Vatican Overtures to Mecca

Now Religion in the News,a report and comment on religious trends and events being covered by the media.This week’s item is from Router’s News Service, March 9, 2006, with a headline:Vatican Overtures to Mecca.Rome:A leading Cardinal on Thursday backed allowing Muslim pupils in Italy to study the Qur’an in state schools in the Vatican’s latest gesture of concern for good relations with Islam.Cardinal Renado Martino said he agreed with the proposal by an Italian Muslim umbrella group saying it was only fair as the number of non-Catholic children in the country wasgrowing.If there is a need if in a school there are 100 children of the Islamic religion, I don’t see why they can’t be taught their religion, he told a conference in Rome.Martino heads the Vatican’s department on justice and peace,and is one of the most influential people in the holy see.The Vatican’s views on issues such as religious education can have great influence on Italian political decisions.A Muslim group recently asked the education ministry to arrange for Muslim students to be taught their religion for an hour a week in public schools.Catholic pupils who do not attend church schools have such an arrangement.Martino said that if Italy made it easier for Muslim children to study religion it would be easier for Christians living in some Islamic country to ask for reciprocity.Religious tensions between Muslims and non Muslims are rare in Italy, although there have been some calls by Muslims and lay groups to remove crosses from public schools, hospitals and court rooms.

Tom:

Dave,as we’vegone over the relationship between RomanCatholicism and Islam, there are more than just a few ties that bind there.Now, I could see the cardinals not having a problem with some of this, although there is a tension here.I don’t know if it’s because of the political setup in Italy, or so on, makes an interesting comment , it would be easier for Christians living in some Islamic countries to ask for reciprocity.They can ask all they want but if it’s Islamic countrythat’s under Sharia really strongly controlled by the religious in any particular state in the Middle East, you’ve got problems, this is not going to happen.

Dave:

Well, it’s naiveté of the highest order to even imagine that.I mean, already why isn’t there some reciprocity?We allow them to build thousands of mosques in the West, don’t we?You cannot build any non Muslim place of worship in Saudi Arabia!So, what’s the hope of reciprocity?Let’s have some reciprocity right now.We allow Muslims living in America or in Italy to speak out against the government.We allow them to practice their faith.You cannot do that in a Muslim country.It’s that simple.So, what’s this talk about reciprocity?And you know that the Catholic church has been in dialogue with Muslim leaders for---

Tom:

Almost two decades now.

Dave:

So, you know Vatican 2, canons and decrees of the second Vaticancounsel say that Allah is the same god as the God of the Bible, and that’snot true, and we’ve dealt with that.Anybody doubts that, just ask our ministry, we’ll give you all the information.So, it isn’t true!But Tom, it’s like saying---let me try and make an analogy here.In America we will allow terrorists to teach how to destroy the American government.We will allow students in public schools to be taught to hate America, to oppose it.That doesn’t make sense.Well, how could that be an analogy?Because the Qur’an and the religion of Islam is hatred against, and the destruction of what the Catholics are supposed to stand for.It says, Mary---well, it got all confused about Mary.She’s Miriam, the sister of Moses, although they do have her as a virgin, but Jesus is born under a palm tree.

Tom:

But Muhammad was confused, things that he got from Jews, things that he got from Christians, whatever professing or whatever were just erroneous.

Dave:

And then the Qur’an says Jesus didn’t die on the cross, he’s not God, he’snot the Son of God, he didn’t resurrect.I mean, it contradicts everythingthe Bible teaches,the foundation of Christianity.Furthermore, the Qur’an says, If you believe in the Trinity you go straight to hell.Now, the last time I heard, I thought the Catholic church still believed in the Trinity.So now we are going to allow the Muslims to teach anti Christianity, anti Israel in our Catholic schools.Tom, it doesn’t make any sense!There’s a kind of blindness, and we’ve talked about it before.How can there be such blindness that they still think---they don’t believe what the Muslims say.Muhammad said, Allah has commanded me to fight against all people until all people confess there is no god but Allah, Muhammad is his prophet.How many times does that have to be repeated by Imams, Mullahs, repeated in the Mosques, all over the Muslim world, before we finally believe that’s what they mean and this is what the intend?Tom, it’s not just naiveté,I think we’re getting down, groveling in the dust before them and licking the boots of the Muslims for fear they will cut off the oil.Let them cut off the oil, then they’ve lost their income!I think it’s a quid pro quo, it’s a two-way street, and it ought to be a two -way street when it comes to the practices of Christianity and Islam.We’ve let them practice it in the West, Islam in the West, full freedom, and they have their riots and blow people up, and so forth, and they will not let us do anything in Muslim countries.You can’t even carry a Bible on the street.AnyMuslim who converts to Christianity, they take his head off, okay!And now we think, Italy thinks, Well, if we let them study Islam in the Catholic schools and the public schools, surely that will bring about some reciprocity.

Tom:

But Dave, on the other hand, this article, at least this excerpt ends with, “There have been some calls by Muslims and lay groups to remove crosses from public schools, hospitals and courtrooms.”So, it’s just insane!Looking for reciprocity, yet they are here, we’re not allowed to do things in their country.If they can try and impose their will here in Italy or maybe here in the United States, it is insane, Dave.

Dave:

Tom, I hate to say it, but I get angry, and I hope that our listeners will do something.Write to your congressman, write to your senator, and the President.Let’s bring this to someone’s attention, okay, because it’s happening in the United States as well.