Jean-Marc Aveline

"Cardinal Aveline: Identity, the core and physiognomy of what constitutes us, what we are, can only be built within a living relationship with otherness, with the other; a closed, impermeable identity is sterile. Interviewer: Is that why you are so committed to interreligious dialogue? Cardinal Aveline: No, the opposite happened. On this front, which was assigned to me by surprise by my bishop at the time, Mgr. Robert Coffy, I was able to verify the truth I had experienced in my life: through dialogue, familiarity, openness and sharing, we are able to make our identity flourish and encounter others more closely, and also to be missionaries, which does not mean proselytising. We need to de-centre ourselves in order to live the mission."