Just What The Hell Were You Thinking?

Vatican: 'People obsessed by Islam''We mustn't get the impression there are first-class, second-class religions'
Posted: June 10, 2008
WorldNetDaily

The Vatican says the world is focusing on Islam to the exclusion of other faiths, and there needs to be a balance among the various belief systems when issues are discussed.

"Yes, the people are obsessed by Islam. For example I'm going to India next month and I want to give this message that all religions are equal. Sometimes there are priorities because of particular situations, but we mustn't get the impression there are first class religions and second class religions," said Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue.

His comments focused on the council's recent meetings concerning new guidelines for interfaith dialogue and were in an interview with Terrasanta.net, a Website of the Holy Land Review, published by a U.S. church organization. He said the Catholic Church must "have regard for all religions."

"What was interesting about our discussions was that we did not concentrate on Islam because in a way we are being held hostage by Islam a little bit," he said. "Islam is very important, but there are also other great Asiatic religious traditions. Islam is one religion."

According to the United Kingdom Mail newspaper, Pope Benedict XVI has scheduled an unprecedented Catholic-Muslim meeting in October.

Tauran said the new guidelines are intended to be "a kind of road map for priests, bishops and ordinary brothers and sisters."

Christians, he said "have many things in common with other believers – for example that we all believe in one God, that we profess the same sacredness of life, the necessity of fraternity, the experience of prayer."

But he said while Christians and the Catholic Church are working to recognize and grant consideration to Muslims, societies dominated by Islam are failing completely to reciprocate.
"What is good for me is good for the other, so if it's possible for Muslims to have a mosque in the West, we should have the same in Muslim countries. This is not the case in many countries," he said, specifically citing Saudi Arabia.

One success story has been in Qatar, where he said he recently celebrated mass at a new church in Doha.

"It is a very impressive building. Now we're going to have a school there run by nuns. So this is an example of very good inter-religious dialogue with very concrete effects. In Saudi Arabia that is not the case yet," he said.

Tauran said that there are indications Saudi officials may be willing to meet with Christians and Jews, but talk of actually building a church in Saudi Arabia is premature.

"We don't have precise information about what the [Saudi] king has in mind, but I suppose it will be a gradual evolution, for example the possibility to celebrate services in hotels, in embassies," Tauran said.

The interfaith guidelines are being developed now, he said, because there are a lot of plans and initiatives around the world "and we have to put them into some order."
He reserved much of his criticism for the fact Islam does not treat other religions as Islam is treated.

"The purpose of interreligious dialogue is to know the other better in order to understand the content of his faith, and of course the Holy Father is insisting on freedom of religion, freedom to have a religion and not to have one, and the freedom to change religion. This is something also stated in international law, and of course for the Muslims, it's not the same," he said.
He also noted that disputes in the Holy Land are far from a resolution, largely because of the attitudes of those involved.

"And also Jews and Muslims have more of an 'eye for eye' mentality than one of forgiveness," the interviewer asked.

"Yes," was Tauran's succinct reply.

Ummm... I Think I've Figured Out Where The Problem Is
Golly, "Cardinal against Cardinal". Where have I heard that before?

Besides the good folks at Reuters not really knowing what they're talking about, the comments by Cardinal Tauran perfectly illustrate how little of even the basics of Catholicism the good Cardinal understands.

We here at The Lair have posted about the good Cardinal in the past. To refresh any memories, he's the same guy who stated "I'm going to India next month and I want to give this message that all religions are equal."Interesting... but in the meantime, enjoy this bit of drivel from Reuters; (Emphasis and comments mine) Vatican thanks Muslims for returning God to Europe
(First of all, Cardinal Tauran isn't "The Vatican". He's the head of a rather obscure and insignificant Council.)By Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor

PARIS (Reuters) - A senior Vatican cardinal has thanked Muslims for bringing God back into the public sphere in Europe and said believers of different faiths had no option but to engage in interreligious dialogue. (I don't know what "God" the Cardinal worships, but mine is The Holy Trinity. Moslems deny the Divinity of Christ, as well as the complete existance of The Holy Ghost.)

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the Catholic Church's department for interfaith contacts, said religion was now talked and written about more than ever before in today's Europe. (If one considers the post-Vatican II abandonment of Catholicism in Europe, as well as certain Cardinals smooching every moslem ass in a 3,000 mile blast radius as "interfaith contact"... then he's right.)

