On 7 October, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Notre Dame University in Sydney, Australia. He then delivered an address entitled “The Need for Dialogue Today.”
“It is indeed through dialogue that knowledge in general is cultivated; that the academic disciplines, such as the sciences, can be advanced; that human horizons can be broadened; that feelings and emotions can be exchanged; that relationships can be cultivated; and that truths can be revealed and recalled. Consequently, from within a Christian framework, dialogue is not merely a tool for human interaction, but more so, a reflection of divine reality.”
The Ecumenical Patriarch continued by reflecting that dialogue within the world ought to underscore the importance of mutual understanding.
“The Ecumenical Patriarchate has long championed the principles of dialogue as pathways towards healing and reconciliation,” he said. “However, we are not to downplay, let alone deride or dismiss the uniqueness of our interlocutors when we are engaged in dialogue.”
In fact, he noted, we need to appreciate – if not embrace – their difference.
“Far from destroying unity, dialogue has the potential of enriching our experience of unity,” he said. “In the final analysis, we are always in closer proximity to each other in more ways than we are distant from, or different to, one another.”
The Ecumenical Patriarch noted that there is incomparably more that we share with each other and resemble one another, than what may separate us, if only we began to see the other with new eyes.
“It is precisely in our dialogical exchange with others that we can do this; that is to say, only to the extent that we are able to look into the eyes of another person, do we discover the unrepeatable, exceptionally distinct person in each one of us as well,” he said. “In conclusion, our prayer is that we may all continue to act together in open dialogue and mutual solidarity; reinforcing our common humanity in all that we do and, in this way, committed unreservedly and always to finding possibilities for solving tensions and enmities, strengthening peace in the world.”
