loves you and so do I. Amen.”