       |
Vatican from 26th to 28th October 2015, celebrated the 50th anniversary of Nostra Aetate (In our time) which is a Vatican Council document that for the first time in the history of the Church paves the way for the Catholic Church's official dialogue with the followers of other religious traditions.
To commemorate this historical day, a three day international inter-religious conference was organized by Pontifical Council in collaboration with the Gregorian University in Rome. The conference deliberated on 'Believers at the Service of Humanity' with sub-themes such as violence, religious freedom, education of values etc. The Institute of Jainology UK received a recommendation from ONE JAIN organization for a scholar to represent Jainism.
Samani Pratibha Pragya, disciple of Acharya shree Mahashraman-ji, accepted to be the Jain representative and presented a paper on “Education and the transmission of Values: A Jain Perspective”. She presented a comparative version of ancient and modern Jain education.
During the inaugural session Samani Pranav Pragya recited the auspicious Jain Prayer of Namaskar Mahamantra and Mangal Path in Prakrit language. Every religion presented their prayers in different languages.
Samani Pratibha Pragya conveyed greetings on behalf of the entire Jain community of approximately six million Jains around the world. She expressed her heartfelt gratitude for the invitation extended by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue to attend this conference organized on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Nostra Aetate. She emphasised that may the historic celebrations of the 50th year of Nostra Aetate reaffirm our conviction on the necessity of interreligious dialogue particularly in today’s testing times and may it further strengthen our resolve to promote peace and harmony in our society.
Pope Francis marked the 50th anniversary by outlining the turning point in the Catholic Church's relations with Jews and people of other faiths by calling for greater interfaith collaboration in the face of religious extremism. He devoted his two hours to the usual Wednesday general audience to explaining to the Catholic faithful in St. Peter's Square the importance of "Nostra Aetate," or "In Our Time" declaration, which revolutionized the church's relations in particular with Jews. The statement was one of the most important documents to emerge from the Second Vatican Council, the 1962-65 meetings that brought the church into the modern world. It said Christ's death could not be attributed to Jews as a whole, recognized the shared spiritual patrimony between Christians and Jews and decried all forms of anti- Semitism.
Jains, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists were in the VIP seats in the piazza and were treated to a meet-andgreet session with the pope after the general audience ended. When H. H. Pope Francis approached the Jain nuns, Samani Pratibha Pragya and Pranav Pragya, he raised his hand to shake hands, but in response Samanijis folded their hands in Namskar pose. H. H. Pope did the same and asked ‘Sister do pray for me’. Samani Pratibha Pragya responded, “Father you pray for the world!” Pope humbly replied “that’s why I need your prayers for me”. Samani Pratibha Pragya, said she was moved by the Pope's humility when he asked her to pray for him. Following this Samaniji gifted the English translation of the epic ‘Rishabhayana’ composed by Acharya Shri Mahapragya ji dedicated to the life of first Tirthankar Lord Rishabha.
On 28th October a press conference was organised by Pontifical Council. Samani Pratibha Pragya, from Jain Vishva Bharati London told journalists that the interreligious meeting is like a garden with collection of different flowers that displays "the beauty of mankind" and multiplicity of viewpoints.
Members from the Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Jain, Muslims and Sikh faiths shared their understandings on peace and reconciliation during this press conference.
Father Santiago took care of Jain group respecting their rules and regulations. Samaniji got opportunity to discuss about Jain faith with Rev. Father Turan. Rev. Fr. Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot, MCCJ, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue supported during the three days stay at Vatican. Samaniji also shared about the life style of Jain nuns with Christian nuns during this conference.
Overall, the initiative with the leader ship of H.H. Pope, was an attempt of building bridges, where the presence of Jainism had its own fragrance.