Indigenous Belief, “The Original Religion”

In my early years in Interreligious Dialogue, my staff composed of Fr. Leonardo N. Mercado, SVD (now deceased), and Ms. Lou Q. Solijon, sidsa, we also had several dialogues with the IPs (Indigenous Peoples). Yes, following the advice of Francis Cardinal Arinze, then Prefect of Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, we had several dialogues with the IPs because, in the cardinal’s words, they are the “Original Religion”. So when we speak of “Interreligious” the IPs are referred to first as a people of faith, in other words, as believers.

So when we dialogue with them the first and primary objective of that encounter was faith or religious belief. Dialogue on their human rights and sociopolitical needs are objects of a Later Form of dialogue under the secondary headings of Social Action Justice and Peace promoted by ECID or the Episcopal Commission on the Indigenous People of the CBCP.

This is why I considered as out of place the inclusion of this dialogue as the focused objective of the Year of Interreligious Dialogue – 2020 because it forgot the faith or belief which is the primary objective of Interreligious Dialogue as understood and practiced by the official Church, that is, by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID). So at the level of the CBCP it should be ECID or the Episcopal Commission for Interreligious (not Indigenous) Dialogue which should be promoting IRD whose primary objective is religious faith and belief.

Records of our dialogues can be found in the book, titled, “From Pagans to Partners” by Fr. Leonardo N. Mercado, SVD, and La Salle University had sponsored a national seminar on this type of Interreligious Dialogue.