CATHOLIC IDENTITY

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St Augustine is committed to its Catholic ethos – affirmation of the core principles of respect for the dignity of the human person and promotion of the common good – while recognising that our South African context is both secular and plural.  We aim to provide space and opportunity for the Catholics amongst us to reflect on and to deepen insights into their faith.  At the same time, however, we encourage and provide space for the non-Catholic persons in our community – other Christians, Jews, Muslims, atheists and agnostics – also to reflect on their fundamental life choices.  Otherness is not a threat; consensus is not the aim.  All must have opportunity to be themselves within a setting of dialogue and respect.

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In his address to an interreligious meeting in Abu Dhabi during his February 2019 visit to the United Arab Emirates, His Holiness, Pope Francis, held:

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"He who is the Creator of all things and of all persons wants us to live as brothers and sisters, dwelling in the common home of creation which he has given us. … We cannot honour the Creator without cherishing the sacredness of every person and of every human life: each person is equally precious in the eyes of God, who does not look upon the human family with a preferential gaze that excludes, but with a benevolent gaze that includes.  Thus, to recognize the same rights for every human being is to glory the name of God on earth."

(‘Address of His Holiness’, Interreligious Meeting, Founder’s Memorial (Abu Dhabi), Monday, 4 February 2019)

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