The National Catholic-Muslim Dialogue (NCMD) met on Sept 8-9 to continue its multi-year study entitled, “Journeying Together.” The dialogue is staffed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs. This year’s session featured presentations by Sr. Marianne Farina, CSC and Dr. Anas Malik on the ecological crisis in conjunction with the tenth anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical letter on ecology, Laudato si’ and the publication of Al Mizan, the foremost Muslim statement on the environment.

The NCMD hosted an event at The Catholic University of America with keynotes by the Most Reverend John Stowe, OFM, Conv., Bishop of Lexington, and Imam Saffet Catovic, current Muslim Chaplain at Drew University and a member of the international writing team of Al Mizan. 

Reflecting on the purpose and importance of the NCMD, Catholic Co-Chairman of NCMD, Most Reverend Elias Lorenzo, OSB, Auxiliary Bishop of Newark, stated: “The NCMD strives to foster greater understanding, mutual esteem, lasting friendship and cooperation for the promotion of greater solidarity with the human family. We pursue these goals through collaborative study, the production of educational materials, and the coordination of public events to raise awareness and provide opportunities for mutual engagement.” Similarly echoing the need for continued engagement to uphold solidarity, the Muslim Co-Chairman of the NCMD, Imam Kareem Irfan, Esq., stated: “We convened our 2025 NCMD meeting in our nation's capital with a sense of urgent concerns - not just for the environmental crisis confronting the world, and the distressing realities in the Holy Land - but also given the polarized viewpoints and lines of division fracturing our nation.”

The work of the NCMD will continue its work of interfaith study, reflection and the production of resources on ecology and the environment as well as several new topics, including the relationship between truth and artificial intelligence, faith in a secular culture, and spiritual communion between Catholics and Muslims.