St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, inaugurated a new prayer space for Muslim students this week, co-designed by the Saudi Student Association.
The new prayer space, which is equipped with sinks for ritual foot-washing and separate areas for male and female worshippers, was built in memory of Father Joe DeFrancisco, a professor of comparative religions who died last July at the age of 69.
At the priest’s “ecumenical” funeral Mass in 2017, fellow Catholic clergy were joined at the altar by a rabbi, an imam, an Anglican priest and a Lutheran chaplain, according to the college’s website.
The school said that the prayer room was named in honor of the priest “as an acknowledgment of his efforts to promote the universality of faiths throughout a 27-year career as a St. Ambrose professor of Theology.”
According to senior Student Government Association President Matthew Mahoney, the idea for a dedicated Islamic prayer space began with a suggestion by DeFrancisco himself, who felt that Muslim students “didn’t really have a substantial enough prayer rooms on campus.”
“This is a truly appropriate way to honor Fr. Joe,” said Sister Joan Lescinski, president of the college. “His openness to all members of the Quad Cities faith community was a living example of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition.”
“Former students still talk about the impact visits to temples and mosques had on them as members of his Comparative Religions class,” she added.
“Being able to say that we’re committed to these Muslim students, and to all students—students of all different faiths—is really outstanding,” Mahoney said.
“It’s uniquely Ambrosian, and it just sort of shows our commitment to all different faiths.”
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4 comments:
As a former Marine corps vet I have to say the majority of united States is already defeated. You been infiltrated and overcome from within your borders
Horrifying. Catholics should be ashamed to welcome this evil.
It's refreshing to see something like this, when it always seems that news stories are the polar opposite of this sort of thing.
Conflicts between religions may be some of the most dangerous conflicts in the world today, it is comforting to see that they can come together in mutual peace and respect of each other.
In the Quran when Allah is asked about people of other religions and their reward in the afterlife, the reply is given that those who live a righteous life and do good deeds have nothing to fear from their Lord. Meaning a nun, such as our locals, have only paradise to expect from Allah even though they have not accepted Islam. The only caveat is that once you read and understand the Quran, you have the revelation, no other religion will be accepted for you. Now contrast that with Christianity and it's decree for people in other cultures such as India who have no real interaction with Christians, or in Communist China where it isn't widespread. The Christian interpretation says they are bound for hell, meanwhile, a child murderer need only repent to enter into paradise with the parents. As a matter of fact, the child killed if not saved, would face the hell fate while the killer wouldn't. These nuances are often overlooked or dismissed by Christians because they make no sense, even to Christians.
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