[Unam Sanctam]

This Koran incident has often been raised on these threads, so I thought I would post this lucid analysis thereof.

[Full Court]

How the Koran views Mary;

(Koran 19:23) And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree: She (Mary) cried (in her anguish): "Ah! would that I had died before this..."

[Full Court]

It certainly wouldn't be that he believes in Islam or believes that Islam is on a par with Christianity. If he believed either of these two things then he (a) wouldn't be the earthly head of the Christian faith and (b) wouldn't have approved the publication of Dominus Iesus, which asserts the salvific universality of Jesus Christ and the Church.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

841 The Church's relationship with the Muslims. "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator,
in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims;
these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God,
mankind's judge on the last day." 330

[livius]

This to me was one of the worst moments in the papacy of JPII.

However, I think he may have been mislead. He was older at the time and perhaps he thought this was a copy of the Gospels or the OT given to him as a sign of respect. Or he may have been a victim of what another writer referred to as "sentimental ecumenism," that is, we all believe in some kind of God, so yours is as good as mine. JPII was the pope of the scandalous Assisi conferences, after all, so perhaps this was part of his thinking.

In any case, the writer was on target: this was not an official statement of any kind, it was probably a misguided gesture of kindness, and we should not obssess on it.

[Salvation]

I'm going to be posting this link at all the junctures that bring up the life and death of John Paul II -- hope it is OK with you.

John Paul II Gallery of Pictures [Photos]

[Conservative til I die]

Cue the knuckledraggers.

[steadfastconservative]

It is mighty big of Jim Aikin to concede that John Paul II may have had good motives when he kissed the Koran. But his willingness to point out that the pope made a mistake in doing so is typical of the sanctimonious traditionalists who are always more Catholic than the pope.

[Ad Orientam]

I am a great admirer of +John Paul II. That said he did some things which caused me to shudder. I know that many conservative Catholics (and Orthodox) were disturbed by the bizarre interfaith services at Assisi and the Koran incident. But even the greatest of saints were not perfect. We need to look at the whole picture when judging his legacy.

[marshmallow]

I interpret his kissing of the Koran in exactly the same way in which I interpret his habitual kissing of the ground when he visited a foreign country; as a humble gesture of respect to all men of goodwill.

It should not be taken as an indication of approval for everything contained within.

John Paul II kissed the ground every time he visited America but that does not imply Papal approval of abortion on demand, the slaughter of 30 million unborn, our crazy pro-homosexual social engineering and our ever expanding use and dissemination of pornography.

[DoctorMichael]

The Pope and the Koran
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1130002/posts

[El Cid]

Spitting on it, but since his eyes were failing he wanted to make sure he didn't miss?