Diana Eck, one of America’s leading scholars of religious pluralism, met with John Paul II and Cardinal Arinze of Nigeria, his possible successor, through her work on interfaith relations. Diana is available to discuss the Pope’s interfaith legacy—from the first-ever visit of a sitting Pope to a synagogue in Rome to his address to Muslim youth in Casablanca, to his visits to India and Sri Lanka, to his apology to the Jewish people for the Holocaust and his reception by the sheikhs in Cairo. Diana has followed John Paul II’s interfaith work through the years and can provide compelling, insightful commentary on this important part of his legacy.
According to Diana, “The interfaith legacy was complex, but so was the Pope. John Paul II was convinced that dialogue is not about seeking consensus or negotiating faith convictions. It is about encounter and relationship. In this, his warmth and energy made him brilliantly skillful, even with those who disagreed with him.”
Diana Eck is a professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies and director of the Pluralism Project at Harvard University.
To schedule an interview with Diana, please call Jennine Meyer at (914) 833-7093.