Roman Catholics are called by their church to be a blessing to their Muslim neighbors, said Father James L. Fredericks during the annual Red Mass Feb. 4.

Father Fredericks, associate professor in the Department of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, speaking on Christianity and Islam, said the documents of the Second Vatican Council offer a guide to Catholic-Muslim relations.

The documents “offer a vision of the God who is calling all human beings into new forms of community and solidarity based on peace, tolerance and justice,” Father Fredericks said during his homily at the Mass in St. Elizabeth Church in Sacramento.

He added that the documents affirm “that the church is a kind of sacrament to this unity to which God calls us. For American Catholics, this means that we are obliged by our faith to reach out to our Muslim neighbors in a spirit of humility and service. Building bridges of cooperation and friendship with Muslims is directly related to the church’s vocation of service to the world.”

Auxiliary Bishop Richard J. Garcia celebrated the Mass for lawyers, judges, elected and appointed officials and all those working in the legal system or involved in the process of government in the Sacramento region.

The Red Mass is the traditional gathering of members of the legal profession and elected and appointed officials to invoke the aid of the spirit of God in their deliberations for the year to come.

Father Fredericks noted that American Catholics, after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, “should be able to appreciate what their Muslim neighbors are going through right now.”

“Like Catholics, Muslims come from a religious tradition rich in spiritual insight, but ill-equipped by the vicissitudes of history for dealing with the intrusive behavior of the modern world,” he said. “In America, democracy has been a blessing and a benefit to Catholics. I predict that Muslims will come to the same conclusion.”

The Red Mass was co-sponsored by the Diocese of Sacramento and the St. Thomas More Society of Sacramento, a Catholic lawyers’ group dedicated to mutual support, spiritual growth and interfaith understanding.

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