Activities of the Council

Activities of the Council

1.   The Council receives many visits from representatives of different religions. Particular importance is given to the meeting with Bishops during their “ad Limina” visits.
2.   The President and Secretary, as well as other Officials of the Council, travel to different countries to meet followers of other religions with the intent of encouraging better mutual knowledge and collaboration, evaluating the possibility for common initiatives for dialogue. The local Bishops participate as critical resources regarding the situation of the local Churches and opportune initiatives for dialogue.
3.   Conferences are regularly scheduled either in Rome or the countries of the affiliated group. The Council also participates in meetings promoted by other bodies, at the regional, national and international levels. These meeting may be bilateral or multilateral.
4.   Books and pamphlets have been published on different aspects of interreligious dialogue by the Council, including the Acts of the meetings it organizes. A list of Catholic organisations involved in interreligious dialogue at the national level (Interreligious Directory) is issued by PCID. The Bulletin Pro Dialogo is published regularly and contains significant documents of the Holy Father and the Magisterium on interreligious dialogue, as well as articles from other experts; information on dialogue activities in the world is also included.
5.   Created in 1990 the Nostra Aetate Foundation has as its aim the promotion of interreligious dialogue through granting scholarships to young people of other religions desiring to deepen their knowledge of Christianity through study at a Pontifical academic institution in Rome. Once finished, they would return to their countries to teach Christianity as well as to engage in interreligious dialogue activities. The Foundation also makes grants in support of local initiatives for promoting interreligious dialogue.