A Common Word - The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre
A Common Word - The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre
A Common Word - The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
A <strong>Common</strong> <strong>Word</strong><br />
young, to build a common future. 48<br />
None of these remarks are groundbreaking. <strong>The</strong>y are nonetheless<br />
significant because they indicate that acw has succeeded in<br />
countering the deleterious effects of the Regensburg address and<br />
in bringing Muslims and Christians into the type of dialogue to<br />
which Nostra Aetate opened and which Pope John Paul II had<br />
embraced. <strong>The</strong> cycle of recriminations to which the Regensburg<br />
address initially gave rise has thus been averted, and for the time<br />
being Catholics and Muslims are engaged in real dialogue rather<br />
than juxtaposed monologues. <strong>The</strong> second seminar of the Catholic-<br />
Muslim Forum, held in Jordan at the Baptism Site of Jesus on the<br />
River Jordan, developed upon the issues addressed by the first seminar<br />
and expanded upon the developments of other conferences.<br />
Whatever direction it may take, it is significant that Muslim and<br />
Catholics have committed themselves to a forum wherein they will<br />
be able to express their differences and work towards establishing<br />
better understanding between Muslims and Catholics. This will<br />
provide an open channel whereby unfortunate misunderstandings,<br />
such as those created by the Regensburg address, can be avoided<br />
and whereby, if they do arise, they can be addressed before any<br />
negative consequences are realized.<br />
World Council of Churches<br />
<strong>The</strong> responses from the Yale Divinity School, the Archbishop of<br />
Canterbury and the Vatican have given rise to more interaction<br />
between Muslims and Christians than have any others. But one<br />
should also take not of the response issued by the World Council<br />
of Churches (WCC): “Learning to Explore Love Together: Suggestions<br />
to the Churches for Responding to ‘A <strong>Common</strong> <strong>Word</strong>.’”<br />
Acknowledging their commitment to “fresh thinking about the<br />
relationship between Islam and Christianity,” the letter of the<br />
WCC encourages member churches to recognize the serious intent<br />
of acw and “prayerfully consider its invitation to dialogue and<br />
cooperation.” 49 <strong>The</strong> Council then proposes that it will “create a<br />
38