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6th Anniversary of Muslim-Catholic Agreement
ILDC Director Dr. Louay Safi spoke on May 2 at Sacred Heart Cathedral during an event to mark the 6th anniversary of Rochester’s Muslim-Catholic Agreement of Understanding and Cooperation. Muslim and Catholic leaders, including Bishop Matthew H. Clark, signed the agreement on May 5, 2003.
The agreement, signed on May 5, 2003, underscored a number of pledges made by the Diocese of Rochester and the Greater Rochester Council of Masajid (mosques), including the pledge to uphold freedom of speech, religion and conscience; to promote religious and ethnic tolerance; to foster mutual respect and cooperation; and to collaborate on community-outreach efforts. "The agreement of understanding and cooperation is believed to be the first of its kind to be signed by a Roman Catholic bishop and the Muslim community," argued Sister Judy Greene of St. Joseph.
During the 6th-anniversary celebration, Dr. Safi, executive director of the Leadership Development Center of the Islamic Society of North America, and Father Francis X. Mazur, the ecumenical and interreligious officer for the Diocese of Buffalo, spoke on justice and peace.
Justice is necessary to promote peace, and it comes about through the respect of human dignity, said Safi. Stressing that justice is considered in the Qur’an to stand at the foundation of life and faith, he pointed out that the faithful is called upon to exercise in relations to both friends and enemies. "We have a duty as people of faith to really try to translate what we believe in into actions, relations, and institutions," he said.
He urged the audience to consider the peaceful experience among religious groups in the U.S. to be a model for other religiously diverse societies around the globe. Ultimately, the United States’ interfaith community has the opportunity to show the rest of the world how the system of justice can be based upon respect for the rights of others, he said.
Father Mazur noted the principles of Catholic social teaching, noting that they are based on Jesus’ outreach to the poor and oppressed and on a theological understanding of human rights, including the right to life, food, clothing, shelter, education and work.
Dr. Muhammad Shafiq, imam of the Islamic Center of Rochester and executive director of the Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue at Nazareth College, noted that dialogue among Catholics and Muslims is important because half of the world’s people belong to these two groups."If we do not deliver justice with peace, we will be responsible in the eyes of God," he said.
In his remarks, Bishop Matthew H. Clark asked all participants to seek God’s guidance as the Muslim-Catholic dialogue continues into the future. "In our fight for justice, we need to be mindful of our own frailty and our need for God’s spirit," he said.