The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue today published the final statement of the International Council “Seeking the Truth Together: Christian-Daoist Dialogue”, held in the Daoist Baoan Temple of Taipei, Taiwan, from 15 to 16 October.

“By God’s grace and providence, we Christians and Daoist leaders, researchers and practitioners, have come together for a historic meeting held in Taipei Baoan Temple on 15 and 16 October 2016 themed: ‘Seeking the Truth Together: Christian Daoist Dialogue’. The conference has concretised our resolve for a dialogue involving the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, the local Catholic Church of Taiwan, the Daoist Baoan Temple, the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) and the World Council of Churches (WCC).

Encouraged by the success of this encounter, we commit ourselves to share the fruit of our dialogue:

1) expressing deepest respect for one another’s tradition and agreeing to engage in sincere dialogue at local, national and international levels;

2) emphasising the need to seek the truth together for greater understanding, mutual enrichment and co-operation especially through compassionate service without distinction;

3) acknowledging the challenges the world is facing linked to globalisation, migration, religious and inter-cultural tensions and the rise of fundamentalism;

4) hoping that Christians and Daoists coming together to dialogue becomes a beacon of light to our world torn asunder by wars, hatred, suspicion and fear;

5) agreeing to face together the challenges of secularisation, eco-crisis and the scourge of indifference;

6) stressing the importance of educating children to respect and appreciate their own culture and heritage, as well as those of others;

7) promoting and defending universal values, namely justice, peace, unity, fraternity, freedom, and religious harmony.

We express our gratitude to the conference committee for creating a pleasant atmosphere and for the warm hospitality that characterised this meeting. We also thank the Authorities of the Republic of China (Taiwan), the Department of Religious Studies of Fu Jen Catholic University and local Christian and Daoist believers for their generous support in making the conference a success”.

The statement is signed by the under-secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the president of the Taipei Baoan Temple Foundation.