The Archbishop of Westminster has spoken of the need to distinguish between true and false religion in the wake of the 7 July attacks in London.
In an article for the 14 November issue of the parliamentary weekly The House, Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor wrote: “More religion of the true sort means human beings becoming closer to God, and therefore to each other.”The article was one of a number by religious leaders writing on multicultural Britain to feature in the magazine.
Cardinal Murphy O’Connor added that religious leaders “must have the courage to draw sharp dividing lines between true religion and the perverse mockery of it”.
He wrote: “We must find ways, in Britain and across the world, of demonstrating that when religion is linked to violence, violence is done to religion.”
The Archbishop of Westminster recently commended the pledge by the Catholic Church forty years ago to work with other churches and religions by establishing closer dialogue and collaboration in a joint letter with Chief Rabbi, Jonathan Sacks, and President of the Council of Mosques and Imams, Sheikh Dr Zaki Badawi.
In the letter to The Times, the leaders expressed their desire to “pay tribute to Nostra Aetate and to note with thanksgiving the changed atmosphere which it has helped bring about.”
The three wrote: “We wish to celebrate the fact that a spirit of mutual tolerance and respect between our faiths is today possible both in principle and in practice.”
