Catholic-Sikh National Retreat

October 9, 2006

Author: Manmohan Singh

Source: World Sikh Council

http://www.worldsikhcouncil.org/

Representatives of the World Sikh Council - America Region (WSC-AR) and the US Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) met October 5-7, 2006 in Long Island, New York for a three-day Catholic-Sikh bilateral national interreligious retreat.

The retreat was held at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception (Huntington, NY) and the nearby Mata Sahib Kaur Gurdwara (Glen Cove, NY).

The objective of the retreat was for the Catholic and Sikh communities to further deepen the dialogue and trust among the two communities following their first consultation hosted by Religions for Peace - USA on May 20, 2006.

The Catholic delegation was headed Rev. James Massa, Executive Director of USCCB's Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interfaith Affairs with assistance of Rev. Canon Francis Tiso, Associate Director of USCCB's Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interfaith Affairs. The Sikh delegation was led by Dr. Manohar Singh, Chairperson of WSC-AR with assistance from Dr. Tarunjit Singh, Chair of Interfaith Committee of WSC-AR. A total of 11 invited representatives from USCCB and WSC-AR attended and participated in the discussions. Two observers of Religions for Peace - USA also attended the first day of the retreat.

Father James Massa said, "We value this developing relationship with our Sikh brothers and sisters. The retreat was an opportunity for our two communities to share our worship experiences, readings from our sacred texts, and community issues."