“The dialogue between religion and diplomacy is not optional, but indispensable in a context characterized by great global challenges, armed conflicts, forced displacement, environmental crises, and a worrying erosion of trust marked by fundamentalism and fanaticism,” Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue said at a recent roundtable discussion on religion and diplomacy.
“Religion is not destined to be a source of conflict, but can be a powerful resource for reconciliation, peacebuilding, humanitarian action and ethical discernment,” he continued. “Religious leaders are not only spiritual authorities, but also essential diplomatic actors.”
The discussion was organized by the dicastery, the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID), and the Council of European Muslim Leaders. The chief rabbi of Basel, Switzerland, represented the Conference of European Rabbis at the discussion.