USCCB, Sikh representatives hold dialogue on Long Island

Published: 2006-10-17

HUNTINGTON, N.Y. (CNS) -- In an effort to get to know each other better, representatives of the U.S. bishops' conference and the worldwide council of the Sikh faith met Oct. 5-7 on Long Island. The three-day meeting between staff members of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and representatives of the World Sikh Council included evenings of prayer and community meals at a Sikh house of worship in Glen Cove, prayer and discussions at Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington and lunch with Bishop William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre. The Long Island gathering was only the second meeting of a long-range, open-ended process that began last May, said Father James Massa, executive director of the U.S. bishops' Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs. The first meeting took place in Manhattan near the United Nations. Heading the Sikh delegation was Manohar Singh, who chairs the American region of the World Sikh Council. Begun 500 years ago, the Sikh religion has an estimated 25 million adherents worldwide and about one-half million in the U.S.

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