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Maurice Borrmans (1925-2017), an Islamologist Defending Christian-Muslim Dialogue
On 19 February 2026, in the Maurice Borrmans Library of the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI) in Rome, Florence Javel, who holds a PhD in theology from the Catholic University of Lyon (UCLy), presented her research on Maurice Borrmans (1925-2017), the White Father and a leading figure in Christian-Muslim dialogue.
The year 2025-2026 marks the sixtieth anniversary of the conciliar declaration Nostra aetate (28 October 1965), which opened a new era in interreligious relations. Florence Javel highlights the convergence between this ecclesial event and the path of Maurice Borrmans, born one century earlier in Lille, who devoted his life to dialogue until his death in 2017.
Throughout his writings emerges the voice of a practitioner attentive to those engaged in rapprochement, their methods, advances and difficulties. In a context shaped by the rise of Islamism, Father Borrmans stands out as a resolute defender of a demanding and clear-sighted dialogue. Both historical and theological, the reading Florence Javel proposes offers a re-reading of sixty years of Muslim-Christian relations through the prism of Borrmans’ thought.
The lecture serves as a reminder that exchanges between Christians and Muslims constitute a living process that must be constantly revisited in order to continue bearing fruit today.
Le 19 février 2026, à la bibliothèque Maurice Borrmans du Pontificio Istituto di Studi Arabi e d’Islamistica (PISAI, Institut pontifical d’études arabes et d’islamologie) à Rome, Florence Javel, docteure en théologie de l’Université catholique de Lyon (UCLy), présente ses travaux consacrés à Maurice Borrmans (1925-2017), Père Blanc et figure majeure du dialogue islamo-chrétien.
L’année 2025-2026 marque les soixante ans de la déclaration conciliaire Nostra aetate (28 octobre 1965), qui ouvre une ère nouvelle dans les relations entre religions. Florence Javel met en lumière la convergence entre cet événement ecclésial et la trajectoire de Maurice Borrmans, né cent ans plus tôt à Lille, qui consacra sa vie au dialogue jusqu’à sa mort en 2017.
Au fil de ses écrits, se dessine la voix d’un praticien attentif aux acteurs du rapprochement, à leurs méthodes, leurs avancées et leurs difficultés. Dans un contexte marqué par la montée de l’islamisme, le père Borrmans apparaît comme un défenseur résolu d’un dialogue exigeant et lucide. À la fois historique et théologique, la lecture proposée par Florence Javel offre une relecture de soixante ans de relations islamo-chrétiennes, sous le prisme de la pensée de Borrmans.
La conférence est l’occasion de rappeler combien les échanges entre chrétiens et musulmans constituent un processus vivant, qui demande d’être sans cesse revisité pour continuer de porter du fruit aujourd’hui.
في 19 شباط/فبراير 2026، في مكتبة موريس بورمانس التابعة للمعهد البابويّ للدراسات العربيّة والإسلاميّة (PISAI) بروما، قدّمت فلورنس جافيل، الدكتورةُ في اللاهوت من الجامعة الكاثوليكيّة بليون، أعمالَها البحثيّة المكرَّسة لموريس بورمانس (1925-2017)، أحدِ «الآباء البيض» وأبرز روّاد الحوار المسيحيّ-الإسلاميّ.
إنّ السنة الجامعيّة 2025-2026 تُصادف الذكرى الستّين لإعلان في عصرنا (Nostra aetate، 28 تشرين الأوّل/أكتوبر 1965) الصادر عن المجمع الفاتيكانيّ الثاني، الذي افتتح عهداً جديداً في العلاقات بين الأديان. وتُبرز فلورنس جافيل التقاطعَ بين هذا الحدث الكنسيّ ومسار موريس بورمانس، المولودِ قبل قرنٍ من الزمن بمدينة ليل، الذي كرّس حياته للحوار حتّى وفاته عام 2017.
وتكشف كتاباتُه عن صوت ممارسٍ يقظٍ تجاه فاعلي التقارب بين الأديان، وتجاه مناهجهم ومكاسبهم وعقباتهم. وفي سياقٍ طبعه صعودُ التيّارات الإسلاميّة الراديكاليّة، يبرز الأبُ بورمانس مدافعاً ثابتاً عن حوارٍ صارمٍ ومتبصّر. أمّا القراءةُ التي تطرحها فلورنس جافيل، ذاتُ الطابع التاريخيّ واللاهوتيّ في آنٍ معاً، فتُقدّم إعادةَ قراءةٍ لستّين عاماً من العلاقات المسيحيّة-الإسلاميّة من خلال فكر بورمانس.
وتُذكّر هذه المحاضرة بأنّ التبادل بين المسيحيين والمسلمين سيرورة حيّة تستوجب إعادة النظر فيها باستمرار كي تواصل إثمارها اليوم.
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Maurice Borrmans (1925-2017), an Islamologist Defending Christian-Muslim Dialogue
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