At a time of growing fear, harsh rhetoric, and polarizing proposals, how can young Catholics in public life reconcile questions of religious liberty and pluralism, violent extremism and security, solidarity and justice? Pope Francis and Catholic Social Teaching call us to uphold the life and dignity of every person and to build bridges between Muslim and Christian communities. How might we work together to protect the lives and rights of all God’s children in the face of terrorism, threats to religious freedom, and divisive politics?
The distinguished panel brought together leaders working among Catholic and Muslim interfaith coalitions committed to peace. John Carr, director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, opened the discussion, and Angela Miller McGraw, program director of the Initiative, moderated the discussion. The panel included Catholic University professor Dr. Maryann Cusimano, Georgetown Bridge Initiative author and research fellow Jordan Denari, and the president of the World Organization for Resource Development and Education, Hedieh Mirahmadi. Maryann Cusimano Love, Ph.D., is an associate professor of politics at the Catholic University of America and member of the Core Group for the Department of State's working group on Religion and Foreign Policy.
Jordan Denari (SFS ’13) is an author and research fellow at Georgetown University’s Bridge Initiative at the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding.
Hedieh Mirahmadi, Ph.D., J.D., is the president of the World Organization for Resource Development and Education (WORDE) and advocate for grassroots strategies to counter violent extremism.
