SIKH, CATHOLIC LEADERS MEET
(Extensions of Remarks - June 16, 2006)

HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS
OF NEW YORK
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 2006

Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, recently a group of Sikh leaders met in New York with Catholic leaders in an all-day event hosted by an Interfaith organization. Sikh leaders in attendance included Dr. Manohar Singh, Dr. Tarunjit Singh Butalia, and Dr. Anahat Kaur Sandhu. Monsignor Felix Machado, an official at the Vatican, also attended the meeting.

It is good to see this kind of pluralistic cooperation and I thank Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan, for bringing it to my attention.

Contrast this to the situation in India, where Sikhs, Christian, Muslims, and other minorities are subject to brutal and ongoing repression from the government. Perhaps “the world's largest democracy'' could learn a thing or two from the meeting in New York.

We should stop our aid to India and we should demand self-determination for all the people of South Asia so that they can live in peace, freedom, harmony, and prosperity, as they do here in America and other Western democracies.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to put the article from India-West into the Record. [From India-West, June 2, 2006]

SIKH, CATHOLIC LEADERS MEET IN NEW YORK
(By a Staff Reporter)
India-West, June 2, 2006

Representatives of the World Sikh Council-America Region met with Catholic leaders in New York in an all-day event hosted by the Religions for Peace-USA. the Sikh group has said.

Dr. Manohar Singh, the group's chairperson, and Dr. Tarunjit Singh, chair of the group's Interfaith Committee, led the Sikhs.

The U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops' delegation was headed by Rev. James Massa, executive director of its Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interfaith Affairs.

Monsignor Felix Machado, undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue at the Vatican in Rome, was a special guest and adviser.

Two observers of ReIigions for Peace attended the May 20 meeting.

“The universal message of Sikhism respects pluralism and we welcome our Catholic friends with open arms,'' Manohar Singh said. “This dialogue is an opportunity for our communities to begin a conversation at the highest level on how we may be able to work with each other in trust and friendship to make this world a more peaceful and just place for all.''

Machado responded by saying the Catholic Church appreciates this dialogue with the Sikh community. “Sikhs respect us, not suspect us,'' he said.

Sikh and Catholic leaders expressed shared concerns over the challenges faced by immigrant communities in the U.S., the curtailment of religious freedom and human rights in South Asia, and the challenges of secularism to both religious communities.

The participants said they would meet again this year with a focus on “Divinity, Humanity and Creation.'' They also pledged to continue to meet at least once a year through a working committee.

After the meeting, the Catholic and Sikh participants visited the Mata Sahib Kaur Gurdwara Sahib in Glen Cove, N.Y., joined the evening service and partook of langar meal.

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