10 Jan : Hindu statesman Rajan Zed engaged in dialogue with Catholic-Muslim-Protestant-Buddhist-Jewish leaders in Nevada (USA) today where they attempted to find connections among Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism.
This conference, organized by Catholic Diocese of Reno, also compared, contrasted, and commented on similarities and differences between Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism as viewed through their respective sacred texts and religious worship/prayer.
Father Charles T. Durante, Pastor of Saint Teresa of Avila Catholic Church of Carson City, who facilitated this dialogue, talking about “raising our voices in diversity”, said:“Together, we can make a difference”.
Besides Durante and Zed, the participants included Episcopal Rector Emeritus Reverend V. James Jeffrey, Imam Abdul Rahim Barghouthi, Buddhist priest William Bartlett, and Jewish elder Jeffrey S. Blanck. About 150 Catholics were in the audience.
Rajan Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, has congratulated the Catholic Diocese efforts in reaching out to other religions for a dialogue. “Religion is a complex component of human life. Dialogue helps us to see interconnections and interdependencies between religions and even similarities in doctrines,” Zed adds.
Catholic Diocese of Reno, established in 1931, covers 70,852 square miles spread in eleven Nevada counties in addition to Carson City. Before 1840, this area was under the Diocese of Sonora in Mexico, when it came under the jurisdiction of Bishop Moreno of California. Current Bishop is Most Reverend Randolph R. Calvo.