"It's thanks to the Muslims," he said in a speech printed in Friday's L'Osservatore Romano, the official daily of the Vatican. "Muslims, having become a significant minority in Europe, were the ones who demanded space for God in society." (Does burning down large sections of Paris, moslem youths wearing shirts that boldly proclaim "2025 - That's When We Take Over", and carving off peoples heads count as demanding space for God?)

Vatican officials have long bemoaned the secularisation of Europe, where church attendance has dwindled dramatically in recent decades, and urged a return to its historically Christian roots. But Tauran said no society had only one faith. (Until the great and sweeping improvements of Vatican II, that is.)

"We live in multicultural and multireligious societies, that's obvious," he told a meeting of Catholic theologians in Naples. "There is no civilisation that is religiously pure." (We have met the enemy, and they are us.)

One "Religion" Is Just As Good As The Other...
Right?

This is an amazing article from Catholic News. I ask you read the whole thing. The convert interviews has summed up just how badly religious indifference has infected The Church; (Emphasis and comments mine) Muslim convert to Catholicism tells pope Islam is not inherently good
By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Muslim-born journalist baptized by Pope Benedict XVI at Easter asked the pope to tell his top aide for relations with Muslims that Islam is not an intrinsically good religion and that Islamic terrorism is not the result of a minority gone astray.

As the Vatican was preparing to host the first meeting of the Catholic-Muslim Forum Nov. 4-6, Magdi Allam, a longtime critic of the Muslim faith of his parents, issued an open letter to Pope Benedict that included criticism of Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

In the letter, posted on his Web site Oct. 20, Allam said he wanted to tell the pope of his concern for "the serious religious and ethical straying that has infiltrated and spread within the heart of the church."

He told the pope that it "is vital for the common good of the Catholic Church, the general interest of Christianity and of Western civilization itself" that the pope make a pronouncement in "a clear and binding way" on the question of whether Islam is a valid religion.

The Catholic Church's dialogue with Islam is based on the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions ("Nostra Aetate"), which urged esteem for Muslims because "they adore the one God," strive to follow his will, recognize Jesus as a prophet, honor his mother, Mary, "value the moral life and worship God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting." (Actually, the line "they adore the one God" is misleading. The correct teaching of The Church towards the moslems is that they "acknowledge the Creator" and that they "profess and hold the faith of Abraham". But let's not forget that they also deny the divinity of Christ, and the complete existence of The Holy Ghost. So no... we don't worship "the same God" as the moslems. Oh, and by the way, Nostra Aetate is not a dogmatic pronouncement, nor is it binding under pain of sin.)

The council called on Catholics and Muslims "to work sincerely for mutual understanding" and for social justice, moral values, peace and freedom.

Allam told Pope Benedict he specifically objected to Cardinal Tauran telling a conference in August that Islam itself promotes peace but that "'some believers' have 'betrayed their faith,'" using it as a pretext for violence.

"The objective reality, I tell you with all sincerity and animated by a constructive intent, is exactly the opposite of what Cardinal Tauran imagines," Allam told the pope. "Islamic extremism and terrorism are the mature fruit" of following "the sayings of the Quran and the thought and action of Mohammed."

Allam said he was writing with the "deference of a sincere believer" in Christianity and as a "strenuous protagonist, witness and builder of Christian civilization."

After Pope Benedict baptized Allam March 22 during the Easter Vigil and Allam used his newspaper column and interviews to condemn Islam, the Vatican spokesman, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, said that when the Catholic Church welcomes a new member it does not mean it accepts his opinions on every subject. (Magdi Allam has officially been thrown under the bus.)

Baptism is a recognition that the person entering the church "has freely and sincerely accepted the Christian faith in its fundamental articles" as expressed in the creed, Father Lombardi had said.

"Of course, believers are free to maintain their own ideas on a vast range of questions and problems on which legitimate pluralism exists among Christians," he said. (Does that also include Magdi Allam's assertion that islam in evil?)

With The Faith (And Common Sense) Of A Convert
Too bad the bishops of England & Wales don't get it
Helmet tip to Adrienne

WARNING!! Harsh language alert!

These are simply amazing times we live in, aren't they?

On one side of Eurabia, we have the Council Of Wimps And Retreatists Determined to Surrender (COWARDS), otherwise known as the alleged Catholic Bishops of England & Wales, who've just come out in favor of... get ready for this bullshit - Multi-faith prayer rooms 'should be in Catholic schools'
Catholic schools should set aside multi-faith prayer rooms to accommodate Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh students, according to guidance.

