THE QUESTION

Pope Benedict's recent baptism of a well-known Italian Muslim has prompted criticism in much of the Islamic world. Has Benedict done enough to build bridges to Islam?
Posted by Sally Quinn and Jon Meacham on April 9, 2008 5:07 AM

FROM THE PANEL

Rev. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite is president of Chicago Theological Seminary and senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. She has been a professor of theology at the seminary for 20 years and director of its graduate degree center for five years. Her area of expertise is contextual theologies of liberation, specializing in issues of violence and violation. An ordained minister of the United Church of Christ since 1974, the “On Faith” panelist is the author or editor of thirteen books and has been a translator for two translations of the Bible. Her works include Casting Stones: Prostitution and Liberation in Asia and the United States (1996) and The New Testament and Psalms: An Inclusive Translation (1995). Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Thistlethwaite has been working diligently to promote peace, including a presentation at the U.S. Institute of Peace, which appears in one of their special reports. Most recently she edited and contributed to Adam, Eve and the Genome: Theology in Dialogue with the Human Genome Project (2003).

Benedict's Bridges Need Work

The Pope seems to think that he and Mr. Allam had previously been “in opposition to one another,” merely because they were not of the same faith. The Pope is saying that it is the faiths themselves that are in opposition.

Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, President, Chicago Theological Seminary | 125 COMMENTS
Apr 11, 2008 at 8:54 AM
"On Faith" panelist Deepak Chopra is the author of more than fifty books translated into over thirty-five languages, including numerous New York Times bestsellers in both the fiction and nonfiction categories. His latest is "The Third Jesus: The Christ We Cannot Ignore." Chopra’s Wellness Radio airs weekly on Sirius Satellite Stars, Channel 102, which focuses on the areas of success, love, sexuality and relationships, well-being, and spirituality. He is founder and president of the Alliance for a New Humanity. Time magazine heralds Deepak Chopra as one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century and credits him as “the poet-prophet of alternative medicine.

The Ecumenical Age May Be Past

The most tolerant Christians remain passive, like the most tolerant Muslims. Meanwhile, the thirst for some kind of belief must be quenched.

Deepak Chopra, Founder and president of the Alliance for a New Humanity | 28 COMMENTS
Apr 11, 2008 at 7:13 AM
As editor of the Catholic weekly magazine "America" (americamagazine.org), Rev. Thomas J. Reese promoted discussion on current issues facing the Catholic Church and the world. The "On Faith" panelist is author of Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church. Father Reese is frequently quoted as an expert on Catholic issues. He is a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University, where he is working on religion and politics. Besides his theological training as a Jesuit priest, he has a doctorate in political science from the University of California Berkeley. He once worked as a lobbyist for tax reform.

Pope Benedict, Muslims and Mutual Respect

There is no question that Pope Benedict has a great respect for religious faith of Muslims. In fact, he wishes European Catholics were as devout as Muslims.

Thomas J. Reese, S.J., Senior fellow Woodstock Theological Center, Jesuit priest | 20 COMMENTS
Apr 10, 2008 at 2:41 PM
An ordained United Church of Christ and American Baptist minister, "On Faith" panelist Dr. Willis E. Elliott has been a pastor, teacher, lecturer, administrator, consultant (to Newsweek for 38 years), church executive, and the author of six books. His five earned degrees in religion include a PhD, University of Chicago, where he was divinity research librarian. He taught in colleges, seminaries, & universities--including the University of Hawaii, where he taught "The World's Great Religions" and "Religion and the Meaning of Existence." At the 1966 Triennium of the National Council of Churches, he was the interlocutor with Billy Graham.

Pope Benedict's Double Yes

When Pope Benedict prayed in the direction of Mecca, his action was a YES to Christian generosity toward the other religions, and when he baptized that Italian convert from Islam, his action said YES to Christian orthodoxy.

Willis E. Elliott, Minister, teacher, author | 21 COMMENTS
Apr 10, 2008 at 1:54 PM
"On Faith" panelist Daisy Khan is Executive Director of ASMA Society (American Society for Muslim Advancement). As wife of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, Ms. Khan mentors young Muslims on questions of assimilation, tradition and modernity, and intergenerational challenges. In the aftermath of 9/11, Ms. Khan focused on creating interfaith programs aimed at seeking commonalities among the Abrahamic faith traditions, such as a groundbreaking theater production titled Same Difference and The Cordoba Bread Fest interfaith banquet.

With or Without Pope Benedict, Muslim-Catholic Dialogue Continues

Pope Benedict has not yet lived up to former Pope John Paul II’s legacy of consistent and sincere outreach to Muslims.

Daisy Khan, Executive Director of American Society for Muslim Advancement. | 7 COMMENTS
Apr 10, 2008 at 7:17 AM
Rabbi Irwin Kula is the President of CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, a leadership training institute, think tank and resource center in New York. The “On Faith” panelist has served as rabbi of congregations in St. Louis, New York City and Jerusalem. He is author of “Yearnings: Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life” (Hyperion, Sept. 2006)  winner of a “Books for a Better Life Award,” and selected by Spirituality & Health magazine as one the “10 Best Spiritual Book of 2006.” He is a regular guest on NBC-TV’s “The Today Show,” and co-host of the popular weekly radio show, Hirschfield and Kula, airing on KXL in Portland, Ore. In 2007 he was identified as one of the “Top 50 Rabbis in America,” by Newsweek. He is co-founder of the Aitz Hayim Center for Jewish Living in Chicago. He received his B.A. in Philosophy from Columbia Univ., his B.H.L. from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTSA) in NY, and his M.A. in Rabbinics and Rabbinic Ordination from JTSA. He has served as rabbi of congregations in St. Louis, MO; Queens, NY; and Jerusalem, Israel.

