30th Annual Aquinas Lecture
Sandra Keating to speak on Catholic/Muslim relations

Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis has announced that Dr. Sandra Keating, STL, will present the 30th annual Aquinas Lecture, titled “Toward the True and Holy: Catholic Engagement with Islam Today,” on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013, at 3 p.m. at St. Francis Xavier (College) Church in St. Louis. Ghazala Hayat, MD, a noted figure in the St. Louis interfaith community and a professor at St. Louis University, will respond to Dr. Keating’s presentation from a Muslim perspective.

Fifty years after the Second Vatican Council, the dialog between Catholicism and Islam continues to bear fruit towards genuine understanding and mutual regard. Recognizing with Pope Benedict XVI that "we must seek paths of reconciliation and learn to live with respect with each other's identity," Dr. Keating’s lecture will explore areas of both cooperation and challenge that remain.

In the years following the Second Vatican Council, the Church's relationship to the world's religions has developed through committed dialog. In particular, the relationship between Muslims and Catholics has grown since the Vatican II document Nostra Aetate officially recognized several areas of potential agreement with Muslims in the Christian understanding of God, who is one, living, knowing, and all-powerful.

Dr. Sandra Keating, STL, associate professor of theology at Providence College in Rhode Island, is a member of the USCCB Catholic-Muslim Dialogue group and a consultor on the Vatican Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims. She teaches and publishes in the area of comparative religion with an emphasis on Catholic-Muslim relations, and has published numerous articles and a book on relations between Muslims and Christians in the Middle East.

Ghazala Hayat, MD, is a professor of neurology and psychiatry at Saint Louis University, and the former president of Interfaith Partnership/Faith Beyond Walls. She also serves as chairperson for the Public Relations Committee of the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis, and is a frequent speaker in interfaith dialogue events.

Aquinas Institute of Theology hosts the Aquinas Lecture each year, inviting leading theologians and other experts to speak on current topics in theology and ministry. The lecture is held annually in honor of our school’s patron, St. Thomas Aquinas. Invited scholars bring the thought of Thomas Aquinas and Catholic intellectual tradition to bear on contemporary theological questions and issues.

Admission to the lecture is free, and no reservations are required. For more information, call 314-256-8800 or visit Aquinas Institute’s web site.