Elections of faith leaders ‘mark new era’

A New Pope, Archbishop of Canterbury and Chief Rabbi top a list of events in 2013 that have affected interfaith relations, according to the Cambridge-based Woolf Institute, writes Paul Wilkinson.

Second and third in the institute’s list are the reaction by religious groups to the current economic austerity and the murder in May last year of the soldier Lee Rigby outside Woolwich Barracks by Islamist terrorists.

Dr Edward Kessler, co-founder and current executive director of the institute which studies the relationships among Christians, Jews and Muslims, said the elections of Pope Francis, Justin Welby as Archbishop of Canterbury and Ephraim Mirvis as Chief Rabbi were significant as each of them replaced a religious leader who had seemed more comfortable in the academy rather than in leading their faith communities.

Dr Kessler said: “The successors to Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, Lord Williams and Lord Sacks, signify a greater emphasis on pastoral and communal concerns than on intellectual endeavour or writing profound theological books. This trend will continue to impact on relations between faiths in the years ahead.”

He added that the Churches’ response to austerity has thrown up numerous examples of innovative cooperation between faith communities to jointly provide food banks and shelters. “These cases rarely make the headlines,” said Dr Kessler, “but may be reshaping the face of local communities and their relationships.” One example was in north London involving the Sha’arei Tsedek Synagogue, All Saints Church and Palmers Green Mosque to support the homeless in Barnet.