Kissing the Koran
Posted on 05/14/2004 4:44:10 PM PDT by ambrose
Vatican calls for openness to Muslim immigrants
By VICTOR L. SIMPSON
Associated Press
VATICAN CITY ? Catholics should welcome Muslim immigrants without prejudice, and Muslims must also respect the values of a democracy - including equality between men and women, the Vatican said Friday.
The issue of Christian-Muslim relations was raised in a document on worldwide migration, which the Vatican called "the vastest movement people of all times" involving some 200 million.
The document urged Catholics to be cautious about considering the idea of marrying a Muslim - repeating a long-standing Roman Catholic policy toward mixed marriages - as Muslims represent a new wave of immigrants to predominantly Christian countries.
It expressed hope for a "growing awareness" among Muslims that "fundamental liberties, the inviolable rights of the person, the equal dignity of man and woman, the democratic principle of government and the healthy lay character of the state are principles that cannot be surrendered."
It also denounced racism and xenophobia, saying that immigration should provoke solidarity and not fear.
"Today, especially in certain countries, there is a high or growing percentage of Muslim immigrants, for whom this Pontifical Council also expresses its solicitude."
It noted the Vatican has previously called for a "purification of memory regarding past misunderstandings, to cultivate common values and to clarify and respect diversity, but without renouncing Christian principles."
"It is a question of distinguishing between what can be and cannot be shared in the religious doctrines and practices and in the moral laws of Islam."
Besides points of agreements on belief in God, daily prayer and the fighting against injustice and oppression, the document said there were differences - "some of which have to do with legitimate acquisitions of modern life and thought."
The 75-page document by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People did not single out specific countries, but Western Europe has been grappling with the integration of a growing number of Muslim immigrants in recent years.
Regarding relations with other faiths, the document said churches should not be made available to non-Christians and that Catholic schools must not renounce their "Christian-orientated" programs.
At the same time, the document, which included instructions for dioceses dealing with immigrants, stressed the need for reciprocity between Christians and people of other faiths.
"In this respect we should also recall the numerous Christian migrants in lands where the majority of the population is not Christian and where the right to religious freedom is severely restricted or repressed," it said.
Vatican Warns Catholics Against Marrying Muslims
Fri May 14, 2004 12:43 PM ET
By Shasta Darlington
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican warned Catholic women on Friday to think hard before marrying a Muslim and urged Muslims to show more respect for human rights, gender equality and democracy.
Calling women "the least protected member of the Muslim family," it spoke of the "bitter experience" western Catholics had with Muslim husbands, especially if they married outside the Islamic world and later moved to his country of origin.
The comments in a document about migrants around the world were preceded by remarks about points of agreement between Christians and Muslims but they seemed likely to fuel mistrust between the world's two largest religions.
The document said the Church discouraged marriages between believers in traditionally Catholic countries and non-Christian migrants.
It hoped Muslims would show "a growing awareness that fundamental liberties, the inviolable rights of the person, the equal dignity of man and woman, the democratic principle of government and the healthy lay character of the state are principles that cannot be surrendered."
When a Catholic woman and Muslim man wanted to marry, it said, "bitter experience teaches us that a particularly careful and in-depth preparation is called for."
It said one possible problem was with Muslim in-laws and advised future mothers that they must insist on Church policy that children born of a mixed marriage be baptized and brought up as Catholics.
If the marriage is registered in the consulate of a Muslim country, the document said, the Catholic must be careful not to sign a document or swear an oath including the shahada, the Islamic profession of faith, which would amount to converting.
DIFFERENT APPROACHES
The document highlighted the contrasting approaches the Vatican has taken in recent years toward Islam, which has emerged as a strong rival for souls, especially in Africa.
Pope John Paul has broken ground in dialogue with Muslims and even prayed in a mosque in Damascus. He won plaudits in the Muslim world for his strong opposition to the Iraq war.
But Vatican officials and leading Catholic prelates have expressed increasingly critical views about the spread of Islam and the challenge this poses for Catholicism.
The Vatican's top theologian, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, said earlier this week the West "no longer loves itself" and so was unable to respond to the challenge of Islam, which was growing because it expressed "greater spiritual energy."
The migration document also discouraged churches from letting non-Christians use their places of worship.
