Finding Friends in Faith

January 25, 2007

Author: Lindsay Fiori

Source: The Marquette Tribune

http://media.www.marquettetribune.org/media/storage/paper1130/news/2007/01/25/News/Finding.Friends.In.Faith-2676065.shtml?sourcedomain=www.marquettetribune.org&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com

Directors from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Muslim Women's Coalition met Wednesday night at Gesu Parish to discuss Christian-Muslim relations with the public.

"These relations are important because it's a topic that's very pertinent and prominent in the news," said Mike Heimbach, director of youth and adult formation at Gesu.

Judith Longdin, director of ecumenical and interfaith concerns for the Milwaukee Archdiocese, and Janan Najeeb, director of the Milwaukee Muslim Women's Coalition, spoke about the progess that has been made and on what still needs to be done. The two women have been working together to improve local dialogue among Muslims and Christians for more than a decade.

"It's very important to hear about a faith from a practitioner of that faith to really learn about it," Najeeb said.

Christian-Muslim dialogue was set on its current path in 1965 by Nostra Aetate, a document from the Second Vatican Council that sets guidelines for relationships between Catholics and members of other faiths.