In line with The Lay Centre’s mission to promote interreligious dialogue, the Interfaith Café has flourished as part of a yearlong program, supported by the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See and the Angelicum’s John Paul II Center for Interreligious Dialogue. The Interfaith Café is aimed at introducing a broad range of interfaith topics to the Roman community, especially young adults, through discussion with experts.
In October, about 40 students and friends gathered for the first Interfaith Café on the theme, “Religion in Dialogue: From Local to Political.” Victoria Martin, a Spanish journalist and press officer for the Group of the Social Democrats in the European Parliament, and Fearghas O’Beara, who coordinates the European Parliament’s official dialogue with churches, as well as with religious and non-confessional organizations, led the discussion.
Professor Tamara Sonn, who is currently living at The Lay Centre while teaching an intensive course at the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI) in Rome, led the second Interfaith Café on Dec. 5. She holds the Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani Chair in the History of Islam at Georgetown University. She gave a survey of the history of Muslim-Christian relations in order to help listeners understand why Islamophobia appears to be growing in the West.
The Interfaith Café series will continue through spring 2018, and will focus on the work of the laity, as well as the role of institutions in interreligious dialogue.
