Egyptians Mourn Coptic Pope Shenouda ‎III

By Dr. Frank Kaufmann on March 18, 2012 11:12 AM 

Abba (Pope) Shenouda III was a good friend of the Council for the World's Religions (CWR)  (root organization of IRFWP).  

In 1985 Pope Shenouda welcomed CWR director Frank Kaufmann and senior adviser Francis Clark for an extended stay at is residence in Wadi Natrun.  

We pray for Abba Shenouda's glorious ascension.

Voice of America Reports

Egyptians are mourning the death of Coptic Pope Shenouda III, the spiritual leader of the Middle East's largest Christian community. 

Shenouda died on Saturday in Cairo at age 88 after suffering from what the official MENA news agency says was liver and lung disease. 

Mourners gathered in the main Coptic cathedral in Cairo to pray and try to get a look at the pope's body. Many wept openly.

The grand sheik of Cairo's Al-Azhar, the pre-eminent theological institute of Sunni Islam, Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb said, "Egypt has lost one of its rare men at a sensitive moment when it most needs the wisest of the wise..."

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Dublin Conference on Global Economy

From July 5 - 6, 2012 the Irish Business Executives Forum and the Saudi Arabia based International Islamic Forum for Dialogue will co-host the conference Islamic Economy and World Peace - Islamic Perspective in the Dublin Convention Center, Dublin Ireland.

The conference invitation points out that "Peaceful cooperation and co-existence are not possible in the presence of economic instability," and describes the conveners' plans for conferees "to examine the relationship between economic stability and social stability."

Attempts until now to address the global financial meltdown strictly in terms of economic theory and speculation while ignoring the moral failures informing the collapse has been misguided as a starting point at best.

This conference promises to take good steps toward approaching this historical time of transition from a more holistic grasp of human affairs.

Education in Schmitten, Germany

On January 9th and 10th I taught approximately 80 young people from c. 18 - 22 some lectures on spiritual principles and their application in daily life.

Here are a couple of images of our time taking pictures together



The group with especially good. Bright, attentive, and thoughtful.

Continued Problems in US Foreign Policy

Continued Problems in US Foreign Policy

Recent work in Luxembourg, October 2011

I recently returned from 10 days in Luxembourg.

While there my work transpired in three areas:

1. I taught a small seminar on principles of conflict mediation 
2. I met old and new friends and colleagues at diplomatic receptions and hosted events
3. I taught a seminar on family life 

Here are some images from the Principles of Peace meeting:

Here are some images from meetings at receptions and events:
For these pictures to be meaningful it is necessary to go to this site (http://bit.ly/rKL4H3) to see in the captions the individuals pictured.

And here are images from the Family Life Seminar:

Also, I was blessed with time in the lovely Autumnal woods near the home where I stayed. I posted those images here: http://bit.ly/snEhBl

9/11: 10 Years After

9/11: 10 Years After

Wisdom Thinkers reflect on 9/11: Ten years after

is an international network of peace seekers, many at the top of their fields, committed to world change arising from the common ground of perennial wisdom found in the stories of sacred and secular tradition.

In recent years, good efforts have been made to advance the cause of peace through dialogue, but as time passes, the concept of bound communities talking across lines of separation is an insufficient starting point toward the outcome of a peaceful world. Wisdom in stories has proven to be the way to break the deadlock binding dialogue based peace efforts.

On Thursday, September 8, 2011, Wisdom Thinkers Network will sponsor an important conversation in New York, as part of the 92nd Street Y's decennial commemoration of 9/11, a series entitled: Searching For Answers In A Post-9/11 World.

Here is the program for this upcoming event. Please go to the site and register to attend.

Wisdom Thinkers Roundtable