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 Peres’s 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.
I just looked at the source of your post. Do you really believe this coming from Arabia?
Of course it would be biased.
Muslim prayers anywhere in the Vatican is just beyond foolish.
Pope Francis must be nuts.
Muslim prayers anywhere in the Vatican is just beyond foolish.
Pope Francis must be nuts.
You and me both. Pope Loose Cannon has jumped the shark.
This goes WAAAYYYYY beyond `must make nice with muzzies so maybe they won’t persecute Christians’ rationalizing.
I wonder if His Holiness is aware of muzzies’ “once we pray in it, we own it” teaching?
Lord, I miss the last pope.
“In the last days, you will be dependent solely on your relationship with God.”
Agreed. Got my Bible in one hand & my .45 in the other. Some teach that if you wish to speak to God you have to go through the operator.
I believe in dialing direct.
When I was Democrat in my 20’s and a Christian without very much knowledge of the Lord (so that I lived as a lesbian) I thought “peace in the Middle East” was possible by human peace-making. Then I read all of God’s Word (and believed it) and came to know that it isn’t. And I know not to pray with unbelievers. I’m not surprised at this point, though, that the Pope would. I believe John Paul II did, too, IIRC.
I would LOVE to see some/any imam in the Vatican. WHAT a crushing blow to Islam.
In the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, which we visited in the early-mid 1980's, there is a very large and ornate holder, which, it is said, holds the head of St. John the Baptist.
From Google: Sheltered inside the mosque is the small chapel and shrine of John the Baptist (Prophet Yahia to the Muslims) where tradition holds that the head of John the baptist is buried. One legend says that when the church was demolished, his head was found underneath, complete with skin and hair. This head is believed by some to possess magical powers and continues to be the focus of the Mandaeans' annual pilgrimage, when they press their foreheads against the metal grill of the shrine and reportedly experience prophetic visions.
What I saw there was the shrine, a very large, tall, beautiful and ornate holder--of St. John's head--and a circle of a half dozen imams (or so) around the shrine. These holy men PRAY there (changing shifts, of course) 24/7 because the Muslims considered St. John a very holy man.
They have been doing that for centuries.
The last Pope is still around and available.
What in the heck is “Arabia”? Are you making stuff up?
Tilting at windmills again.
I guess that’s why JP II invoked St John the Baptist to protect Islam!
I thought the whole thing was weird, but those imams are STILL praying around what THEY consider to be St. John's head.
I STILL think it's weird.
They would see it as a victory.
The church is supposed to be Jehovah's house....not Allah's.
But perhaps this does give some clarity on the cathechism where it says the catholics and muslims both adore the one, merciful God.
From the catechism of the roman 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."
If this is not the intent of this section in the catechism, then it needs to be reworded to remove the ambiguity.
The Israelis are all over it.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/181192
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/181400
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/vatican-israel-palestine-prayer-meeting-june-23914615
You have a weird habit of posting original links back to the original poster who posted the link.
What’s up with that?
I agree. And this guy is supposed to be the vicar of Christ, the bishop of Rome and all of the other high sounding titles of the pope.
If we put this in the proper perspective, would Christ allow Satan to sit at the right hand of the Father and offer a prayer??
Any claim the catholic church had on being the true church just went right out the window.
which letter is that in Revelation?…Laodecia? Thyatira? Maybe Thyatira.
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