Face-to-face talks needed for proximity among religions: Card. McCarrick

Young journalists club

News ID: 5831
Iran » Iran
Publish Date: 15:29 - 24 December 2014
Tehran, YJC. The Most Reverend Theodore E. McCarrick, the archbishop of Newark, New Jersey has said that if there should be unity among followers of different religions, they must have face-to-face talks.

The archbishop made his statement in Tehran on Tuesday, the report of which was published by Tehran Times on Wednesday.


When asked what diverse religions must do to prevent extremist reactions such as carried out by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Cardinal McCarrick stated:

"By meetings just like this one [WAVE], by getting people face to face, looking at the truth and the reality and understanding how we have to start talking together, talking to each other not talking with each other without anybody listening, and getting to understand each other. Once we do that, we appreciate each other and when we appreciate each other then we can all work with each other. It is a long process but it begins by people talking to each other.”

"Good people, wise people must get together and figure out how to deal with this very worrisome problem of ISIS,” he noted.

Speaking about his views on the outcome of the World Against Violence and Extremism meeting, Right Reverend John Bryson Chane told Tehran Times: 'The proof is in the pudding. In other words, what comes out of this first conference, WAVE, in terms of plan of action is crucial. I have been involved in so many of these [gatherings] where we’ve had exceptional scholars and clerics and…, non-clerical persons, non-ordained persons and we worked really hard and we came away with good memories.”

"This conference for me is an unbelievably gifted experience because it brings diplomats, foreign ministers, clerics from every tradition and even scholars from every tradition to one place for two days for conversation.”

"The presentation opening yesterday (December 9) with Iranian President Rouhani and also Foreign Minister Zarif was very important.”

"Now, will it get disseminated to what I call the West? Will it get disseminated to this region? That is going to be up to the IPIS, and the media to do that.”

"Unfortunately, the media do not really cover the news when they are not sensational about it. The media where I come from is in the business of selling, so the religious news doesn’t really get published. "

'We no longer get our religion reporter from the New York Times; we no longer have our religion quarter from Washington Post; so it is really hard to get the message out, unless you are dealing with a crisis. That is unfortunate, because this [gathering] is really unusual. You get this many people together with as many different perspectives as they have shared and you are dealing with Shias and Sunnis, advocates and Christians and then you are dealing with politicians and diplomats including foreign ministers . This is really important and those connections have to be made right now.

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