Oct.
3, 2013

Contact
Monsignor Bernard McGarty at 608-796-3788 or Rabbi Simcha Prombaum at
608-784-2708 or csoarabbi@gmail.com.

MSGR. BERNARD MCGARTY AND RABBI
SIMCHA PROMBAUM TO SHARE INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE ON FAITH AND REASON AT WEBER
CENTER OCT. 21

LA CROSSE, Wis.— Msgr. Bernard McGarty and Rabbi Simcha
Prombaum will be at the Weber Center later this month discussing death, atheism,
euthanasia, science, money, poverty, the holocaust, the future of religion, and
other pressing societal issues as the two friends and prominent religious
leaders share the stage to conduct an interreligious dialogue.

Scheduled for Monday, Oct 21 at 6:30
p.m., the event features McGarty, Visiting Scholar of Ecumenical Studies at
Viterbo University, and Prombaum, Rabbi at Congregational Sons of Abraham. The
conversation will be facilitated by Viterbo University President Rick Artman.

The context for the conversations
comes from the recently published book, On
Heaven and Earth, that contains 29 dialogues that took place in Buenos
Aires, Argentina, on faith and reason featuring Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio
(now Pope Francis) and Rabbi Abraham Skorka, a Jewish intellectual and
biophysicist. The two shared their thoughts on religion, reason, and the
challenges the world faces in the 21st century.

“The intimacy of the Weber Center is
a perfect place to hold our conversations,” said Msgr. McGarty. “Simcha and I
have been friends for years and have a deep appreciation for each other and a
real spiritual love.”

McGarty emphasized that despite the
controversial nature of the topics, Pope Francis and Rabbi Skorka were able to
discuss how faith, reason and the willingness to share a conversation could
lead to greater understanding on difficult issues. “Neither was trying to
conquer one another and the resulting dialogues are incredibly rich.”

Prombaum and McGarty plan to follow
the same formula.

“These are tremendously important
topics and they should be important to everyone,” Prombaum said. “Our beliefs
on death, religion, poverty, money, atheism, and so on says a lot about the way
people live, how they look at the world, and our relations with others.”

The program is free and open to the
public. No reservations are required and all seating will be general admission.

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