Who is he being hailed by? Osama Bin Laden?
Color me dubious. I'd like to see something other than al-Reuters on this subject.
I hope is just lying back to liars.....
Our landlord almost kicked us out of our house in Kabul because we installed the toilet in the most sensible way, in which the backside faces Mecca. But it's just the way we like it.
I would just love to know the content of his prayer. Was it this? "Lord, help these people realize that Islam is a sham and come to you. Amen."
If he faced Mecca and prayed, did he fart in the general direction of the West too?
Catholics, when praying in Church, also face east. This is much ado about nothing.
Mosques are oriented toward Mecca....it would be natural, and merely polite in any house of worship (term used loosely) regardless of faith, to face the front of the building. Imagine an imam at a Christian state funeral in any western nation turning toward the back or side of the church so he could pray toward Mecca. It would have been rude for the Pope to face any other direction.
When I visited Istanbul years ago, we toured the Blue Mosque and St. Sofia's. Fascinating places. And yes, we women were required to cover our shoulders and we all had to take off our shoes. Some objected, but in my view, we were guests and as such, we should do our best not to offend our hosts -- emulating their traditions, if they don't cause any harm to us personally, seemed to be the right thing to do.
Of course, I'm reasonably sure that the Pope's gestures were exercises in politics and plain old schmoozing. But there was no harm in what he did and maybe he scored a few points. Only the radical fundamentalists would find fault.
It's brilliant PR. He's in Turkey to challenge the state's inequal treatment of religions, but to do so in a genuine and non-threatening way. It takes a big man to make such a gesture. The message being, "If the Catholic pope can be respectful of Islam, why can't we be respectful of Catholics?"
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No, the Pope wasn't facing toward Mecca! The truth is that he looked up and saw a big cloud shaped like the Virgin Mary and he was praying to the magic cloud! I swear, the press just can not get anything right! |
Well, if the "grand mufti" said it, then it must be true.
Now back to reality. In order for the Pope to "pray towards Mecca" from Turkey, he must face Jerusalem too, and Jerusalem is closer to Turkey than Saudi Arabia. Traditionally, the Catholic Church in the West always built its Tabernacle and altar railings facing east, TOWARDS JERUSALEM. This was done so the priest and the congregation could face towards the Holy City where Christ was crucified, died and was Resurrected. This Pope is no fool, he is an incredibly brave soul to walk into the teeth of the devil and pray to Christ for the conversion of islam.
Furthermore, as the "grand mufti" stated, the Pope did not bow to Mecca, he was standing. If the Pope was standing when praying, it is very misleading to claim he was doing as the "muslims do when praying aright", for muslims pray with their faces in the dirt. Masses, (and Protestant 'services'), have the priest, (or minister) standing during the liturgy and leading the congregation in prayer, it has always been like this. And for Catholic priests it has always been that they face towards Jerusalem when praying. When you look at a map of the middle east you will discover that the Pope was indeed facing towards Jerusalem, with Mecca in the same direction but far beyond.
This incredibly brave pope was standing in the pit of Hell and immitating our Blessed Lord Jesus. For Jesus too descended into Hell to take saved souls up to Heaven; and I am certain that the Pope was praying to Christ for the conversion of islam.
It is just far too easy for the ignorant to condemn the Catholic Church and her Popes; they simply do not know their Christian history and roots, their Christian traditions. The Pope will never defend himself against his detractors and be put "on the spot", he will let those who are ignorant come to find the truth. But I hope this little post will clear things up a bit for those who became fearful at what this unbelievably misleading article said.
Reuters is just a steaming pile. They have zero shame.
So on a spherical planet, if one is "facing" in one direction, one is also anti facing in the other.
And they still haven't figured out why worshiping the moon is so hysterical!!
Catholic can pray any direction they want.. facing Mecca or any other direction is irrellevant.... God does not care... Mohommed, a sicophant who butchered his way across the globe did, but God does not.