Christianity and Islam: A Common Heritage?; Car bomb in Nigeria kills dozens

Car bomb kills at least 56 in Nigerian city, civilian group says
A car bomb in a marketplace in Maiduguri, the northeast Nigerian city that is the birthplace of Boko Haram extremism, killed at least 56 people on Tuesday, the leader of a civilian group that recovered the bodies said.

Sadiq Abba Tijjani, leader of the Civilian Joint Task Force, told the Associated Press his group recovered at least 56 dead bodies at the blast site, mostly elderly women who sold peanuts and lemon juice at the market...

Christianity and Islam: A Common Heritage?
...This emphasis on the shared heritage of Christianity and Islam is fairly representative of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ stance on Islam—namely, that Islam is a sister faith with which we have a close affinity. For example, at the Muslim-Catholic National Plenary Dialogue in October of 2012, keynote speaker Fr. Tom Michel, S.J., entitled his talk “Living Our Faith Together.” Fr. Michel explained that he was uncertain whether the plenary theme was supposed to be “Living Our Faith Together” or “Living Our Faiths Together,” but he preferred the former because “we are already united.”

Meanwhile, back in the real world, Christians are being butchered by the hundreds and thousands by their “partners in faith.” As Islamic terrorism spreads across the globe, Church leaders might want to reconsider the common-ground-with-Islam policy that has been in place since Vatican II. It’s one thing to affirm the common humanity shared by Christians and Muslims; it’s another thing altogether to assert that they share a common belief system—as in “Living Our Faith Together.”

That approach is fraught with difficulties. What’s the interfaith common ground on jihad? On the equality of men and women? On amputation for theft? On the doctrine that Islam should reign supreme over all other religions? Is it wise to emphasize our “shared values” with a religion that inspires so many to maim and murder? To use an analogy, why would you want to tout your common ground with the local bully who beats his wife and intimidates his neighbors?

To ask a more basic question, why would you want to advertise your “common heritage” with a made-up religion?...

Two Nuns Missing In Mosul, Iraq
Two Chaldean nuns from Daughters of Mary Order, Sister Miskintah and Sister Utoor Joseph, as well as Assyrians Hala Salim, Sarah Khoshaba, and Aram Sabah are feared to be missing, according to Assyrian television channel Ishtar TV.

The two Sisters were responsible for managing an orphanage in Mosul, Iraq, in an area near their Miskintah Church. When Mosul fell to the Sunni jihadist radicals of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), the nuns took the orphans and fled to the city of Dohuk for the hope of a more secure environment. The nuns then reportedly returned back to Mosul on Saturday to check up on their monastery, but they then vanished shortly thereafter...

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