Father James, a Catholic priest who serves as director of the Peace Center of the Dominican Order in Pakistan, was awarded his degree by the Norway-based International Gospel Mission Nov. 23 upon the recommendation of the executive board and faculty of the Pakistan Theological Seminary. More than 400 guests (including his mother, pictured above) attended a ceremony in Lahore, Pakistan conferring the degree on Father Channan.
The degree recognizes Father James’s apostolates, or ministries, in the fields of evangelization, Christian/Muslim/interfaith dialogue, ecumenism and peacebuilding – activities noted by the nation of Pakistan earlier this year, which awarded Father James its 2012 Peace Award.
URI Pakistan celebrated its National Conference from Nov. 16-18, 2012. The event included a sharing of Cooperation Circle success stories, strengths and weaknesses, as well as a discussion of challenges, areas of growth and plans for the coming year. Pakistan is home to 28 URI Coordinators and two newly-elected Global Council trustees, Zubair Ahmed Farooq – who attended the Nov. 23 ceremony – and Nasir Mehmood Saleemi.
