Fr. Curtois' legacy in dialogue between Christians and Muslims in India
The Belgian Jesuit who pioneered studies and encounter with Islam in India in the mid-20th century is remembered in Dehli. Fr Edwin: "He encouraged people to bear mutual witness to their faith, to recognise the heavenly Father in each other". Dedicated to the way of St Francis in dialogue was this year's Curtois Memorial Lecture.
Delhi (AsiaNews) - A great pioneer of Islamic-Christian dialogue who still inspires the path of the Church in India today. Thus in Delhi the figure of Fr. was remembered in recent days. Victor Curtois, a Belgian Jesuit who explored Islamic identity in depth in Calcutta in the mid-20th century.
The occasion to celebrate him in recent days was the seventh edition of the Victor Courtois Memorial Lecture organized by the Association of Islamic Studies in Delhi. This year's conference was held on February 25th with the intervention of prof. Michael Calabria, Franciscan friar minor, who spoke on the topic: "From Morocco to the Mughal Empire: Franciscan meetings with Muslims and their meaning for today's interreligious dialogue".
The Islamologist Fr. Victor Courtois, who died in Kolkata in 1960 at the age of 53, is considered an apostle of Islamic-Christian dialogue in Calcutta. His brother Fr. Victor Edwin, secretary of the Association for Islamic Studies based in New Delhi, explained to AsiaNews: "Fr. Courtois spent much of his life in India and played a fundamental role in transforming relations between Christians and Muslims in this country.
He inaugurated an era of relationships and respect". The Belgian missionary taught that Christians and Muslims are brothers, since God is the Father of all men. "Fr. Courtois - added Fr. Edwin - he encouraged Christians and Muslims not to hesitate in bearing witness to each other's faith, because this is what makes us capable of recognizing the heavenly Father in each other."
In this year's conference Fr. Calabria spoke of the model offered by Saint Francis of Assisi in approaching Muslims. During the Fifth Crusade, marked by contempt for Muslims, Saint Francis chose a different path and turned to the sultan in Egypt. To his surprise, he welcomed him with open arms and showed him great hospitality. And it was an experience that had a profound impact on St. Francis' theological vision for the ministry of his friars among Muslims.
Remembering the words pronounced by Saint John Paul II in 1986 during the prayer meeting of religions for peace, Fr. Calabria described the "permanent lesson of Assisi" as St. Francis' meekness, humility, deep sense of God and commitment to serving all. Inviting us to adopt the teaching of the Second Vatican Council which encourages the Church to consider Muslims with esteem and to work with them to promote social justice, moral well-being, peace and freedom for the benefit of all.
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