Interreligious Friendship after Nostra Aetate

Mary Boys, Union Theological Seminary, USA John Cavadini, University of Notre Dame, USA Elena Procario-Foley, Iona College, USA David Burrell, University of Notre Dame, USA Marianne Farina, Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, USA Massarat Khan, Holy Cross School and College, Bangladesh Rita George-Tvrtkovi?, Benedictine University, USA Bradley Malkovsky, University of Notre Dame, USA Francis X. Clooney, Harvard Divinity School, USA Reid B. Locklin, University of Toronto, Canada Mugdha Yeolekar, Loyola Marymount University, USA Karen Enriquez, Xavier University, USA Peter C. Phan, Georgetown University, USA SimonMary Asese Aihiokhai, Loyola Marymount University, USA Marinus Iwuchukwu, Duquesne University, USA Mary Margagret Funk, Our Lady of Grace Monastery, USA Rosemary Radford Ruether, Graduate Theological Union, USA

"This book is a substantial addition to growing body of literature on interreligious studies. Readers who are interested in interreligious dialogue and relations may benefit from these personal accounts. And hopefully, these stories will inspire further interreligious exchange and dialogues of life and collaboration." (S. J. Anh Q. Tran, Theological Studies, Vol. 77 (1), 2016) "Interreligious Friendship after Nostra Aetate appears at an especially propitious moment, and it adds to the literature in the area of interreligious dialogue in significant ways. At a time in which interreligious misunderstanding on a global scale is heightening tensions among faith groups and leading to polarization and violence, contributions like this book will help foster greater understanding. This is an important and valuable project that will be useful in a variety of contexts and for a broad range of readers. This volume will also be useful in interreligious dialogue at the level of grassroots communities, congregations, and other faith groups." - Jean-Pierre Ruiz, S.T.D., Associate Professor and Senior Research Fellow, Vincentian Center for Church and Society, Department of Theology & Religious Studies St. John's University, USA "This is a truly extraordinary book. The authors describe in detail, with insight, gratitude, and discretion, close friendships they have experienced with believers in other religions. Written with love, these stories prove that deep friendships do not require agreement so much as reverence, genuine affection, and even a shared silence before the sacred." - Fr. James L. Heft, S.M., Alton Brooks Professor of Religion, University of Southern California, USA, and President of the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies "When discussions plumb the depths of our deepest convictions, the virtues and graces of friendship open us to ever-deepening understanding. Read, enjoy, and be inspired.' - John Borelli, Georgetown University, USA 'If I were to use an image to characterize this book, I would compare it to a multicolored textile. Reading the pages of this volume is like letting one's heart be moved by a series of stories that have been woven together to produce a colorful fabric. The conviction that lies behind the book is that interreligious friendship spiritual friendship, in particular is a form of Christian spiritual practice and should therefore be considered a (new) theological virtue for the twenty-first-century Church. All the contributions to this volume could be regarded as evidence for or confirmation of this conviction.' - Matteo Nicholini-Zani, Monastic Interreligious Dialogue

• Introduction; James L. Fredericks 1. Learning in the Presence of the Other: My Friendship with Sara Lee; Mary C. Boys 2. Michael Signer and the Language of Friendship; John C. Cavadini 3.The Blessing of Sitting Together; Elena Procario-Foley 4. Faith and Friendship; David Burrell 5. Friendship: Cultivating Theological Virtue; Marianne Farina and Massarat Khan 6. Ties that Bind: Interfaith Friend, Interfaith Kin; Rita George-Tvrtkovi? 7. Rasoul, My Friend and Brother; Bradley J. Malkovsky 8. Study and Friendship: Intersections throughout an Academic Life; Francis X. Clooney 9. Jivanmukti, Freedom, and a Cassette Recorder: Friendship beyond Friendship in the Tradition of Advaita Vedanta; Reid B. Locklin 10. Toddlers and Teas: Parenting in a Multireligious World; Tracy Sayuki Tiemeier and Mughda Yeolekar 11. With New Eyes to See: Changing the Perception of Self and Other through Interreligious Friendship; Karen B. Enriquez 12. Masao Abe: A Spiritual Friendship; James L. Fredericks 13. A Friend and Scholar: A Guide on the Way to Understanding Buddhism; Peter C. Phan 14. My Friendship with Rita Gross; Rosemary Radford Ruether 15. Interreligious Friendship: A Path to Conversion for a Catholic Theologian; SimonMary Asese Aihiokhai 16. Interreligious Friendship: Symbiosis of Human Relationship Vis-à-vis Religious Differences - A Christian Encounter with Two African Traditional Religionists; Marinus Chijioke Iwuchukwu Conclusion; Mary Margaret Funk