A document issued by the Catholic Education Service said facilities for other faiths should be made available in all primary and secondary schools if possible.

Catholic schools in England and Wales should also consider adapting toilet facilities to accommodate ritual cleansing, the document said.The guidance said schools should consider putting aside a prayer room "if reasonably practicable" for use by staff and pupils from other faiths

Existing toilet facilities might be adapted to accommodate individual ritual cleansing "which is sometimes part of religious lifestyle and worship", it recommended.Ahhh... but from a saner (and a damn sight more Catholic) corner of vanishing Europe, we have this bit of heartening news - Muslim convert turns to politics in Italy

ROME -- An Egyptian-born writer who renounced Islam and was baptized by Pope Benedict XVI said Sunday that he has formed a political party that would enter candidates in next year's EU elections.

Magdi Cristiano Allam said his "Protagonists for Christian Europe" party would work to defend Europe's Christian values, which he sees threatened by secularism and moral relativism. He said his new party would be open to people of all faiths and would be close to the conservative European People's Party.

Allam built his career in Italy as commentator and book author attacking Islamic extremism and supporting Israel.

In March, Allam angered some in the Muslim world with a high-profile conversion during an Easter vigil service led by the pope in St. Peter's Basilica.

Allam, who took the name Cristiano upon converting, has credited Benedict with being instrumental in his decision to become a Catholic and has said the pope had baptized him to support freedom of religion.

The 56-year-old Allam has lived most of his adult life in Italy, becoming a citizen in 1986. In recent years he was given a police escort after receiving death threats from radical Islamic groups.And Brother Cristiano is the very same one who recently stated; Muslim convert to Catholicism tells pope Islam is not inherently good

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Muslim-born journalist baptized by Pope Benedict XVI at Easter asked the pope to tell his top aide for relations with Muslims that Islam is not an intrinsically good religion and that Islamic terrorism is not the result of a minority gone astray.

As the Vatican was preparing to host the first meeting of the Catholic-Muslim Forum Nov. 4-6, Magdi Allam, a longtime critic of the Muslim faith of his parents, issued an open letter to Pope Benedict that included criticism of Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

In the letter, posted on his Web site Oct. 20, Allam said he wanted to tell the pope of his concern for "the serious religious and ethical straying that has infiltrated and spread within the heart of the church."

"The objective reality, I tell you with all sincerity and animated by a constructive intent, is exactly the opposite of what Cardinal Tauran imagines," Allam told the pope. "Islamic extremism and terrorism are the mature fruit" of following "the sayings of the Quran and the thought and action of Mohammed."...Hell, any chance he can get on the bottom of the ticket with Bobby Jindal in 2012?

So That's What It's Like To Live In An Ivory Tower
It must be nice to be so absolutely and utterly clueless

I can't read the news on any given day without finding out that Catholics have been massacred by moslems in Iraq; a 12-yr-old Catholic girl in Pakistan was kidnapped, raped, beaten then murdered by her moslem 'employer' (then he was set free); Catholic school girls are gunned down in overwhelmingly moslem Indonesia; moslem protesters in London carrying placards saying in essence that anyone who doesn't embrace mohammed should be beheaded, etc, etc.

Here's some of the article from Zenit.org; (Emphasis and comments mine)
Cardinal Tauran: We Shouldn't Fear Islam
Says Interreligious Dialogue Can Deepen Faith

GRANADA, Spain, FEB. 18, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue is affirming that Catholics should not fear Islam, but rather welcome the chance for deepening their faith through interchange with Muslims. (And what can I learn from murderous thugs who renounce the Divinity of Christ and the complete existence of The Holy Ghost?)

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran affirmed this in Granada during his Feb. 10 opening address for a two-day congress sponsored by the Faculty of Theology of Granada. The congress was titled "Christianity, Islam and Modernity."

"We must not fear Islam," the prelate affirmed, "but I would say more: Christians and Muslims, when they profess their own faith with integrity and credibility, when they dialogue and make an effort to serve society, constitute a richness for the latter." (What happened to serving God? Silly Caveman... it's all about The Cult of Man, and kissing as much moslem ass as humanly possible.)I wrote a posting back in '06 concerning gutless 'shepherds' who lack the testicular fortitude to defend Christ and His Church.

When it come to a rather large percentage of alleged leaders in the Catholic Church, I haven't seen backbones this jelly-filled since the days of Neville Chamberlain... or Pope John Paul II.