Originally published at LifeSiteNews on May 31, 2024
Catholics may be surprised to learn that the Vatican is exaggerating the similarities between the Virgin Mary and the figure of Mary, Mother of Jesus, as she appears in the Koran and Muslim hadiths (traditions about Muhammad, the founder of Islam).
On May 18 this year, Pope Francis paid a visit to detainees at Verona’s Montorio Prison, and upon bestowing an icon of the Madonna and Child upon the apparently multi-faith jail, he stated to applause that “the figure of Mary is a figure common to both Christianity and Islam. She is a common figure; she unites us all.”
If this seems innocuous, it also falls in line with the Vatican’s many attempts to convince Catholics that Islam is somehow a “sister faith,” when, in fact, Islam appropriates the names and sacred auras of biblical figures, but then recasts them with completely different, anti-biblical attributes.
In early 2021, for example, the Marian academy in Rome launched a 10-week webinar series titled “Mary, a model for faith and life for Christianity and Islam” in collaboration with the Grand Mosque of Rome and the Islamic Cultural Center of Italy.
In this second in our series for the Nativity Season, Raymond Ibrahim shows how contemporary Islam perpetuates the blasphemous appropriation of the Ever-Virgin Mary, the Mother of God (Greek: Theotokos), first initiated by the depraved false prophet Muhammad fourteen-hundred years ago, and why it is essential for Christians to be aware of the truth behind Islam's "veneration" of Mary.
Using the Virgin Mary "as a model of 'open borders' between religious and multicultural worlds" in an effort to reconcile Islam and Catholicism is to deny Christ and His Most Pure Mother, and reveals those behind such initiatives as full-blown apostates from the Christian Faith and self-condemned.
On Thursday, the Marian academy in Rome launched a 10-week webinar series titled “Mary, a model for faith and life for Christianity and Islam” in collaboration with the Grand Mosque of Rome and the Islamic Cultural Center of Italy.
Based on his belief that Mary is “a Jewish, Christian and Muslim woman,” Fr. Gian Matteo Roggio, organizer of the Muslim-Catholic dialogue series on Our Lady, is seeking to mobilize Mary as a model of “open borders” between religious and multicultural worlds.
Mary responds “to the genetic codes of Judaism, Christianity and Islam,” affirms Roggio, a member of the religious order of the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette, writing in the Italian liberal Catholic periodical Famiglia Cristiana.
Islamic historian Raymond Ibrahim told Church Militant that “this series is yet another attempt to try to convince Catholics that Islam is somehow similar to their Faith when, in fact, Islam appropriates the names and sacred auras of biblical figures but then recasts them with completely different attributes — ones that reaffirm Islam as the ‘true’ faith.”
For example, the series’ organizers insist that Mary was a “Jewish, Christian and Muslim woman,” which is only two-thirds true: Yes, she was a Jew by race and background, and yes, she was a Christian in that she literally birthed Christ(ianity), but she was most certainly not a Muslim — a term and religion that did not exist until 600 years after the end of her earthly life.
“Worse, far from being the Eternal Virgin, as she is for 1.5 billion Christians — Catholics and Orthodox — Islam presents Mary, the Mother of Christ, as ‘married’ to and ‘copulating’ with Muhammad in paradise,” Ibrahim revealed.
In an article for Frontpage Magazine titled “Muhammad and the Virgin Mary: A Match Made in Heaven?” Ibrahim cited a hadith (Islamic canonical tradition) wherein Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, declares: “Allah will wed me in paradise to Mary, daughter of Imran.”
Far from being the Perpetual Virgin — Islam presents Mary, the Mother of Christ, as ‘married’ to and ‘copulating’ with Muhammad in paradise.Tweet
Few Christians know about this claim, but medieval Christians living under Islamic occupation were familiar with it because their Muslim conquerors regularly humiliated them with this text to refute the Church’s claim of Mary’s perpetual virginity, writes Ibrahim.
In fact, Egypt’s former deputy minister of religious endowments, Dr. Salem Abdul Galil, openly declared that among other biblical women like Moses’ sister and Pharaoh’s wife, “Our prophet Muhammad — prayers and peace be upon him — will be married to (the Virgin) Mary in paradise.”
Ibrahim obtained the Arabic video of Galil stating this on the Mahwar television network.
“Far from creating ‘commonalities,’ it should be clear that such appropriation creates conflict,” Ibrahim told Church Militant.
