Inspired by the Franciscan charism of the Felician Sisters, the Center for Catholic Studies 和 Interfaith 对话 is an educational initiative, committed to 十大赌博正规平台在线 University’s core value of respect for every human person, that seeks to promote underst和ing, justice, 和 peace through theological 和 philosophical reflection, scholarship, 和对话.
At the core of the world’s great religions st和s the common conviction that the universe 以善良为基础. The Catholic tradition of Christianity believes that God 用爱的计划创造了一切. 这种爱达到了它的极致 in the self-gift of Jesus the Christ, who embodied 和 enacted the compassion of God 以人的形式出现. Jesus reached out to all persons with unconditional love 和 calls upon his followers in all times 和 places to do likewise.
The Second Vatican Council (1962-65) has taken up this call in our time. 与它的 document Nostra Aetate (Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions), the Council urges Catholics to engage in “dialogue 和 collaboration with members of other religions”: “Let Christians, while witnessing to their own faith 和 way of 生活, acknowledge, preserve, 和 encourage the spiritual 和 moral truths 在非基督徒中发现”(§2).
Pope Francis reminds us that “the dialogue between us should help to build bridges connecting all people, in such a way that everyone can see in the other not an enemy, not a rival, but a brother or sister to be welcomed 和 embraced.”
“Our task in approaching another people, another culture, another religion, is to take off our shoes, for the place we are approaching is holy, else we find ourselves 践踏别人的梦想. 更严重的是，我们可能会忘记神的同在 在我们到达之前.——(作者不详)
This quotation captures something deeply true 和 beautiful about the world we live in. 在这个庞大而复杂的世界里，没有人拥有上帝. 没有一个人，传统， culture, or religion has a monopoly on the unfathomable mystery upon which our universe 我们脆弱的生命就此安息.
During the Crusades, Francis of Assisi had the revolutionary idea of reaching out to the Sultan, the leader of the Saracen forces, in peace, in the midst of a brutal 战争. 这两个人都被那次相遇改变了. 他们达成了共识 和 respect for one another 和 a keen appreciation of the vibrancy of the other’s 对上帝的信仰和虔诚. 那个来自阿西西的小可怜可以当模特 for us again today in reaching out to one another with humility, with awe, with joy, 和 with gratitude for the rich blessings of our religious traditions.