This issue arose last month when Muslims in Spain asked to be able to pray in Cordoba cathedral, which was once a mosque. A senior Vatican official said this would be "problematic."
I would suggest that you get acquainted with the Fatima prophecies. The apostasy of the Catholic clerical class was foretold by the Virgin to the Blessed Children. Sister Lucia said that the Church will experience a period of heresy unlike anything known for a thousand years. This will undermine Holy Mother Church and lead to persecutions in such a way that the Church won't recover until the second coming. And it will be brought upon the Church by the very people expected to protect the Deposit of Faith; the clerical class.
And the great tragedy has already begun with the egregious doctrinal errors foisted upon the Church by Vatican II.
IMO, any government that allows Muslim immigrants should grant all non-Muslim citizens a sidearm of their choice and 50 rounds of ammunition. For each additional Muslim immigrant, each non-Muslim citizen should receive an additional 50 rounds of ammunition. In time, the ammo will be put to good use.
Ten years can change quite a lot. Have a look at this:
***********
Pope John Paul II (St. Peter's Square, Sunday, April 24 1994):
"May prayer strengthen us for the spiritual battle we are told about in the Letter to the Ephesians: "Draw strength from the Lord and from His mighty power" (Ephesians 6:10). The Book of Revelation refers to this same battle, recalling before our eyes the image of St. Michael the Archangel (Revelation 12:7). Pope Leo XIII certainly had a very vivid recollection of this scene when, at the end of the last century, he introduced a special prayer to St. Michael throughout the Church. Although this prayer is no longer recited at the end of Mass, I ask everyone not to forget it and to recite it to obtain help in the battle against forces of darkness and against the spirit of this world."
You guys need to make up your minds.
The integrists who follow the SSPX say that no doctrine was proclaimed at Vatican II.
Which is it?
Muslims love to use machetes and knives against Infidels. The best defense for that is a bullet, as proven by Indiana Jones.
Agreed. IMO, the Pope is being influenced by his "handlers".
"..the Vatican said Friday"
Issued forth in the midst of mass slaughter in Kano, Nigeria.
Sickening.
We need reciprocity - for every mosque build in a Christian country, one church will be allowed to be built in Muslim country. Let us start with Saudi Arabia.
What the heck, let us start exchange of ideas - one Christian person will read the Koran and one Muslim will read the New Testament.
Kissing the Koran
Disgusting...
he may as well have kissed the Satanic Bible.
“Hundreds of people were killed,” said Christian leader Mark Amani. “Some corpses were burned in wells. Even little children were killed. The bodies of pregnant women were ripped open and their bodies burned,”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1135746/posts?page=14
Islam:
As wicked as it seems.
Two hundred million Muslims are migrating around?? Scary! I am a Catholic but I will take this 'with a grain of salt'!!
I left years ago, and everything that comes out of the Vatican or the American dioceses justifies my decision.
it's very hard to find "defenders of the faith"...Even in the Vatican. Very discouraging.
Huh? Where should I begin?????
I think they are acting within their purpose to say they expect other cultures to behave, it's just silly to think that other cultures will obey them.
The Vatican may as well spit into the wind as to think their Western morality will become the law of Islam.
Hello Bigg Red.
Our God is your God. There is only one God and to say otherwise means that you have no faith. Muslims are forbidden to kill innocent people and any "Muslim" who does this is clearly in the wrong and has no faith at the time of this MONUMENTAL transgression.
Ever heard of a Christian that called himself or herself a Christian committing murder? Sexual molestation? Adultery?
A "Muslim" who kills an innocent has no faith at the time of their MONUMENTAL transgression just like a "priest" who molests a child has no faith at the time of his MONUMENTAL transgression.
Surely with an adult mind you can admit that anyone can claim that they are a Christian, Muslim or Jew and then lead a life that completely contradicts that label?
You also said that 'besides points of agreements on belief in God..." but you left out so many other similarities which are listed in the Vatican's Ponifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People titled, "Erga migrantes caritas Christi" or "The love of Christ towards migrants". The similarities they cite are as follows: "...daily prayer, fasting, alms-giving, pilgrimage, asceticism to dominate the passions, and the fight against injustice and oppression are common values to be found...".
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