A Christian delves into the Qur'an
An exciting retreat, A Christian Delves into the Qur'an, will be conducted at Melbourne's Campion Retreat Centre from Friday, October 30 - Sunday, November 1, by Herman Roborgh SJ and Jan Geason. Father Roborgh has lived and studied among Muslims in Pakistan and India and he says that delving into the Qur'an has deepened and enriched his own faith.
A Campion spokesperson said the retreat was timely.
"As Christians we need to open up our hearts and minds to the possibility of receiving spiritual benefits from other cultures and resources. As our society becomes more multicultural it is valuable for us to look at different ways of understanding how the Word of God is communicated through other Scriptures. This retreat will provide an opportunity to understand the possibility of enriching our own spirituality by reading verses from the Bible and the Qur'an together to see whether we may gain new insights into both Scriptures," she said.
Award recognises pioneering work
Sydney's Columban Mission Institute's Centre for Christian Muslim Relations has been recognised for its pioneering inter-religious work over many years.
Fr Reg Howard SSC and Sr Pauline Rae SMSM received the award from Archbishop Issam Darwish, Eparch of the Melkite Catholic Eparchy of Australia and New Zealand and founder of the Christian-Muslim Friendship Association, and Dr Moustapha Alameddin, a member of the Christian-Muslim Friendship Society.
The presentation was made in September at an Iftar meal jointly hosted by the Christian-Muslim Friendship Association and the Melkite Welfare Association, during Ramadan. The award was presented in recognition of the pioneering work of the institute in Christian-Muslim relations and for ongoing commitment to interfaith dialogue over many years.
According to Bridges, the centre's newsletter, the sighting of the new moon on August 29 heralded the month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast from dawn to sunset. This is a special time of Muslim devotion and prayer. In recent years, it has also become a special time of interreligious hospitality, when Muslims invite believers from other religions to iftar meals for breaking the fast with them at sunset. Sometimes this is done by families in Muslim homes. Other times it is hosted by Muslim and by interreligious organisations.
Institute staff members attended a number of Iftar dinners this year. Among them was the Friendship and Iftar Dialogue Dinner at Parliament House which was co-hosted by Affinity Intercultural Foundation and NSW Parliamentarians from each of the three major political parties. Another was the dinner at which the award was presented, while Al-Ghazzali Centre for Islamic Sciences and Human Development hosted an iftar dinner at it premises, followed by a program of nausheeds (devotional songs).
Towards the end of Ramadan, the Vatican issued
a message from the
Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue to Muslims, and as a gesture of personal solidarity with Muslims and to express greetings from Christians to Muslims on their special day that ends Ramadan, Fr Patrick McInerney SSC attended the prayers at the Lakemba Mosque and also at the Imam Husain Islamic Centre in Earlwood.
above, from left: Archbishop Issam Darwish, Sr Pauline Rae, Fr Reg Howard and Dr Moustapha Alameddin
Reprints of Catholic teaching documents now available
One part of the work at the Centre for Christian-Muslim Relations is promoting the Roman Catholic Church's teaching on interreligious dialogue. Two years ago, the centre sought and was given permission to publish Dialogue and Mission and Dialogue and Proclamation, two of the key teaching documents of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. More recently the centre was given permission to print Nostra Aetate for the purposes of private study with the Columban Mission Institute. These three documents are crucial for understanding the Catholic Church's teaching on interreligious relations. Together they make a set which is highly recommend for study, prayer and action purposes.
