Young journalists seeking

well-founded background knowledge and first-hand information

A group of young German Catholic journalists attending training courses by the “KNA-PROMEDIA- Foundation” visited the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue on Wednesday, 17 October 2024.

The aim of the visit was to talk about topics related to interreligious dialogue in the world, particularly with relation to the recent visit of the Holy Father Pope Francis to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and Singapore early September 2024. Rev. Fr. Markus Solo SVD, who was the Holy Father’s interpreter during his visit to Indonesia, welcomed the group.

The two-hour meeting addressed many questions that varied from finding a suitable counterpart when it comes to interreligious dialogue with Muslims; the unique character of Muslims of Indonesia compared to followers of Islam in other parts of the world, particularly in Germany; social-political conflicts and wars in Indonesian Papua and the Highlands of Papua New Guinea during the visit of the Holy Father; the Istiqlal Declaration 2024 and the Islamic world, the Tunnel of Friendship in Jakarta and its meaning; furthermore, the impact of the Palestine conflict on the Catholic-Muslim relations in the DID dialogue activities.

The KNA-PROMEDIA-Foundation offers professional training to journalists who focus on sharing knowledge about religions. The foundation’s proximity to Germany’s Catholic News Agency (KNA) enables it to address the issue of interreligious dialogue on a professional and well-connected level. Its proximity to the Catholic Church and other religious and faith communities ensures a well-founded transfer of knowledge on factual topics of interreligious life. The training course program includes annual visit to the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.