Catholic Visitors from Rome and Indonesia

9/26/2001

On September 24, 2001, three guests from the Roman Catholic Church visited Master Sheng-yen at Nung Chan Monastery in Peitou, Taipei. The three visitors were Bishop Michael Fitzgerald, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue; Fr. Thomas Michel, Executive Secretary, Jesuit Secretariat for Interreligious Dialogue; and Fr. Johannes N. Hariyanto, Vice President, Indonesian Conference on Religion and Peace. Bishop Fitzgerald and Fr. Michel are from Rome, Italy, and Fr. Hariyanto is from Jakarta, Indonesia. They were introduced by Fr. Albert Poulet-Mathis, who has served in Taiwan for more than 30 years and is an old friend of Master Sheng-yen.

The guests were briefed with an introduction about Dharma Drum Mountain, its vision, mission, and organizations. They exchanged their thoughts with Master Sheng-yen on recent events that affect people over the world and in Taiwan, and the current status of interreligious dialogue. They also discussed future plans for more interreligous interactions to promote mutual understanding and world peace.