Los Angeles Buddhist-Catholic Dialogue Focuses on Homelessness and the Environment
On July 12, 2019, Rt. Rev. Alexei Smith, Ecumenical and Interreligious Officer for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, hosted a meeting of the local Buddhist-Catholic dialogue. During this meeting, the group tackled two topics.
First, they conducted a review of the partnership that had been established between the Saint Vincent de Paul Society and the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation. This arrangement is the result of our participation in the 2015 Buddhist/Catholic Dialogue of Fraternity at the Vatican. These two charitable organizations work together to alleviate the dire situation of the countless homeless men, women, and children living on the streets throughout Los Angeles. The partnership is working well and is looking for other arenas of partnering together: possibly joint sponsorship of a mobile shower unit.
Secondly, the dialogue participants began looking at the document “God Calls Us All to Care for Our Common Home,” a Pastoral Statement by the California Conference of Catholic Bishops on the Fourth Anniversary of Laudato Si’. Together we read a brief summary of the Pastoral Statement, and in the discussion that followed, contrasted and compared it to a document we had previously read, “The Relationship between Environment and Spiritual Preservation,” by Master Hsing Yun.