Once-in-history chance?

A group of 139 Muslim scholars and clerics has issued an open letter to Pope Benedict and other Christian leaders inviting Christians and Muslims to dialog. Issued to coincide with the festival at the end of Ramadan, "A Common Word between Us and You" argues: "Muslims and Christians together make up well over half of the world's population. Without peace and justice between these two religious communities, there can be no meaningful peace in the world. The future of the world depends on peace between Muslims and Christians," according to the U.K. Guardian.

The question for Catholics is how the pope will respond. There is another significant anniversary coming up, that of B16's Regensburg speech that deeply offended many Muslims because of his association of Islam with violence. This letter is an olive branch, and the Holy Father would do well to hang on. And it is significant for the number of its Muslim signatories: Islam has no centralized authority, but the dozens of scholars and muftis have tens of millions of followers.

Wouldn't it be great if the Vatican convened an ecumenical (all Christians) and inter-religious (including not only Christians and Muslims, but Jews and other interested religious parties as well) for a peace conference? Such an effort may work wonders for the inter-religious effort, as well as counter the "new atheist" (Hitchens, Dawkins, and the rest) claim that religion sows only dissension.

Do-over on interreligious dialogue

As expected, Pope Benedict restored the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue yesterday, just over a year after folding into the Pontifical Council for Culture, according to the Associated Press. That move was a big mistake, and someone in the Vatican seems to have recognized it--it was hard to miss when the pope managed to irritate most of the world's billion Muslims.

Not restored, however, was Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, English-speaking expert who used to serve as president of the council. The new president is the French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, former head of foreign affairs for the Vatican and an outspoken critic of the Iraq war. Tauran is probably good, but Fitzgerald was great--he must have some enemies still in the Vatican who want him exiled to Egypt.

Ain't separation great?

"She cannot at her own whim simply enter or leave her religion." So ruled the Malaysian judge who refused Lina Joy, a Catholic convert from Islam, permission to change her religious affiliation on her government ID card. Instead the judge told her she must go to the Islamic law, or Sharia, court and declare herself an apostate, which is likely to get her sent to a "rehabilitation center," according to the New York Times. Conversion to Christianity is illegal under Islamic law. In Muslim-majority Malaysia Muslims must use Shariah courts for certain matters; everyone else uses the civil courts.

There are loads of issues here, from the imperialism that often accompanied Christianity to the ever-escalating "war of civilizations" that some insist on fanning. But I think one thing that all should be able to agree upon is the freedom to choose and practice one's religion. Clearly, some Muslims in Malaysia disagree, and quite frankly there are plenty of American Christians who want to enforce "Judeo-Christianity" here, with the Ten Commandments posted in public buildings (especially courts) and insist that everyone at least sit through prayer in public schools. Religious coercion comes in many forms.

Let's face it: The separation of church and state is a really, really good idea, both for church and state. The case of Lina Joy is one reason why.

From red Guccis to flip-flops

In kind of a big deal, the Vatican is restoring its Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, which was folded into the Pontifical Council for Culture back in 2006, according to the International Herald Tribune. At the time, its terrific Muslim expert, the English Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, was sent packing as the papal envoy to Egypt and the Arab League, a move some saw as a demotion (and a rebuke?). Many commentators (this one included) judged the change as a huge mistake--a sign that the Vatican was going to try a hard line with world Islam--and it seems the Vatican has seen the light. No word yet on whether Fitzgerald will make a triumphant return to the Curia, but in light of the pope's still-delicate relationship with Islam, let's cross our fingers.

Good thing B16 doesn't have to face reelection. We'll never forget how that flip-flopping thing stuck to another Catholic. But let's hope he sticks to the Guccis for his actual footwear. It is nice to know, however, that at least the papal administration can admit a mistake, unlike some others I could mention.