Program
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Brandeis University
Hassenfeld Conference Center
Sherman Function Hall
9:15 a.m.
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Dr. Jehuda Reinharz
President, Brandeis University
9:30 a.m.
Keynote Address: What the Catholic Church Has Learned from Interreligious Dialogue
Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald
President, Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
10:30 to 10:45 a.m.
Coffee Break
10:45 a.m. to noon
Respondents
Dr. Hans Ucko
Program Secretary, Office on Interreligious Relations and Dialogue
World Council of Churches
Dr. David Elcott
U.S. Director of Interreligious Affairs
American Jewish Committee
Dr. Abdul Rashied Omar
Coordinator of the Kroc Institute’s Research Initiative on the Resolution of Ethnic Conflict and the Program on Religion, Conflict and Peacebuilding
University of Notre Dame
Moderator
Dr. Jytte Klausen
Associate Professor of Comparative Politics
Brandeis University
Noon to 1:30 p.m.
Lunch Break
1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Panel Discussion: Issues and Challenges in the Interreligious Encounter
A roundtable discussion to address the political, historical, and cultural issues and challenges of religious identity. Participants include several faculty members (listed below), with Archbishop Fitzgerald, and Drs. Elcott, Omar, and Ucko invited to offer responses. Audience participation will follow.
Dr. Philip A. Cunningham
Executive Director, Center for Christian-Jewish Learning
Boston College
Dr. Imam Talal Y. Eid
Founder and Director of Religious Affairs
Islamic Institute of Boston
Dr. Edward Kaplan
Chair, Interdepartmental Program in Religious Studies;
Kevy and Hortense Kaiserman Professor in the Humanities
Brandeis University
Dr. Jytte Klausen
Associate Professor of Comparative Politics
Brandeis University
Dr. Ruth Langer
Associate Professor of Jewish Studies, Department of Theology;
Associate Director, Center for Christian-Jewish Learning
Boston College
Moderator
Dr. Daniel Terris
Director, International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life
Brandeis University
Boston College
Corcoran Commons
Heights Room
7:30 p.m.
Public Lecture
Welcome
William P. Leahy, S.J.
President, Boston College
Introduction
Most Rev. Seán P. O’Malley, OFM Cap
Archbishop of Boston
Keynote Speaker
Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald
President, Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
The Promise of Interreligious Dialogue for a World in Conflict
Archbishop Fitzgerald will explore the Catholic Church’s commitment to interreligious dialogue since the issuance of Nostra Aetate in 1965, reviewing the nature of interreligious dialogue and its need in today’s world.
Friday, March 17, 2006
Boston College
Corcoran College
Heights Room
9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
Fishbowl Chat: Questions Interreligious Dialogue Poses for Catholic Theology
Presented in collaboration with the Boston College Department of Theology
Two specialists in comparative theology, Rev. Dr. Francis X. Clooney, S.J., Parkman Professor of Divinity and professor of comparative theology at Harvard Divinity School, and Dr. Catherine M. Cornille, associate professor, Department of Theology, Boston College, will outline current pressing theological questions on religious pluralism.
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Lunch Break
12:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Panel Discussion: Pastoral Implications of Interreligious Dialogue for Parish Life
Presented in collaboration with the Massachusetts Council of Churches and the Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, Archdiocese of Boston
Christian clergy and congregational leaders from the region, along with Archbishop Fitzgerald, special guest Rev. Dr. Shanta Premawardhana, and a panel of local leaders, will discuss how the religiously plural world acknowledged by Nostra Aetate impacts interfaith relationships in local contexts. Discussion will focus on such questions as: What can be done to promote interreligious understanding through dialogue and other means? What are some guidelines for sensitivity to religious pluralism in worship, preaching, and in pastoral care for interreligious families? What are the possibilities and limits of prayer in interreligious community events? How do global interfaith concerns impact local settings?
Special Guest
Dr. Shanta Premawardhana
Associate General Secretary for Interfaith Relations
National Council of Churches, United States
Local Panelists
Rev. Dr. Carol Flett,
Adjunct Associate Director
Massachusetts Council of Churches
Rev. David Michael
Associate Director, Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs
Archdiocese of Boston
Ms. Celia Sirois
Co-director
New Directions for Catholic-Jewish Dialogue
Facilitator
Rev. Dr. Diane C. Kessler
Executive Director
Massachusetts Council of Churches