Mary is a Jewish, Christian and Muslim woman. The prolific writer elaborated:
By way of analogy, imagine you have a grandfather whom you are particularly fond of, and out of the blue, a stranger says: “Hey, that’s my grandfather!” Then — lest you think this stranger is somehow trying to become your friend — he adds: “And everything you thought you knew about grandpa is wrong!” Would that endear this stranger to you?
The webinars will end during the month of Ramadan in the conference room of the Great Mosque of Rome with “Mary’s dates” — a reference to the fruit of the date palm and a verse from the Koran (Sura 19.22–26).
Arabic-speaking Muslim converts to Christ warn that Roman Catholic support of the Abu Dhabi Declaration "is not based on the 'Islamic theological implications of the Arabic text', and this reflects an inability to see through the 'deception' and fall for the 'fake human rights rhetoric'."
In short, these brave converts to Christ are warning against the Same God Heresy.
Embracing Deception: Pope Francis signs Abu Dhabi Declaration
Their point is well taken, and fully in keeping with the teaching of the New Testament, which warns against accepting a false gospel, a different Jesus, and a different spirit:
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the Gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be anathema!” (Gal 1:6-8).
"As we said before, so say I now again: If any preach any other gospel unto you than that which you have received, let him be anathema" (Gal 1:8-9).
"Now the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times some will depart from the Faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy" (1 Tim 4:1-2).
The indefatiguable Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch offers this warning in his post on the article:
“The chasm between Islam and Jahiliyyah [the society of unbelievers] is great, and a bridge is not to be built across it so that the people on the two sides may mix with each other, but only so that the people of Jahiliyyah may come over to Islam.” — Sayyid Qutb, Milestones, chapter 10. (Mother Mosque Foundation edition p. 140)
It is abundantly clear from this report that the Muslim framers of the bu Dhabi declaration were following Qutb’s guidance and crafting a document designed to lead Catholics to Islam. Meanwhile, the Catholic partners in the dialogue had no idea that this was happening, and assumed that their partners were operating in good faith as they were. Their naivete will cost the lives of the Christians murdered in the lands of Islam while no one speaks up for them, for fear of harming the dialogue, much less lifts a finger to defend them.
“Leave them; they are blind guides. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” (Matthew 15:14)
ROME (ChurchMilitant.com) – A network of Muslim converts, who face the death penalty for apostasy from Islam, are denouncing the Abu Dhabi declaration as a “deception” for “subtle but significant differences” in the Arabic text of the document.
Müller insists that the text focuses on “fundamental human rights” with “God as their originator and guarantor,” because “all people are born free and equal in dignity and rights” and “human rights are based on the dignity that God himself bestowed on every human being.”
In a preliminary analysis of the declaration shown to Church Militant on condition of anonymity, the Arab-speaking converts say that Cdl. Müller’s reading is not based on the “Islamic theological implications of the Arabic text,” and this reflects his inability to see through the “deception” and fall for the “fake human rights rhetoric.”
"A video of the Islamic prayer released on Twitter showed one of the Muslims in the pulpit cantillating the Adhan [Islamic call to prayer] in Arabic... which unambiguously asserts that God’s revelation to Muhammad has supplanted and superseded God’s prior revelations to Moses in the Old Testament and to Jesus in the New Testament.”
Inviting Muslims to speak at or pray at Christian gatherings is one of the most blasphemous manifestations of the Same God Heresy. Bishops, priests and clergy who do so have openly sealed their apostasy, and should be excommunicated. And Orthodox Christian Churches, Seminaries and institutions who are in dialogue with Christian bodies who perform such scandalous acts should immediately break off their relations with them until they repent.
Metropolitan Nathanael of Chicago of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America of the Patriarchate of Constantinople led an ecumenical prayer service with the Catholic Cardinal and Evangelical Lutheran bishop of Chicago.
Previously, on March 14, he issued a directive ordering the immediate suspension of “all liturgical services in parishes of the Holy Metropolis of Chicago.”
Muslim Declares Muhammad’s Supremacy Over Jesus at Catholic Mass
COUNTY MAYO, Ireland (ChurchMilitant.com) Muslims, invited by a Catholic priest in Ireland to pray alongside him during the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, prayed the Adhan — the Islamic call to prayer that categorically proclaims Islam’s supremacy over its forebears — Judaism and Christianity.
