The New Zealand Catholic Bishops Committee for Interfaith Relations has sent a message to Muslim communities in New Zealand. Sent to mark the Muslim feast of Eid-al-fitr, which ends the Ramadan period, the message encourages prayers and work for peace. The text of the message reads: “Dear friends, “Eid al-fitr draws near. On behalf of the Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Interfaith’
Peace summit, no peace
Tuesday, June 10th, 2014
Hours before he convened an unprecedented Vatican prayer service for peace in the Middle East, Pope Francis told a crowd gathered in St Peter’s Square that “a church that doesn’t have the capacity to surprise… is a dying church.” By that standard, Francis showed that Catholicism on his watch is alive and kicking by delivering Read more
Need for honesty around Qur’an
Tuesday, May 27th, 2014
In the aftermath of Islamic jihadis — the Boko Haram — enslaving Christian school girls in Nigeria, the Muslim intelligentsia, instead of doing some serious introspection, has chosen to exercise damage control. Columns by my co-religionists have appeared in newspapers ranging from the Toronto Star to The Independent in London and on CNN.com, where they Read more
Two new saints for the Jews
Tuesday, April 29th, 2014
It is a poignant coincidence that Popes John XXIII and John Paul II will be canonized as Catholic saints on the eve of Yom Hashoah, the international day of Holocaust remembrance observed in Israel and by Jews around the world. These two popes’ personal narratives are inseparable from the Holocaust, and their reactions to the Read more
New versions of martyrdom
Friday, April 11th, 2014
As I have mentioned in a previous posting, there are many different sorts of martyrdom–in the broad sense of bearing witness, at a high or ultimate cost, to an awkward truth or passionately embraced cause. Independence movements, environmental campaigns, investigative journalism, humanitarian missions to war zones. They all draw inspiration from sons and daughters who perished in Read more
Jesus and the Jews
Tuesday, April 1st, 2014
New Testament scholars have spent an impressive amount of energy on the study of the historical Jesus and much of it in the last few decades has revolved around his Jewishness. Christian reawakening to the Jewishness of Jesus began in the late nineteenth century but received greater attention as Christians devoted increased attention to Jews Read more
Kiwi played key role in interfaith accord to stop human trafficking
Friday, March 21st, 2014
A New Zealander, Archbishop Sir David Moxon, has played a key role in bringing about an historic interfaith accord against human trafficking. Eradicating modern slavery and human trafficking worldwide by 2020 is the goal of the newly-formed Global Freedom Network. An accord was signed at the Vatican on March 17 by representatives of Pope Francis, Read more
Muslim superhero vs real-life Islamophobia
Friday, December 6th, 2013
When Marvel Comics announced the debut of its latest superhero — a 16-year-old Pakistani-American Muslim from Jersey City, N.J. — it was correctly seen as a positive development. Created and written by two American Muslim women, Kamala Khan (aka Ms. Marvel) holds promise. But while Khan is a comic book character, she should not become Read more
Hospital Chaplaincy beyond religious control?
Tuesday, November 5th, 2013
Sometimes truth is so hard to stomach that even though it stares you in the face and shouts itself hoarse trying to be heard we remain oblivious to its presence. This may be because the emerging truth demands much of us. The truth I have to face is that the Christian religion I represent has Read more
Bishops’ Committee earns two awards
Friday, August 30th, 2013
The New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Interfaith Relations has been the recipient of two awards in recent times The Committee was awarded one of nine annual diversity awards by the Human Rights Commission acknowledging individuals and organisations that have made outstanding contributions to the New Zealand Diversity Action Programme through projects and programmes. Last Read more