The interreligious dialogue apostolate recently suffered the loss of two of its dedicated advocates, Fr Albert Poulet-Mathis (CHN) and Fr Bill Johnson (JPN).

Fr Albert Poulet-Mathis (CHN), died peacefully at the Chinese Jesuit Province Infirmary on 30 September after some months of deteriorating health.  Fr Poulet-Mathis arrived in Taiwan in 1959, was a cherished member of the Tien Educational Center community for 25 years, and spent his life in Taiwan doing pastoral work among university students and fostering friendship and interreligious dialogue among many groups and individuals.  He was 83 years old.  A Funeral Mass for his eternal rest was celebrated at Holy Family Catholic Church inTaipei, Taiwan, on 16 October.

Fr Poulet-Mathis was appointed as adviser to the JCEA (now JCAP) President on inter-religious matters in 1989 and continued to assist the Conference until 2001.

Fr Bill Johnson (JPN), the Irish Jesuit internationally renowned for his work on mysticism and inter-faith dialogue, died on Tuesday 12 October in Tokyo, Japan. Born in Belfast on 30 July 1925, he entered the Jesuits on 20 September 1943. He was ordained a priest on 24 March 1957 and spent many years of his life in Japan where he became actively involved in inter-religious dialogue, especially with the Buddhists. Writing in an article for The Tablet in the aftermath of 9/11 he claimed, “We used to say that dialogue between the religions is necessary for world peace. Now we can say that dialogue between the religions is necessary for world survival.” He was well known also for his best-selling books on mysticism, including Silent Music, The Still Point, and The Inner Eye of Love.