Catholics, Muslims open landmark talks at Vatican
Senior Vatican and Islamic scholars launched their first Catholic-Muslim Forum on Tuesday to improve relations between the world’s two largest faiths.
The three-day meeting comes two years after Pope Benedict angered the Muslim world with a speech implying Islam was violent and irrational. In response, 138 Muslim scholars invited Christian churches to a new dialogue to foster mutual respect through a better understanding of each other’s beliefs.
In their manifesto, “A Common Word,” the Muslims argued that both faiths shared the core principles of love of God and neighbor. The talks focus on what this means for the religions and how it can foster harmony between them.
The meeting, including an audience with Pope Benedict, is the group’s third conference with Christians after talks with United States Protestants in July and Anglicans last month.
Jesus is the Word. (See 1 John 1.)
How can Muslims have a common Word with Catholics?
Or with Christians?
Muslims honor and love Jesus more than any of the rest of the world besides Christians, and they are closer to Jesus and Truth than much of the rest of the world even in the “Christian” West. In the approaching end of things they may even see themselves first while we are last. There is no good reason for “People of the Book” to not be friendly and peaceable with each other. When the mist is lifted off us all, may we find ourselves brothers and sisters in eternity. Let us desire all people outside the fold as much as God desires them, which cannot begin to happen without contact and discourse.