By Immaculate Tusingwire, MMS……………………………………
The Focolare Movement Uganda, in collaboration with the Executive Secretary Inter-Religious Dialogue and Ecumenism at Uganda Catholic Secretariat, Fr. Vincent Karatunga, organized a Eucharistic annual Prayer Service at the Mariapolis Centre, Focolare community in Mbuya, Kampala to mark the beginning of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
The week is observed annually from 18th to 25th January and this year 2025, it was celebrated under the theme; “Do you believe?” This theme was chosen in recognition of the 1700th Anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, where the words “I believe” were chosen to establish the Creed as an instrument of Universal Christian Unity.
Fr. Karatunga who presided over the Holy sacrifice of the Mass gave a reflection on Ecumenical Journey and focus on Inter Religious Dialogue (IRD), shedding more light on what it is and what it is not and why it is needed. He said:
“IRD is a change of attitude we have towards the person of the other faith through listening; a listening that seeks to understand in order to appreciate the faith perspective of the other person different from me in order to live in respect, love and unity with one another”
Reflecting about what IRD is not, Fr. Karatunga emphasized that it is not uniformity or converting others to one’s own religion, but rather, seeking to understand and appreciate the faith perspective of another person in order to understand better their belief systems and values thus enhancing respect for one another, peace and harmony.
Fr. Karatunga cautioned the participants present, most of whom were youth members of the Focolare Movement to be deeply rooted in their own faith before engaging in Inter Religion Dialogue in order to avoid the risk and danger of compromising their faith and their identity, thus, getting lost.
He also revealed that Ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue has its own challenges, the biggest being stereotypes, prejudices, and ignorance.
“We all have our prejudices and stereotypes against others. And when you have prejudices, you don’t see beyond your prejudices. Men are prejudiced against women. Women are prejudiced against men. Children against adults. Catholics against Muslims. We are all prejudiced, and when you become a slave of prejudice, you never grow and become a mature person until you overcome your prejudices and stereotypes”
Inspired by Jesus’ prayer “May they all be one” (Jn 17:21), the Focolare Movement spread the message of unity worldwide and their main goal is to build a more united world. It is from this background, that the Focolare take the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity seriously. The Focolare Movement youths demonstrated and involved participants in sports for peace which they had learned during a week’s training that had preceded the official opening of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The day ended with the participants sharing a meal together which is also significant in bringing unity
