Rev. Fr. Joseph Olawale Ogundipe is a Priest of the Catholic Diocese of Oyo, Oyo State. I was born on 19/08/1976. He was ordained a Catholic Priest on 11/08/2007 by Most Rev. Julius Babatunde Adelakun (Emeritus Bishop of Oyo Diocese) at St. Stephen Catholic Church, ApaaraOyo, Oyo State. Education I attended Baptist Primary School, Koso-Iseyin, (1981-1984) St. Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Isalu-Iseyin, (1985-1988) St. John’s Grammar School, Isalu-Iseyin, (1989) St. Theresa’s Minor Seminary, OkeAre, Ibadan, (1990-1996) St. Peter’s Spiritual year Seminary, Eruku, Kwara State, (1996-1997) Seminary of All Saints, Uhiele-Ekpoma, (1997-2007) Dar-Comboni Institute for Arabic Studies, Cairo-Egypt, (2012-2013) Italian Language Course, Perugia, (July- September, 2013) Pontifical Institute for Islamic and Arabic Studies, Rome-Italy. (2013-2015) I am presently the Chaplain of St. Thomas More Catholic Chaplaincy, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria. I am also the Director of Inter-religious Dialogue of Oyo Diocese. And recently (21/02/2020), I was appointment by Pope Francis as a Consultor: Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims (CRRM), Vatican City. I am the author of; Others, My World; Religious Freedom: the Challenges of Our Time; and Searching in the Shadows Reaction to the news of appointment by the Holy Father To God be the glory. It was a great surprise because I was not expecting it, to say the least. So it was received with mixed feelings. One part of me is grateful to God for such an honour especially as I know it’s not a political office. And the other part of me still trembles for fear of the responsibilities that the office entails. In all, I trust in God because I believe in the work of Inter-religious dialogue. What the task entails Well, I must say for now that I am yet to be given the full details of my work because of the obvious challenges of coronavirus pandemic before the whole world at the moment. But then I know it entails lot of research works, seminars and conferences. We need to hear from others and talk to them about ourselves too. How to function with other committee members, especially with the coming of coronavirus The issue of Coronavirus took the whole world by surprise but we continue to trust in God. Everyone is expected to take precautions and not to feel unconcerned. However, our work is still in progress but on different approaches and levels. Expectations from the new assignment By the special Grace of God, I pray that I will be able to contribute my quota to the efforts of the church at bringing peace to the world through dialogue. It is very obvious that dialogue goes a long way in resolving issues and there are many reasons why we must dialogue. Role of dialogue in achieving world peace Well, I think it depends on what one thinks peace is all about. Of course, no single system is perfect. But then, I believe if the principles of Inter-religious dialogue are followed, considerable peace will be achieved. Boko Haram and dialogue As stated earlier, dialogue has its principles and the Church has her reasons for entering into such. We have this in the Vatican II Document; “The Church, therefore, exhorts her sons, that through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions, carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the Christian faith and life, they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these men”. (cf. Nosta Aetate no 2) Following this, we should know that the Church does not dialogue with terrorists but allows Governments to do what it’s responsible for. Perhaps at that level, Government too can dialogue. Role justice plays in enhancing the attainment of peace It is very obvious that there cannot be any development in a war zone. As such, justice comes with peace. The reason for dialogue is the attainment of peaceful coexistence. It is really difficult to imagine peace without justice. 10. Role of inter religious dialogue in ensuring peaceful coexistence amongst the various ethnic nationalities in Nigeria As stated in the Declaration of the Church, Nostra Aetate, the focus of the Church is the respect for human life and dignity which is paramount in any society, and once this is achieved, it will go a long way for everyone to respect the freedom of others. And once everyone feels that sense of respect, there won’t be any reason for fear. Good neigbourliness they say, is the best form of security, and again, once anyone feels secured, then peaceful coexistence will be achieved. The resultant effect of such will be obvious developments at different levels of the society. This is the desire of the church, that we may worship God freely in truth and spirit
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