Posted on 06/06/2014 5:24:13 PM PDT by ebb tide
For the first time in history, Islamic prayers and readings from the Quran will be heard at the Vatican on Sunday, in a move by Pope Francis to usher in peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
Francis issued the invitation to Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during his visit last week to Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian Authority.
Abbas, Peres, and Francis will be joined by Jewish, Christian and Islamic religious leaders, a statement released by Peress spokesperson said, according to the Times of Israel.
Holy See officials on Friday said the evening prayers would be a pause in politics and had no political aim other than to rekindle the desire for Israeli-Palestinian peace at the political and popular level, according to the Associated Press.
Low expectations
The Vatican will broadcast a live feed of the event to viewers across the world.
However, expectations for the event should be kept low, according to Rev. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the custodian of Catholic Church property in the Holy Land.
[No-one should think] peace will suddenly break out on Monday, or that peace is any closer, AP reported him as saying.
On Friday, the Pope met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and discussed ways of promoting peace and stability in Asia the Vatican said in a statement.
True, but you know how they are.
CB: The institution is all they have. If they admit that the institution has errors they are left with nothing.
The sacramental system they've created coupled with elevating of their priesthood above the members has imposed a powerful psychological conditioning that makes it hard for members to leave. It's rather sad that among those that do leave a very high % just turn their back on God, instead of finding a more Bible centered church.
Another thing to take away from the RCC taking these baby steps towards accepting muslims as brothers (without conversion) is how easy it is for a centralized authority structure to be corrupted. I'm sure it's part of the reason Christian churches in the Apostolic Era and the immediate generations following were decentralized and congregational in structure. There are a lot of serious minded RC's who are very upset with what's going on, but in the end the vast majority of them will fall in line.
I guess in a way they are brain washed into believing the Pope and others in authority can do no wrong. No man/woman is perfect and that includes the Pope/Mary. When I see/hear something that seems wrong, I just go to the Bible.
I'm with you! When in doubt go to the Scriptures.
It's tough though for people raised in a system that does not value God's word as the rule of their faith. My wife's side of the family are former RC's. I watched the process first hand and it was hard for them to shake off the conditioning. Praise the LORD most did, but it was years and decades for some.
The players are getting in place. Incredible to be witnessing these events. False peace coming soon...?
Praise the Lord! Same for my DH’s family!
Amen, it's great to hear the good news.
I think seeing family, or friends, go through this gives you a greater appreciation how hard it is for most of them. In many cases they became "outsiders" to those that still remain RC. I also noticed that very little questioning of why occurred.
The Catholic Church has abdicated the Vatican. It is now but a matter of time, years maybe, but still but a matter of time before St Peters basilica officially becomes a mosque and they will have conquered Christianity in Europe.
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P29.HTM
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
I’ve been meaning to reply to you on this. Starting from the foundation of the Catholic Church, it doesn’t believe in the Genesis story as literal history. Yet, that puts the whole Bible to a lie, because both the Old and New Testaments include genealogies, and if Genesis isn’t taken literally, then those genealogies are wrong, making the Bible wrong. I see no reason, either, to doubt God’s Word, which created everything. God created Adam and Eve in the appearance of having lived for years, and so did He create everything else, and He didn’t have to follow the laws of nature as He did so. He could create light before there were any sources for it. He could simply go against the laws of nature at any point too. He was in the burning bush that wasn’t consumed! I came to believe in the Bible as the inspired, inerrant Word of God, with obvious history to be taken as history and metaphor to be taken as metaphor, and I would not trade that understanding for anything. Going to a church that has given up that belief would be losing out on so much to me. I could never do it.
Imho, no one should attend a church in which they do not believe.
Why are you trying to tell me what the Catholic Church does and doesn’t believe? We are all individuals. Why do you try to lump us together?
Whatever happened to the *unity* of Catholicism?
What is it now?
Catholics can pick and choose what they want to believe and what they want to reject based on preferences? Every man his own pope?
1.2 billion different interpretations of the CCC?
You allow for Catholics what you condemn in Protestantism?
Don't be a hypocrite and apply double standards.
1.2 Billion Popes!
If some people did not have "double standards", they would have no standards at all!
Hypocrisy is de rigueur for some! We see it with many of the Roman Catholics on a daily basis!
I’m talking about the official teaching of the Catholic Church, which is the official shared belief of the priesthood. There may be priests who believe differently, esp. in the Third World, but they would be out of step with most priests. I’ve heard and read priests talk about this many times and not one so far has believed that the Creation account is literal. You might ask some priests. From what I understand, it’s not a dogma, but it is what the leadership believes, and beliefs have consequences. The Cath. catechism, I believe 283, speaks of Catholicism’s belief in theistic evolution, referring to “the development of life-forms” and science revealing things about the universe’s age. And 289, I believe, refers to there being multiple authors of Genesis, rather than only Moses, which has been the position of secular, anti-Christian scholars.
If Catholicism didn't have double standards; then it would only have two.
This is either an example of supreme racism; or really poor catechism training.
I'll let others decide for themselves...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.