Southern California priests participate in landmark trip to Turkey

Paula Doyle

Twelve archdiocesan priests are exploring ancient Christian sites and visiting Catholic faith communities in Turkey this week, as part of a trip organized exclusively for Catholic clergy by an organization of Turkish-American Muslims that promotes intercultural and interreligious awareness.

Father Alexei Smith, archdiocesan director of ecumenical/interreligious affairs, and Msgr. Thomas Welbers, pastor of Good Shepherd Church in Beverly Hills, are co-leading the trip, which is being sponsored and organized by the Pacifica Institute.

The Contribution of Fethullah Gulen on Christian-Muslim relations

Mustafa Erol *

Dialogue has been the buzz word for around a century especially during the last 3-4 decades to improve the relationship between individuals and communities especially members of different faiths. Dialogue is still the work of people who are overwhelmingly either member of a religious faith or work of a religious institution. One important individual from an Islamic background who has contributed on this issue positively has been Fethullah Gulen. His followers who subscribe themselves to his approach have established many dialogue institutions, over 130 different countries to implement his philosophy.

Patriarch Bartholomew Praises Gulen’s Dialog Efforts

Bartholomew (Photo: EPA)

In an interview with the Chicago Tribune’s columnist John Kass, Patriarch Bartholomew praised Fethullah Gülen’s dialogue efforts.

Turkey should do more to protect its Christians

Turan Kayaoğlu, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center and a visiting professor at Qatar University, wrote an article that appeared in Today’s Zaman about Turkey’s responsibilities towards its minorities.

Education and Dialogue in the Gulen Movement

James Harrington speaking at
Pacifica Institute, Salt Lake City

On Feb. 25, 2012, James Harrington, director of the Texas Civil Rights Project and Adjunct Professor at the School of Law in the University of Texas, Austin spoke at the Pacifica Institute for the Salt Lake Interfaith Roundtable’s Interfaith Month celebrations. Mr. Harrington spoke about the Gulen Movement and how to build civil society. James Harrington is also the author of Wrestling with Free Speech, Religious Freedom, and Democracy in Turkey: The Political Trials and Times of Fethullah Gulen, This event was covered in detail by the Hizmet Movement Blog and can be read in its entirely here.