Dear Friends,
Last week I was honored to give a lecture at the Lay Centre in Rome. When they initially invited me, I wondered what I could say about hope, in a time when hope often feels beyond our reach. Hence the title I instinctively gave my talk, without knowing at the time exactly what I would find to say. We have many reasons to despair. But we cannot—we must not—give up hope, give up doing all we can to build a better future.
The feedback to my talk has been almost overwhelmingly positive. I invite you to watch (or just listen) to my talk here—and I would be delighted to hear what you think.
The themes I touched on are deeply connected to our work at the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue, where we strive every day to foster peace, justice and equality, even amidst division and pain. Hope is something we do together every day. We challenge you to join us.
I also want to wish our Muslims friends an Eid al-Adha Mubarak. May this blessed occasion bring peace, strength, and unity to you and your loved ones.
