14
WORLD NEWS
September 9, 2014
The Valley Catholic
Committee says Church remains
committed to dialogue with Muslims
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The U.S.
bishops’ Committee for Ecumenical and
Interreligious Affairs said the Catholic
Church remains committed to dialogue
with leaders of other religions and
Muslims in particular.
Reiterating that commitment is
especially needed now, the committee
said in a statement released late Aug.
19, because tensions between Christians
and Muslims have never been more
acute and some Catholics and members
of other denominations have rejected
interfaith talks.
“Sadly, in recent years, there has been
deliberate rejection of this call to engage
in dialogue with our Muslim brothers
and sisters by some in the Catholic
Church and in other ecclesial families,”
said the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops’ committee, whose chairman
is Auxiliary Bishop Denis J. Madden of
Baltimore.
“We understand the confusion and
deep emotions stirred by real and
apparent acts of aggression and discrimination by certain Muslims against
non-Muslims, often against Christians
abroad,” it said. “We, and increasingly
our Muslim partners in dialogue, are
concerned about these very real phenomena.”
In recent months thousands of fighters with the Islamic State, or ISIS, seized
control of large parts of northern and
central Iraq and eastern Syria, leading
to mass exodus of Christians and other
religious minorities. They were told by
militants to flee, convert to Islam or be
killed.
The USCCB committee said, “We
wish to voice our sadness and outrage
over the random and sometimes systematic acts of violence and harassment
-- acts that for both Christians and
Muslims threaten and disrupt the harmony that binds us together in mutual
‘There has been deliberate
rejection of this call to
engage in dialogue with our
Muslim brothers and sisters.’
support, recognition and friendship.”
“The most efficient way to curtail
such violence and prejudice is through
building networks of dialogue that can
overcome ignorance, extremism and
discrimination and lead to friendship
and trust,” the committee said.
The statement noted that for the past
20 years the committee has been involved in official dialogues with several
national Muslim organizations.
Faith, prayer sources of strength for slain U.S. journalist, his family
ROCHESTER, N.H. (CNS) -- In April
2013, the parents of slain U.S. journalist
James Foley attended a prayer vigil at
Marquette University in Milwaukee to
pray for their son, who at that time had
disappeared in Syria.
Diane and John Foley got confi rmation that spring that their son was
missing.
“Faith has been part of our family
life. Our hope is that God will take care
of Jim,” Diane told the Catholic Herald
in Milwaukee then.
The couple are members of Our
Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish in
Rochester and must now deal with
the fact that their 40-year-old son was
beheaded by militants with the Islamic
State extremist group, known as ISIS.
According to an AP story, U.S.
officials confirmed a graphic video
released Aug. 19 that showed ISIS fighters beheading Foley, a 1996 graduate of
Marquette who had been a freelance
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‘We think his strength
came from God...
We know it did.’
journalist, mostly in world trouble
spots. In 2011, he was kidnapped on a
Libyan battlefield and held captive in
Tripoli for 45 days.
Sometime in late 2012, he went missing in Syria. The last time the Foley
family heard from him was before
Thanksgiving that year.
ISIS said they killed James Foley
in retaliation for U.S. airstrikes on the
militants’ strongholds and the group
said it would kill another U.S. hostage.
Marquette posted a statement about
his death on the university’s website:
https:/
/news.marquette.edu.
“The Marquette community is deeply saddened by the death of alumnus
and freelance journalist James Foley,”
the statement said. “We extend our
heartfelt prayers and wishes for healing to James’ family and friends during
this very difficult time.”
James Foley had majored in history
at the Jesuit university, then enrolled
at Medill School of Journalism at
Northwestern University and earned
U.S. journalist James Foley speaks at
Northwestern University’s Medill School of
Journalism in Evanston, Ill., after being released from imprisonment in Libya in 2011.
In August 2014 he was killed by an Islamic
State militant group. (CNS photo/Tommy
Giglio, Northwestern University via Reuters)
a master’s degree in 2008.
“(He) had a heart for social justice
and used his immense talents to tell
difficult stories in hopes that they might
make a difference in the world -- a
measure of his character for which we
could not be prouder,” the Marquette
statement said.
Pope Francis phones family
of slain U.S. journalist
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis phoned the bereaved family of a U.S.
journalist killed by Islamic State militants in Syria.
Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said the pope phoned
relatives of the late James Foley on Aug. 21 to console them for their loss and
assure them of his prayers. No additional details were released. (Story, left)
President Obama also called Foley’s parents