Posted on 06/03/2006 3:08:12 PM PDT by NYer
Increasing the Catholic, Muslim dialogue
Speaking in Arabic to open his address to the Western New York Chapter of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, Bishop Edward U. Kmiec proposed the elevation of the dialogue between the Diocese of Buffalo and the local Muslim community to deal with issues of mutual concern.
"Bismallah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim. I greet you 'In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful,'" the bishop said, quoting from the first line of the Holy Quran to an audience of several hundred at the Adam's Mark Hotel in downtown Buffalo on May 20.
Noting that an effective Muslim-Catholic dialogue was encouraged by his predecessor, Archbishop Henry J. Mansell, "and diligently and effectively pursued by the Reverend Francis X. Mazur, the Ecumenical and Interfaith Director of our diocese, in the name of our local Church, " the bishop indicated that he intends to become more involved in the conversation. "What may be new is a more personal and public insertion in the process that I warmly welcome."
Dr. Khalid J. Qazi, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, said, "I am delighted and elated that the bishop has embarked on this journey with us. We will make sure that we will be there every step of the way to make sure it is a successful conversation. It will not be short term."
Across the country, similar Muslim-Catholic dialogues have been underway for about a decade. The Mid-West Dialogue published a document in Indianapolis earlier this year on the many areas that Christians and Muslims have in common. "Mutual respect allows Christians and Muslims to form lasting bonds of friendship and to cooperate in projects for the good of society, especially for those who are in great need." Father Mazur and Imam Fajri Ansari were part of that eight year dialogue, which stated, "In an environment of respect, freedom and cooperation, Christians and Muslims are able to enter into a truly inter religious dialogue in which they discuss their faith and through which they enrich and encourage one another through religious insight and practice."
The Mid-Atlantic Dialogue, which evolved from the Mid-West Dialogue, includes Father Mazur, Dr. Qazi and Imam Ansari, is addressing marriage and family living.
The next steps will not be easy, said Dr. Qazi. "The biggest challenges will be time. Most of the (Muslim) community is young. They have professional and family commitments that are very pressing, but I think this is equally important and we will find time. The second challenge will be the naysayers. Fortunately, we are a collection of people moving forward with what we want to do."
Focusing on what Muslims and Catholics have in common, he said, will be a key component to the success of the dialogue. "We are children of Abraham and there should be no difference in the perception of who we pray to. There is no difference in relation to what we want. We want a happy family life, we want a happy community life, and we want to move together for the security of the nation and human race, including the ability to put bread on the table every evening in every house," Dr. Qazi stated.
There are about 25,000 Muslims in the eight counties of Western New York.
The bishop also talked about the involvement of the diocese with the Network of Religious Communities, an inter religious and ecumenical organization of denominations, congregations, and religious organizations that have come together to discuss issues that effect the entire community. Bishop Kmiec extended an invitation to "our local community of Muslims and Catholics, and beyond that, to all religious groups in our geographical confines to build alliances within our diverse community of faith.
"We have a duty to this generation, and many to come, to witness the positive role of faith in public life. Humbled through that faith, we can, with God's help, create a more just and peaceful future for the world we live in."
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Something stinks here.
It's all the BS being spewed by this "bishop".
Tell me when a muslim "minister" does the same thing in the other direction
Please do not use potty language or references to potty language on the Religion Forum.
Sorry, RM. Things like this just tick me off.
The bishop is well meaning but naive. Thousands of other well meaning bishops tried similar approaches in the formerly 100% Christian (and some Jewish) countries of Eygpt, Syria, Algeria, Libya, etc, etc. Christians in these nations were all murdered until essentially extinct over 1400 years of Islam. The ancestors of most muslims today were once Christians.
Tell the bishop to try to build a Catholic church in Saudi Arabia.
Tell the bishop to try to bring a BIBLE into Saudi Arabia.
This is a bad idea.
Agreed. My Maronite Catholic pastor, who speaks 8 languages fluently, including Arabic, recently attended one of these 'feel good' Muslim/Catholic sessions. He quickly ascertained that its purpose was to assuage catholics that muslims were of a similar bent. When the Q & A session commenced, he raised his hand and was given the floor. He opened the English language version of the Koran and quoted from it the excerpt where 'all non Muslims are infidels' deserving death. The eyes of all assembled riveted on my pastor, then turned towards the presenter.
The Arabic speaking moderator smiled and suggested that he had 'misunderstood' the passage. Father then opened the Arabic Language version of the Koran and quoted the same citation. He assured the speaker that he understood perfectly and asked that she give the body of catholics assembled, an explanation of this passage. She turned visibly red in the face, mumbled something unintelligible and moved on to the next question. Thereafter, she ignored his raised hand completely.
Anticipating such a response, he brought along one of our Arabic speaking parishioners to pose another question. By the end of the evening, he was sufficiently satisfied that enough pearla of doubt were cast into the minds of the 'catholic sheeples' assembled.
What a blessing to have a middle-eastern, catholic pastor who is very familiar with the Koran and its lies.
It should have been like the stoning scene in Monty Python's "Life of Brian". As soon as he started quoting...
He must be a BINO.
I think this is what is most upsetting about some Catholic Bishops, Archbishops, and even some Cardinals in a number of countries all over the world.
For the last 16 years, I have noted that a number of Officials of the Catholic Church seem to have fallen in love with this Evil and Demonic Religion namely ISLAM.
Without relizing the pitfalls that are involved. When will these Folks realize what is going on.
Seems to me like only when half of the Western World is Islamsized -- will anyone get up. By that time, it might be too late.
All we can do is pray that this will not happen. These Catholic Bishops need to take a good look at what is happening in the Middle East to Ancient Communities of Catholic-Christians and then discern whether it is wise to have Inter- Religious Dialogue with Islam.
What ever happened to "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" Matthew 28:18-20
These 60s generation bishops need to get a grip and realize the Muslims want to destroy Christianity.
They need to meet some Arab Christians, Catholics and Orthodox, to see how aweful Islam treats dhimmis.
With age and maturity, I realize I got two out of three right. I don't what god the muslims worship.
Modern Islam has done nothing for the advancement of liberty or the rights of women. Only in Christian civilizations and Israel do women have any respect at all.
They are both incongruous - like water and oil. I don't see the relevancy of such dialogues when the Bishop quotes the Koran.
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