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"Dialogue is our method, not as a shrewd strategy but out of fidelity to the One who never wearies of visiting the marketplace, even at the eleventh hour, to propose his offer of love (Mt 20:1-16). The path ahead, then, is dialogue among yourselves, dialogue in your presbyterates, dialogue with lay persons, dialogue with families, dialogue with society. I cannot ever tire of encouraging you to dialogue fearlessly."
- Pope Francis, Address to the U.S. Bishops, September 23, 2015
“Dialogue” first entered the Church’s vocabulary as the method of approaching the modern world Pope Saint Paul VI promoted. This illustrates the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, which produced Unitatis Redintegratio. . . and Nostra Aetate. . . , the foundational documents that guide the Church’s relations with other Christian bodies and religious communities. Thus, the Church committed itself irrevocably to building fruitful relationships with others: fostering bonds of friendship, mutual understanding, and constructive collaboration.
The bishops of the United States established the Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs (BCEIA) as part of this endeavor. It sponsors a number of dialogues with other Christian communities and members of other religions in the United States or North America. In most cases, these dialogues parallel those that the Holy See sponsors at the universal level.
Each dialogue has its own scope, method, and aim. For more information on this topic from the USCCB, please follow the link below.
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