The fall of 2025 will mark the 60th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s document, Nostra Aetate (“In Our Age”), on the Church’s relations with Jews, Muslims, and those of other religions. Scholars suggest that Nostra Aetate ushered in a “Copernican revolution” in the way the Church relates to non-Catholics. Many of the examples of interreligious collaboration that we take for granted in 2025 were unthinkable not so long ago, and this 60th anniversary of that watershed moment in the life of the Catholic Church should be an opportunity for reflection on the past and preparation for the future. To mark this anniversary, and to facilitate this reflection on the past and preparation for the future, the Sheen Center, in collaboration with in collaboration with the Archdiocese of New York, Peace Islands Institute New York, and Park Avenue Synagogue will present an interreligious panel discussion representing the Catholic, Muslim, and Jewish traditions, bookended by musical interludes from Sufi musicians and a Jewish cantor.
The core of the event will be a moderated discussion between three distingushed panelists:
- Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York and tireless champion of interreligious collaboration
- Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, Senior Rabbi of Park Avenue Synagogue and a leading voice for the Conservative Jewish Movement and American Jewry
- Dr. Zeki Saritoprak, a professor of Islamic Studies at John Carroll University (notably, a Catholic institution) and a longtime member of the national Muslim-Catholic dialogue
- Emmy Award-winning actress Patricia Heaton, co-founder of the October 7 Coalition, will serve as the moderator for the discussion
