A retreat to fundamentalism of any kind, whether Moslem or Christian, will not solve the crisis of faith. (Pope John Paul II addressed this issue in his encyclical Faith & Reason.)

That crisis can only be addressed by Christians (and others who believe in transcendent values) demonstrating, through their lives (and relying on grace) that genuine faith and real life are not only compatible, but each requires the other.

Christians cannot answer The Da Vinci Code by resorting to Left Behind, the two polarities we are often faced with in this country,

In a panel discussion on the one year anniversary of 9/11, Msgr. Lorenzo Albacete, who directs the Catholic lay movement Communion & Liberation in the US, together with Salman Rushdie, diagnosed the “clash of civilizations” exemplified by 9/11 this way:

Albacete: “The human vocation to the Infinite had been effectively suppressed by modern criticism and, instead of disappearing, it had struck back with a deadly force. The proper response, I suggested, was not further suppression of the religious instinct, but its adequate education by insistence on the requirements of reason and a humble respect for a non-syncretistic pluralism based on true religious liberty.”

Rushdie: "…In the end, our future depends on the encounter between religion, critical reasoning, and humility."