10.12.2018
‘Together We can Create Cultures of Welcome, Hospitality and Inclusion’ – Launch of New Interfaith Strategy in Dublin
Dublin City Interfaith Forum has launched a new three year strategy which will promote awareness and develop understanding of the cultural and religious differences in today’s Ireland. The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Nial Ring, launched the 2018–2021 Strategy in the Mansion House this morning, Human Rights Day (November 10).
The strategy is divided into five distinct areas with a number of actions outlined in each area. The five ‘pillars’ of the plan are: engagement, communications, resources, public stakeholders and funding. A work plan for each area will be developed and will form the basis of DCIF’s activities for the next three years.
Commending the strategy, the Lord Mayor said he wanted to see all religions respected and said the goals contained in the DCIF plan were very important. “The Dublin that I grew up in has changed. Now, one in six of the city’s residents is from a different ethnic background and this has added to the life and diversity of our city. Religious background has not always been to the fore but the Dublin City Interfaith Forum is helping to rectify that,” he stated.
DCIF has called for increased funding to support its vital work in a world where there are deep divisions and greater polarisation in society and the Lord Mayor pledged his support in securing extra funds.
DCIF chairperson, Hilary Abrahamson, said that faith communities had a huge role to play in the challenges presented by a changing world. “We value respect, justice, mercy and peace making. We encourage everyone to engage in interfaith dialogue… We must be prepared to challenge those who act out of prejudice,” she said. “This strategy outlines key actions to progress to increased inclusion in civic society. By working together we can help reduce racism and intolerance. We can create cultures of welcome, hospitality and inclusion. We invite you to work with us to achieve these aims.”
Focusing on interfaith unity in times of crisis, the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, said there was growing interest around the world in the contribution of faith and faith leaders in bringing peace. Looking back to 12th Century Dublin, the Archbishop said that the city’s patron saint, Laurence O’Toole, made every possible effort to bring peace to the city. He said he was an example to the church and society of today’s Dublin which is wealthy but does not care for all its people and in which many people, including children, were deprived of their fundamental needs which prevented them achieving their aspirations.
Archbishop Martin highlighted the increasing culture of violence that existed in the city, in particular knife crime. “This is an area we can build up a culture of living in harmony, helping young people to find a better way,” he stated. “There are growing signs of unresolved anger that effects young people and we need to find a new and refined way to deal with this.”
Assistant Commissioner Pat Leahy pledged the full support of the Gardaí for the strategy. He pointed to similarities between DCIF’s strategy and the Community Policing Strategy. “We want to create a network across the country and if we have a similar network with the interfaith forum then we will have a lot to work with… We can do this together. It has to be about building relationships, not intelligence gathering,” he said.
Commending the strategy he stated: “The world is so busy and people are focused on trying to achieve their goals and we forget about community. And that is what is important about this strategy. It is hugely important that we can live together and belong and that our culture and religious diversity does not stop us from belonging … We can’t afford to fail on this. It’s about creating a single community of different attitudes and different faiths”.
Giving the DCIF youth perspective, Hajar Al Kaddo said the forum was working to enable young people to contribute to society with their religiosity intact and to increase the tolerance of young people of faith. “We need to connect with one another and we need to connect with young people of faith. We need to connect with other faith forums,” she stated.
The Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Michael Jackson, brought proceedings to a close by recalling the launch of the Dublin City Interfaith Charter two years ago which recognised the need for community cohesion and that faith was a central part of identity. “People who have come to live in Ireland bring faith and culture as part of their identity and we can learn from them. We have to ask this: Do we look at people who have come to live in Ireland as benign outsiders or as Irish people?” he said.
Archbishop Jackson added: “It is important to grasp the contribution that faith leaders make but it is equally important to grasp the contribution of faith followers. The engagement of everyone in this context is very important. The challenge that may lie before us is to produce a glossary of interfaith understanding to help to create a new public discourse that will help us engage in every perspective. It is essential in any interfaith context not to compare the best of yourself with the caricature of the other… As Christians we have spent a long time and gone a long way to recognising that ecumenical understanding is part of our DNA. The challenge is to take that to interfaith dialogue and understanding. It is not intellectual. It is the dialogue of life, it is neighbourliness”.
DCIF works with schools, State agencies, the Garda, the HSE and the Departments of Education and Justice to help create a better understanding of different faith traditions, and to promote greater awareness of sensitivities required when dealing with a diverse range of religions in the provision of State services in contemporary Ireland.
You can download the Dublin City Interfaith Forum Strategy 2018–2018 here.