Abstract

The chapter investigates the opening to and development of interreligious dialogue within the Catholic Church since Vatican II through the experience of predominantly lay ecclesial movements like the Sant’Egidio Community and the Focolare Movement. In the last 50 years, the process of opening towards faithful of other religions has been characterized by new institutional positions in the Church hierarchy accompanied by practical experiences often promoted by the so-called new charisms. The author explores some of the main magisterial documents and symbolic gestures by recent Popes alongside the practical theology of the Movements in their attempts to appreciate the implications of these teachings and implement them in practice.