Vatican City, Oct 21, 2016 / 05:17 am
On Friday, the Vatican announced it will be sending a representative to Egypt to set plans for the official re-launching of dialogue between the Holy See and the Al-Azhar Mosque and adjunct University, marking a seismic step in Catholic-Muslim relations.
In an Oct. 21 communique, the Vatican said the secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Bishop Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, will be heading back to Cairo for an Oct. 23 meeting with a delegation from Al-Azhar.
He will be accompanied by Msgr. Khaled Akasheh, head of the council's Office for Islam; Bishop Emmanuel Ayad Bishop of Luxor, Egypt; Professor Joseph Maila, an expert in Islamic Studies and Fr. Jean Druel, O.P., Director of the Dominican Institute of Oriental Studies.
According to the communique, the meeting in Cairo is to prepare for an encounter that will take place in Rome, "probably toward the end of April 2017, and which marks the official resumption of dialogue between the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and Al-Azhar."