Thirteen bishops study Quran, Islam at California institute

Published: 2004-04-13

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Thirteen U.S. Catholic bishops spent four days this spring studying Islam, the Quran and Catholic-Muslim relations. The three-day institute, held March 15-18 at Vallombrosa Center in Menlo Park, Calif., was the second of three such programs designed to increase the bishops' understanding of the world's second-largest religion, with more than a billion adherents worldwide. The Subcommittee on Interreligious Dialogue of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops sponsored the institute with funding from the Catholic Near East Welfare Association and a supplementary grant from the Raskob Foundation for Catholic Activities. Topics that participants studied and discussed over the course of the institute's 12 sessions included: contemporary developments in Islam, Mohammed and the origins of Islam, the Quran, varieties within Islam and Islamic law, Islamic spirituality, references to Christians and Christianity in the Quran, the history of Christian-Muslim relations and the Catholic Church's approach to Muslims today. They also discussed pastoral, religious and political issues in the contemporary world.

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