Dr. Craig Considine speaks to Sally Mousa of Life Beats on Pulse 95 Radio in the United Arab Emirates about his personal journey and belief in Prophet Muhammad.
Greetings of peace to those of you who are new to this page (and peace to those who have been here for a while). Every now and then it is important for me to make this kind of post, as there seems to be some questions around who I am, what I stand for, and…… Continue reading Muhammad, Humanity, and Christian Religiosity
Father Jacques Hamel’s gruesome murder in northern France July 26 – by men claiming allegiance to the Islamic State – prompted sorrow and outrage from Muslim leaders around the world. Carol Zimmerman of Catholic News Service called me shortly after the murder to gain insight on how a Catholic like myself views Hamel’s murder. Here…… Continue reading Quoted in “Slain French Priest Was Attack on ‘All of Us'”
I woke up yesterday to some horrific news. Muslims attacked a Church during mass in Youhanabad, a predominantly Christian-populated area of Lahore, Pakistan. 14 Christians were killed and more than 70 were injured. Both Christianity and Pakistan are close to my heart. I’m a Catholic American of Irish and Italian descent. I’m also a scholar who researches the Pakistani…… Continue reading A Message to Pakistani Muslims Who Attack My Fellow Christians
Islam, Race, and Pluralism in the Pakistani Diaspora. Published by Routledge – Taylor & Francis Group in July 2017 This book explores the Pakistani diaspora in a transatlantic context, enquiring into the ways in which young first- and second-generation Pakistani Muslim and non-Muslim men resist hegemonic identity narratives and respond to their marginalised conditions. Drawing on…… Continue reading Multiculturalism in Ireland – Fighting Racism Against Pakistanis in Dublin
Catholic Online, a leading news source for Catholics in the US and abroad, recently created the headline “Obama orders closure of Vatican Embassy.” This headline is misleading, overtly political, and even dangerous as it helps reproduce the myths that President Obama is anti-Catholic and that he is also a Muslim. Catholic Online forgot this quintessential point…… Continue reading Backlash follows Catholic Online’s misleading headline on “closure” of Vatican Embassy
Long overdue in the American church is a reasoned and deep discussion of U.S. militarism, the proper use of force, the state’s responsibility to protect and defend, and the role of people of faith in all of this. To this point, Catholic teaching has had little effect in distinguishing us from any other segment of…… Continue reading US Catholics Question America’s Assent to Militarism
Dear Pope Francis, I have had the utmost admiration for you. Your new leadership in terms of interfaith relations, especially with Muslims, is such a breath of fresh air. You are such a welcoming leader. We can see it in your beautiful smile. We can see it in your everyday actions. You have made us…… Continue reading Letter to Pope Francis on Child Sex Abuse Scandal
Pope Francis continues to impress on the interfaith scene. His latest remarks on anti-Semitism among Christians should only strengthen the bonds between Christians and Jews. In a speech today in front of the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations, Pope Francis said that due to the common roots shared with Jews, “a Christian cannot be…… Continue reading Christians Cannot Be Anti-Jewish or Anti-Muslim, Pope Francis Says
There’s a heart-warming story coming out of Rome about the head of a papal agency that gives help to Christians in the Middle East. According to Monsignor John E. Kozar, president of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association and native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, “[t]he broad majority of Muslims are people of good-will.” Kozar claims that the…… Continue reading Top Catholic American official calls Muslims “people of good-will”
I’m a Catholic but I think Islam is beautiful Some think I’m interested in converting No, I’m not it just makes me think of the one above Whether it’s called Allah or God it doesn’t matter I think of him I think of heaven A place of no worries A place of peace A place…… Continue reading Allah or God, it Doesn’t Matter to Me
Today I celebrated the beginning of Lent (Ash Wednesday) at St. John’s Lane Church in Dublin. I’ve decided to give up all forms of meat during this holy period. Here’s a bit of information on the importance of Ash Wednesday and the holy season of Lent. Source: Catholic Online Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of…… Continue reading Celebrating Ash Wednesday
It has been challenging for me – a young Catholic working in interfaith dialogue – to watch the escalation of conflict between Muslim communities the world over and the United States. Observing this escalation as an American citizen has been equally difficult because religious tolerance is at the heart of my definition of American identity.…… Continue reading Personal: My challenge as a Catholic American
I have an issue with the Vatican stripping Pontifical Catholic University of Peru of its right to call itself Catholic or Pontifical. This stripping is bothersome for several reasons. The first reason is that it only further amplifies the reputation of the Catholic Church as an archaic, authoritative, and out-of-touch institution which tries to conform…… Continue reading My spat with the Vatican
The relationship between church and state in Ireland is again in question as Alan Shatter, Ireland’s Jewish Defense Minister, has been accused of being ‘ant-Catholic’ because he refused to allow the Irish army to offer a guard of honour for a religious procession during the recent International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin. This ‘unprecedented move’, writes…… Continue reading Shattering ‘Catholic Ireland’: Some thoughts on the recent controversy over church and state
Have you heard about the ‘European problem’? To your likely surprise, the problem has nothing to do with debt, sovereignty, Brussels, or the devaluing euro. As George Weigel posits in The Cube and the Cathedral: Europe, America and Politics Without God, the ‘European problem’ is atheistic humanism or, as he often calls it in more academic…… Continue reading Religion: Atheistic humanism in The Cube and the Cathedral
In February, a journalist from TCD’s University Times asked me a few questions on Irish youth and their position towards sexuality. Rachel Levin paraphrased our conversation: Sociology Lecturer Craig Considine explains this silence. ‘Now that people are turning away from the Catholic Church, who is the authority on sex? Who has the credibility to advise?…… Continue reading New survey confirms quote on sexuality in University Times
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