It is a “minor miracle” that the Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago has lasted and thrived for 25 years. That’s what Rabbi Herman Schaalman, rabbi emeritus at Emanuel Congregation of Chicago, told those gathered for the council’s 25th anniversary celebration June 21 at Garfield Park Conservatory on the city’s West Side. “There is no such organization in the United States of a similar scope,” he said in his keynote address. “The very fact that we have been able to be together 25 years is an extraordinary fact.” Cardinal George was on hand to introduce Schaalman, who is one of the founding members of the council that Cardinal Joseph Bernardin first brought together in 1984 in response to increased racial tensions in the city. Schaalman recalled those early years when the religious leaders came together to share stories and get to know one another. At first they didn’t know if they could talk freely with or trust each other. As time went by and bonds strengthened, the council came to common understandings and became a voice to speak on social justice issues in Chicago, he said. The council’s purpose hasn’t changed much over the years, Schaalman said, but the council has widened to include more religious besides the Christians and Jews who were there at the beginning. The council reached out to “widen the tent in which we lived comfortably,” Schaalman said. This year, the council welcomed its first Muslim president, Imam Kareem Irfan. It periodically releases statements on important issues, most recently on the Illinois budget and immigration. The council is “great benefit” to the archdiocese, said Sister Joan McGuire, director of the archdiocese’s Office for Ecumenical & Interreligious Affairs. “The council puts into practice the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, ‘Catholics are to dialogue and collaborate with the followers of other religions to promote spiritual, moral and social values,’” she said. “Catholics should know about the Council of Religious Leaders in order to promote these values as they build relationships with people from other churches and religions.” For more about the group visit www.crlmc.org.