Pax Christ RI presents Catholicism and Islam: Two Faiths in the 21st Century

Posted 4/4/18

Dr. Sandra Keating, Associate Professor of Theology at Providence College will discuss Catholicism and Islam: Two Faiths in the 21st Century on Sunday April 15 at 3 p.m. in O'Brien Hall, St. Augustine Church, 20 Old Road, Providence. Dr. Keating is a

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Pax Christ RI presents Catholicism and Islam: Two Faiths in the 21st Century

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Dr. Sandra Keating, Associate Professor of Theology at Providence College will discuss Catholicism and Islam: Two Faiths in the 21st Century on Sunday April 15 at 3 p.m. in O'Brien Hall, St. Augustine Church, 20 Old Road, Providence. Dr. Keating is a teacher and publisher in the area of comparative religions with an emphasis on Catholic-Muslim relations. Pax Christi RI is the local chapter of Pax Christi International, the Catholic Church movement for peace. The talk will be followed by a discussion on how to work together to promote peace and reconciliation.

For many centuries Christians and Muslims have lived peacefully together throughout much of the world including the Holy Land. Since the first Gulf War in 1990 these relations have become strained and even more so since the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001. Many Catholics have been caught up in the fear of their Muslim brothers and sisters and have wondered if they pose a threat to Christianity and other religious denominations.

Pax Christi RI has been concerned about the lack of understanding and dialogue between these two faiths and by presenting this program hope to assist people in learning and getting to know the truth about the other.

The Second Vatican Council said, in its document "Nostra Aetate," that even though there have been many conflicts between Christians and Muslims in the past, the church urges both sides to go beyond the past and to work together in four key areas of modern life. The first of these is building peace together, the second is establishing justice, the third is defending moral values and the fourth is promoting human liberty.

In an article in America magazine in April 2017 Fr. Thomas Michel, SJ ,a distinguished Islamic scholar, said "How can we live with Muslims? That's the big question Christians are asking today, and, of course, Muslims, are asking the same question-how can we live with Christians? So, our job is to find ways that we can live together-positive ways, not negative ones, to find things that we can do together for the good of humanity, not to be agents of hatred, destruction and death."

In a powerful speech to an international conference for peace in Cairo on April 28, 2017, Pope Francis pulled no punches as he called on Christian and Muslim religious leaders in Egypt and throughout the Middle East to join in building "a new civilization of peace" by declaring together "a firm and clear 'no' to every form of violence, vengeance and hatred carried out in the name of religion and in the name of God" and to "affirm the incompatibility of violence and faith, belief and hatred."

People of all faiths are welcome to attend what promises to be a stimulating and informative discussion. For more information check Pax Christi RI's website www.paxchristiri.org

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