Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined hundreds of worshipers Friday for the first Muslim prayers in 86 years inside Hagia Sophia.
Interreligious Dialogue
Posted inFaith, Short Take
Hagia Sophia shouldn’t be a mosque or a Christian church—it should be both
Two symbolic sites, the Hagia Sophia and the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba, could serve as models for international and interreligious cooperation, writes Peter Dziedzic.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Myanmar’s religious leaders appeal for peace and the common good
The appeal was signed by the more than 40 of the foremost religious figures of this majority-Buddhist state, including Cardinal Charles Maung Bo.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Vatican Dispatch
Turkey’s President Erdogan officially reconverts Hagia Sophia into a mosque
The Unesco World Heritage site in Istanbul, founded as a Christian church in the 6th century, transformed into a mosque in the 15th century and then into a museum in 1934, will reopen as a mosque on July 24 with Friday prayers.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
Don’t hide from the sins of St. Louis
If our first instinct is to defend “the church,” have we really learned the lessons of the sexual abuse crisis?
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis joins Muslim leaders in calling for world day of prayer to end the coronavirus
The appeal calls on believers in God worldwide to hold “a day for fasting, prayers, and supplications” on May 14.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: Abraham Heschel’s life of anguish and hope
Edward K. Kaplan’s book on Abraham Heschel will help readers feel a portion of the anguish Heschel endured in his lifetime. But even in his anguish, Heschel found not just spiritual consolation, but profound hope from his deep faith.
Posted inFaith, News
Pastor apologizes for words ‘hurtful to Muslims’ in homily on immigration
In a homily Father VanDenBroeke gave on Jan. 5, the feast of the Epiphany and, in Minnesota, Immigration Sunday, he acknowledged the complexity of immigration as a political issue and that the Bible challenges Catholics to “welcome strangers.”
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
The Jesuit school that serves a predominantly Muslim community in Brussels
Jesuits in Belgium wanted to launch a new school that would reach less-affluent communities, but they were also keenly interested in connecting with “people from different cultural and religious backgrounds.”
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Pastor executed as Boko Haram resurfaces in surge of violent attacks in Nigeria
The pastor’s murder is only the latest attacks in the West African nation. On Jan. 19, Boko Haram insurgents ambushed two separate Nigerian army patrols, killing 17, and slaughtered a bridal party on Dec. 27.