Father Stephen Farragher, parish priest of St. Patrick’s Church in Ballyhaunis, County Mayo, invited two Muslims to “pray in solidarity” with him “the final blessing and prayer” at the 10 a.m. Friday Mass to be broadcast on radio, Midwest Radio Irelandreported.
Mohammed Cherbatji and Mohammed Rahmani joined Fr. Farragher to seek a blessing on all frontline health care workers and frontline workers during the pandemic and pray for the eradication of the Wuhan virus. The church was reportedly empty because of the Wuhan virus restrictions.
However, a video of the Islamic prayer released on Twitter showed one of the Muslims in the pulpit cantillating the Adhan in Arabic.
Church Militant contacted a scholar in Islamic jurisprudence and Arabic expert who confirmed that the prayer was not a blessing for health care workers but the “Islamic call to prayer, which conclusively and unambiguously asserts that God’s revelation to Muhammad has supplanted and superseded God’s prior revelations to Moses in the Old Testament and to Jesus in the New Testament.”
The Adhan asserts: “Allah is the greatest. I bear witness that there is no god except Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Come to prayer. Come to salvation.” These affirmations are repeated twice.
"Historic covenant with leaders of the world’s major faiths, [pushes] us much closer to a one-world religion, one of the major goals of the New World Order.
"...The signing of this covenant was done 'in front of a global audience of religious leaders from Christianity, Islam, Judaism and other faiths'."
This is a shocking followup report to this story by Leo Hohmann which I posted on 7/26/19. The sources adduced in this news report make it clear that this was a global event, attended and signed by world religious leaders, and kept out of the mainstream media, which makes this far more disturbing than had I had previously thought. This is ominous in the extreme, unleashing demonic forces of apostasy upon Christians around the world. I will try to find more info on the attendees, and especially if there were Orthodox bishops who signed this covenant of apostasy.
We live in dark times indeed. Be forewarned and watchful, as many false prophets and false, hireling shepherds have gone out into the world, deceiving the flock. Time again to re-post what I had warned in my book, Facing Islam (p.87):
Against the Different Gospel — the Same God Heresy we have identified in this chapter — put forth by Islam and promoted by unwitting Christians, the Holy Apostle Paul warns us today most urgently:
"As we said before, so say I now again: If any preach any other gospel unto you than that which you have received, let him be anathema" (Galatians 1:8-9).
"Now the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times some will depart from the Faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy" (1 Timothy 4:1-2 ).
And the Beloved Disciple and Evangelist, John warns just as severely:
"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God; and this is the spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come, and even now already is it in the world" (1 John 4:1-3).
Pope Francis Claims Islam And Christianity Are Equal In The Eyes of God
Pope Francis, who has previously called for a “one world government” to “save humanity”, has now signed a historic covenant with leaders of the world’s major faiths, pushing us much closer to a one-world religion, one of the major goals of the New World Order.
According to the document produced by Pope Francis and published on the Vatican’s official website, all religions must be considered equal, and Islam is as acceptable to God as Christianity.
Disturbingly, world religious leaders are also now coming together as one to preach from the same hymn sheet as Pope Francis, instructing their sheep to accept the final components of the New World Order’s one world government.
The historic interfaith covenant was signed by leaders of the world’s major faiths in the Middle East this month, and despite the extraordinarily high-profile nature of the attendants, the mainstream media has entered almost complete blackout mode and is refusing to report on the story.
Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the most important imam in Sunni Islam, arrived at the signing ceremony in Abu Dhabi with Pope Francis “hand-in-hand in a symbol of interfaith brotherhood”, exactly as foretold in prophecy regarding the rise of the Antichrist.
But this wasn’t just a ceremony for Catholics and Muslims. The reality is much darker than that.
"This is just the latest in a line of papal statements on Islam dating back to the 1960s that describe Islam as an 'Abrahamic' faith that will lead its adherents to the same God worshiped by Christians."
Pope Francis is a false teacher, preaching a "different gospel," which is the Same God Heresy, which leads its adherents inevitably to apostasy and openly denying Jesus Christ.
Pope signs pact with Islam declaring ‘diversity of religions’ is ‘willed by God’
Almost without notice from the global media, Pope Francis held a historic meeting last week in the United Arab Emirates with Grand Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, head of Egypt’s al-Azhar University, the world’s most authoritative institution on Islamic law.
El-Tayeb, while touted as a “moderate” by some in the West, unapologetically teaches that Muslims who leave Islam for other religions, or no religion at all, are guilty of apostasy and should be killed.