The Pope and Islam: Let's Stop Kidding Each Other

We have Catholics defending an act that while perfectly legitimate is obviously sticking it to Islamic fascists. And we have secular and liberal fundamentalists legitimately critiquing this act with a predictable fierceness and complete disrespect for anything religious.

Irwin Kula, Rabbi, author, commentator | 66 COMMENTS
Apr 9, 2008 at 8:51 AM
Martin E. Marty is Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago, where he taught religious history, chiefly in the Divinity School, for 35 years, and where the Martin Marty Center has been founded to promote “public religion” endeavors. For a decade prior to entering academia, the “On Faith” panelist served parishes in the west and northwest suburbs of Chicago as an ordained Lutheran pastor. Marty is the author of more than 50 books including Righteous Empire: The Protestant Experience in America (1970), for which he won the National Book Award. His additional honors include the National Humanities Medal, the Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the University of Chicago Alumni Medal, the Distinguished Service Medal of the Association of Theological Schools, and the Order of Lincoln Medallion (Illinois’ top honor). Marty has served as president of the American Academy of Religion, the American Society of Church History, and the American Catholic Historical Association. He also has served on two U.S. Presidential Commissions and was director of the Fundamentalism Project of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Public Religion Project at the University of Chicago. He is Senior Regent of St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.

Careful, Catholics and Muslims! We Quake!

How Catholics and Muslims choose to relate will have consequences in a world threatened by aggressions, war, and terrorism and in a world where many recognize the need for reconciliation across the boundaries of faiths.

Martin Marty, Award-winning author and professor emeritus, University of Chicago | 9 COMMENTS
Apr 9, 2008 at 8:15 AM
Susan Jacoby is the author of "The Age of American Unreason," to be published in February by Pantheon. She began her writing career as a reporter for The Washington Post, and has been a contributor to a wide range of periodicals and newspapers for more than 25 years on topics including law, religion, medicine, aging, women's rights, political dissent in the Soviet Union and Russian literature. Jacoby has been the recipient of grants from the Guggenheim, Rockefeller and Ford Foundations, as well as the National Endowment for the Humanities. In 2001-2002, she was named a fellow at the Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library. Jacoby’s other books include Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism (2004); Wild Justice: The Evolution of Revenge, a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 1984, and Half-Jew: A Daughter's Search for Her Family's Buried Past. She is working on a book about the relationship between American anti-intellectualism and political polarization, to be published by Pantheon in 2008. Her photo is by Chris Ramir.

Pope Benedict Wants You!

One thing that devout believers in ecumenical dialogue simply don't get about the Roman Catholic Church is that its leaders, including Pope Benedict XVI, truly believe that theirs is the one, true faith.

Susan Jacoby, Author and reporter | 197 COMMENTS
Apr 9, 2008 at 8:00 AM
Charles W. "Chuck" Colson is founder of Prison Fellowship, a Christian outreach ministry to the prison population of this country, as well as to ex-prisoners and crime victims. The "On Faith" panelist's daily radio commentary, BreakPoint, is aired daily on over a 1,000 radio outlets nationwide. Colson also is a syndicated columnist, lawyer, and author of 25 books, most recently The Faith (2008). He served as special counsel to the late President Richard M. Nixon (1969-73). After pleading guilty to a Watergate-related charge of obstruction of justice in 1974, Colson served seven months of a one to three-year federal prison sentence. His 1973 Christian conversion was documented in the internationally best-selling book and film, Born Again. He founded Prison Fellowship in 1976. In 1993, Colson was awarded the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion and donated the $1 million prize to Prison Fellowship. In the last 28 years, Colson has visited more than 600 prisons in 40 countries and, with the help of nearly 50,000 volunteers, has built Prison Fellowship into the world's largest prison outreach, serving the spiritual and practical needs of prisoners in 93 countries including the U.S.

Benedict's Words Should Spark Dialogue

No one in the Islamic world should bear ill will towards Pope Benedict, especially in regard to the conversion of the Italian Muslim, Magdi Cristiano Allam.

Charles "Chuck" Colson, Founder, Prison Fellowship ministry | 7 COMMENTS
Apr 9, 2008 at 7:09 AM
Born in 1934 in Durban, South Africa, Arun Gandhi is the fifth grandson of India’s legendary leader, Mohandas K. “Mahatma” Gandhi. He is co-founder of the M. K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, now at the University of Rochester in New York. He is a regular participant in Renaissance Weekend deliberations with President Clinton and other Rhodes Scholars. He worked for 30 years as a journalist for The Times of India. He is the author of several books, including "A Patch of White" (1949) and "The Forgotten Woman: The Untold Story of Kastur, the Wife of Mahatma Gandhi," which he wrote with his late wife Sunanda.

Bridges With Islam

I for one cannot see this action of Pope Benedict as a positive act that will lead to peace between the different religions of the world, let alone Islam and Christianity.

Arun Gandhi, Co-founder of the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence. | 11 COMMENTS
Apr 8, 2008 at 3:43 PM

READER RESPONSE

» Soja John Thaikattil, Sydney, Australia | Pope Benedict was appointed to his "office" just about three years ago. Surely he is not expected to have completed building bridges to Islam within t...
» Serena | When the pope comes to New York, he will have unprecedented security, streets will be closed off, and Manhattan, where I work, will be a nightmare. T...
» Athena | As a former Catholic turned Wiccan, the only thing that I care about WRT the Pope coming to DC is how it's going to mess up traffic. Oh, and if the Na...
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On Faith is an interactive conversation on religion moderated by Newsweek Editor Jon Meacham and Sally Quinn of The Washington Post. It is produced jointly by Newsweek and washingtonpost.com, as is PostGlobal, a conversation on international affairs. Please send your comments, questions and suggestions for On Faith to editor and producer David Waters.