Posted on 11/20/2004 7:52:12 PM PST by Destro
Persecuted Christians
(Filed: 20/11/2004)
Cardinal Ratzinger, the Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is perhaps the only man alive of whom it might be said that he is more Catholic than the Pope. Even though his enemies caricature him as the most bigoted of grand inquisitors, he knows John Paul II like nobody else. Among the college of cardinals, he is one of the few likely successors who is the ailing pontiff's intellectual equal. His long interview in yesterday's La Repubblica is thus an authentic reflection of the consensus inside the Vatican. It makes for disturbing reading.
The cardinal sees Europe as a continent in the grip of a demographic and spiritual crisis. A falling birthrate is "altering the ethnic composition of Europe", as Muslim immigration transforms the ancient heartlands of Christendom. Churches are emptying as Christian culture is threatened by an "aggressive secularism, even an intolerant one". This new secularism is no longer neutral, but hostile to public manifestations of Christianity, which is being marginalised and privatised. "We must defend religious freedom against the imposition of an ideology that is being presented as if it were the only voice of rationality, whereas it is only the expression of a narrow rationalism."
The incident that occasioned such anguish is the case of Rocco Buttiglione, who was dropped from the European Commission merely for refusing to deny his Catholicism, in the private rather than the public sphere. For Cardinal Ratzinger, the implication is that anybody who defends Christian orthodoxy is now excluded from public life. He cites the example of a Protestant pastor in Sweden who was imprisoned for a month for preaching against homosexuality. Christianity has come full circle since the days of its persecution under the Roman Empire: an established Church no longer, it is now once again a persecuted band of the faithful.
If the Cardinal's grim diagnosis is accurate, then the logic of the Christian predicament points towards ecumenical unity. The Vatican has sometimes spoken as if non-Catholic churches were mere sects. Yet the fastest-growing forms of Christianity are the evangelical movements emanating from America. The Catholic Church cannot lead the "struggle" against secularism unless its leaders can acknowledge the sufferings and merits of their fellow Christians. If Cardinal Ratzinger became Pope, it is safe to assume that the reconversion of Europe would be his aim. But is this guardian of Vatican orthodoxy ready to consider compromise on matters of doctrine for the sake of a united Christian front against secularism and jihad? It is an enticing prospect.
The Serbs fought back and the forces of the anti-Christ sent his minions after them.
read the reviews and biography (online) of Father Martin...all that will help you know the man before you read what he had to say...
of course it is faith because I have (not do I need) any proof.
Proof would destroy the power of faith.
Faith is that which a wife has in an honest husband...
Proof is that which is sought by a lawyer or an accountant.
Jesus is honest...no audit is needed.
If this is not true...we are all in deep trouble...but, thank God, there is truth in this world and the world to come.
Ping.
Once again, people confuse Catholicism with Christianity. Come on, people, think...
Was there ever an African Pope before?
I'm not Catholic, but this is right on the money. The churches - Catholic and Protestant alike - sometimes invite their own marginalization by allowing themselves to be driven by feeling and emotion rather than truth. The seeker-sensitive movement and contemporary Christian music are perfect examples of a religion reshaped in the image of man, built on the shifting sand of human taste rather than the firm rock of God's Word.
That is one fact that bolsters these secularists' smug a priori assumptions that they are the purveyors of ultimate truth.
Wrong. We are to defend the Gospel of Jesus. Jesus told us to go and preach the Gospel to all nations, and to be willing to suffer and die for His name.
No where does the Bible tell us to defend or fight for 'religious freedom'. It is a misapplication of our lives to fight for our 'rights'. Those who fight for their 'right' will crumble spiritually once their 'rights' are taken away. Jesus said, "Bless are you when you are persecuted for My Name's sake."
Do you by African mean Black? North Africa is still part of Africa and produced great Christian Fathers.
bttt
Yes, I was wonder if there were Black African Popes? I know North Africa has produced great Christian leaders and thinkers like St. Augustine.
The African Popes
Pope Saint Victor 1 (189-199 CE) A North African, Victor was the fifteenth pope. He is buried near the body of the apostle Peter, the first pope, in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. His feast day is July 28th.
Pope Saint Miliades 1 (311-314 CE) Not much is known of Miliades, who was born in Africa but died in Rome. He is buried on the famous Appian Way. His feast day is December 10th.
Pope Saint Gelasius 1 (492-496 CE) Born in Rome of African parents, Gelasius was a member of the Roman clergy from youth. Reportedly the most active of African popes, working to exile the Manicheans and pagans, and is author of a famous letter to the Byzantine emperor, Anastasias. His feast day is November 21st.
If you are absing it on race/color - then as far as I know there has never been a black Pope in Rome. The patriarchs of Alexandria are also called Popes and have been since Apostolic times but their popes were mostly Alexandrians so not blacks there as well.
Oh PLEASE!!!!!!!!! LOL
He does not mean "African" but "Black". Pope Victor was a Latin of North Africa - the other two Popes were Greeks from North Africa.
Oh OK. Somehow I kind of thought there was a Black pope. I have heard that St. Augustine may have some had Black ancestry in him.
There is a tendancy to think in modern times that African = Black.
It doesn't matter to me, but apparently from what I read it matters to some Catholics in this country. I put the reference page here:
http://www.africana.com/articles/daily/bw20031118pope.asp
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