Archive of Events
Since its inception, the Institute for Interreligious Study and Dialogue has held the following events:
On November 15, 2000, Cardinal Edward Cassidy, President, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity spoke on the subject of “Ecumenical Dialogue: Recent Acquisitions and Ongoing Questions.” The discussion focused on recent developments in ecumenical and interreligious initiatives and results.
November 7, 2001, Mr. Joseph Montville, Director Preventive Diplomacy Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies, gave a lecture on “The Burdens of History for Religion and Peacemaking.” Mr. Montville has spent twenty-three years as a diplomat to the Middle East and North Africa. He has authored the books “Conflict and Peacemaking in Multiethnic Societies” and “The Psychodynamics and International Relations.” The Peace and World Order Studies Program cosponsored the event.
On April 9, 2002, Professor Ahmad Iravani of the Columbus School of Law gave a talk entitled “New Islamic Responses to the Challenges of Modernity in Iran.”
March 12, 2003, Rev. Dr. John W. Witek, S.J., of Georgetown University’s Department of History East Asian Languages Program spoke on “Mission and Dialogue: The Experience of the Jesuits in Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century China.
Fr. Norbert Johannes Josef Hofman, Secretary of the Commission for Religious Affairs and Relations with Judaism within the Papal Council for Christian Unity, Vatican City, spoke on “Prognosis for Catholic-Jewish Relations” on May 8, 2003. The event was cosponsored with the Catholic University of America Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Law and Religion.
On September 27, 2004, Father Jacques Dupuis (Gregorian University, Rome) spoke on the subject of "The Renewal of Christianity through Interreligious Dialogue," which took departure from an article he has recently written with the same title (Dupuis, J. Renewal of Christianity through Interreligious Dialogue. Bijdragen. 2004, volume 65, number 2. pages 131-143. To see a video, click here: Colloquium with Father Dupuis
On Wednesday, November 10, 2004, Mr. Oded Ben Hur, Israel's ambassador to the Vatican delivered a lecture titled, "The Future of Vatican-Israel Relation." The Catholic University of America Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Law and Religion co-sponsored the event. Mr. Ben Hur has served as Israel's ambassador to the Vatican since 2003.
Professor Francis Clooney, SJ of Boston College lectured on the subject "Divine Mother, Blessed Mother: Hindu Goddesses and the Virgin Mary" on February 14, 2005. The critical respondant was Alf Hiltebeitel, Professor of Religion and Human Sciences in the Department of Religion at the George Washington University.
On Thursday, March 10, 2005, the Institute for Interreligious Study and Dialogue co-hosted a colloquium titled, "Finding a Place for the Other: the Future of Jewish-Christian Dialogue. Speakers included William Cardinal Keeler, Archbishop of Baltimore; Rabbi Jack Bemporad of the Center for Interreligious Understanding (Secaucus, NJ); Father Norbert Hofman, Secretary of the Commission for Pontifical Relations with the Jews; and Dr. Ellis Rivkin, Hebrew Union College. The Center for Interreligious Understanding and the Catholic University of America Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Law and Religion co-hosted the event.
On Monday, April 11, 2005, Dr. David Thomas, scholar of Muslim-Christian dialogues and polemics and the Christian theology of Islam, delivered a lecture titled "Muslim-Christian Polemic during the Crusades: The Letter from the People of Cyprus and Ibn Talib al-Dimashqi's Response" The event was co-sponsored with the Graduate Student Association, School of Theology and Religious Studies and the Center for Medieval and Byzantine Studies, Semitics Department.
