austraLasia 1088
Salesian Sister defends Interreligious dialogue
thesis at Gregorian
ROME: 21st March 2005 -- Sr Teresa
Joseph FMA of the Salesian Sisters' Mumbai province, recently defended her
doctoral thesis 'Family of truth: the liminal context of interreligious
dialogue' at Rome's 450 year-old Jesuit Pontifical Gregorian University.
Just three years ago the University set up its Institute for Interreligious
Dialogue, officially known as the Institute for the study of religions and
cultures.
Sr Teresa's thesis was defended before an
unusually large crowd, many of them Salesian Sisters, prompting her Moderator's
wry comment: "I'm not sure if the Salesian Sisters are here to encourage Sr
Teresa or to threaten the Board of Examiners"!
The Vatican, which gave its approval to the
setting up of the Institute several years ago, has often expressed
concern over inter-faith encounters which are likely to muddy the waters,
something that was stressed in the 'Dominus Jesus' Declaration some years ago.
Sr Teresa's thesis highlights the importance of maintaining networks and an
equilibrium of certain uncompromising principles needed in any genuine
inter-faith encounter.
Sr Teresa's 'Family of Truth' notion is
based on the work of the symbolic anthropologist Victor Turner who considered
that the symbolic expression of shared meanings, rather than the attraction of
material interests, lies at the centre of human relationships.
The Salesian defended her views for an
hour, fielding sometimes tough questions from theological, anthropological,
pedagogical and even catehcetical points of view. Her study is regarded as
innovative, her command of the issues under questioning was demonstrated to be
outstanding and her defence was commended for being spirited and
forthright.
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