Denver Catholic

INDEX Archbishop's Column ......................2 The Catholic Difference ..................4 Call to Charity ...................................4 ACA: Colorado Catholic Conference ........................................6 Nun of the Above quiz ....................9 Bulletin Board ................................. 10 Service Directory ....................... 10-11 AUGUST 13, 2014 114 Years of Service to the Gospel Volume XC - No. 27 www.DenverCatholicRegister.org I Follow us on BY NISSA LAPOINT As Middle Eastern religious minorities faced escalating threats and brutal force at the hands of Islamic militants, Denver's Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders gathered in soli- darity at a press conference this week to declare the violence in Iraq "a grave offense against God and humanity." Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver stood with represen- tatives of the three Abrahamic religions Aug. 11 to announce their united prayers and call to action against the religious intolerance and slaughtering of innocent Iraqis through the PLACE (Peace, Love and Coex- istence) initiative, calling for the defense of human rights and re- ligious liberty. "We cannot be silent in the face of these attacks on our brothers and sister in the faith, as well of those of other faiths who have been subjected to the same treatment," Arch- bishop Aquila said during the conference at the St. John Paul II Center in south Denver. "All this gravely offends God and humanity. Hatred is not to be carried out in the name of God. War is not to be waged in the name of God." The initiative asks President Barack Obama and interna- tional officials "to work urgently through diplomatic channels and ethical intervention to stop the murder and persecution of Christians in the Middle East," and "with equal urgency to op- pose the persecution of Jews and Muslims in the Middle East." The statement also calls on religious leaders to "lead by example and advocate for the safety and the right to exist for all Christian, Jewish and Mus- lim communities in the Middle East." Lakewood parish priest Fa- ther Andre Y-Sebastian Mahan- na, also director of the Office of Ecumenism and Interfaith Rela- tions in the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon, drafted the docu- ment with Archbishop Aquila. Father Mahanna, a Maronite Catholic, said the leaders are standing to defend a civilization of diversity. "We join together in con- demning and denouncing the preaching of hate against Chris- tians, Jewish and Muslim people and the other minorities who all have equal rights to live togeth- er safely in their homelands and nations in the Middle East," he said to media at the conference. Together with Shaul Gab- bay of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver, and Sheik Ahmed Nabhan of the Aurora Muslim Society, the archbishop and Father Mahanna said they would sign the PLACE docu- ment. Father George Shawareb of St. Elias Antiochian Ortho- dox Church in Arvada and Dea- con Elias Naoum of the Syriac Orthodox Church also spoke at the conference. Jewish Professor Gabbay called the initiative "a light amid darkness." "This is a local initiative which might shed light on this darkness. There is a lot of dark- ness, but one candle can lighten a large space," he said during the conference. "We pray for peace, love, human dignity and safety for all minorities." Muslim sheik Ahmed Nabhan said they must "work very hard" to cut out evil from the world and preserve peace and mercy. Denver's religious leaders plea for peace as Iraq horror escalates PHOTO BY BERNARD GRANT/DCR LAKEWOOD parish priest Father Andre Y-Sebastian Mahanna, a Maronite Catholic, speaks at an Aug. 11 press conference at the St. John Paul II Center. Archbishop Samuel Aquila sponsored the interreligious event to call for peace in the Middle East. INSIDE IMMIGRATION ARCHBISHOP'S LECTURE SERIES PAGE 3 PAGE 2 Lecture to cover #HowToDad PHOTO BY JOHN MOORE/GETTY IMAGES Refugee children: a life or death choice DEACON APPRECIATION PULL OUT SECTION See Peace, Page 3 PAGE B1 Gift of service: Diaconate celebrates 40 years PAGE B2 Meet the all-Hispanic class of deacon candidates PAGE B3 Sole living member of first Denver deacons recalls ministry

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