So what is the Pope of Rome, the supposed Vicar of Christ, doing cavorting with such a man?
Among the many lies, half-truths and deceptions in this document is the following:
“The pluralism and the diversity of religions, color, sex, race and language are willed by God in His wisdom, through which He created human beings.”
The key words here are “diversity of religions.” The pope would have us to believe that all religions have merit, especially that of Islam.
This is just the latest in a line of papal statements on Islam dating back to the 1960s that describe Islam as an “Abrahamic” faith that will lead its adherents to the same God worshiped by Christians.
The new document reaffirms Islam as a religion of peace and says that any violence committed in its name is the result of “an accumulation of incorrect interpretations of religious texts and to policies linked to hunger, poverty, injustice, oppression and pride.”
If this were true it would mean that nearly 1,400 years of scholarship by all four Sunni schools of Islamic jurisprudence would have to be thrown into a massive bonfire. Until we see the smoke rising from such a fiery spectacle, it’s safe to say that Sheikh al-Tayeb played the pope for a fool. Others are suggesting that Pope Francis is no fool at all, but rather is himself a master deceiver with dark intentions.
Pope Francis has for some time now been openly teaching an explicitly false Gospel, what I have termed the "Same God Heresy". This is one of the greatest heresies and scandals of our age, and many Christians are falling all over themselves to endorse it.
On the eve of his visit to Morocco (March 30-31), Pope Francis said in a video message on VaticanNews.va that “as Christians and Muslims we believe in God, the Creator and Merciful”...
This message repeats Francis heretical Abu Dhabi declaration according to which the diversity of religions that contradict each other and religions which deny the Trinity and Incarnation are willed by God.
Of course, there are also some Orthodox Christian bishops (e.g., Met. Georges Khodr) who preach religious syncretism, pan-ecumenism, dhimmitude and submission to Islam, but when the Pope of Rome does this on the global stage, cue the "Last Pope Prophecies" trailers. The Apostate Pope's heretical teachings are clearly a sign of the age.
Traditional, orthodox-minded Roman Catholics, come to Orthodoxy. We are waiting for you with open arms!
"Come out of her, My people..."(Rev. 18:4)
Pope Francis offers more doves to be attacked by crows.
The Pope to the Christians of Morocco: Please do not need to preach
BBC Middle East, March 31, 2019 (Google Translate from Arabic)
Thanks to Timothy R. Furnish.
The Pope, Francis, told members of the small Catholic community in Morocco that the role of community members in the country is not to try to make their neighbors convert to Christianity, but to live in brotherhood with other religions.
The Pope took the two-day trip to emphasize interreligious dialogue, while supporting King Mohammed VI's efforts to promote religious moderation in order to promote interfaith dialogue and renounce violence in the name of religion.
Roman Catholic Christians in Morocco represent less than one percent of Morocco's 35 million population, while there are 23,000 Christians, mostly immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa and those from Europe, particularly France.
"Christians are a small minority in this country, and I see that this is not a problem, although I realize that this may be difficult for some of you," he said during a meeting with community leaders in a Rabat cathedral.
"Graham reacted strongly to a recent Islamic terror attack in Strasbourg, France, warning that radical Islam continues to be a major global threat." There are so few Christian voices stating the obvious, that the obvious is in decline.
'AXIOS' to Rev. Graham for having the courage and conviction to boldly rebuke those who hold to the Same God Heresy, to bravely condemn the false religion of Islam, and to blast weak Christian leaders like Pope Francis who deny that Islam is behind jihad terror attacks. Graham recently stated that
Islam “is behind the violence and jihad we’re seeing in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and here in this country.
“It’s a religion that calls for the extermination of ‘infidels’ outside their faith, specifically Jews and Christians.”
Franklin Graham: Allah and the Christian God ‘Not the Same’
by Thomas D. Williams, PhD, Breitbart News, December 16, 2018:
Celebrated evangelical pastor Franklin Graham reacted strongly to a recent Islamic terror attack in Strasbourg, France, warning that radical Islam continues to be a major global threat.
In a two-part tweet Saturday, Rev. Graham, the son of the prominent Christian leader Billy Graham, reminded citizens that Islamic extremism has not ceased to be a menace to the world and that, contrary to popular opinion, the Muslim idea of God is very different from the God worshiped by Christians.
Radical Islam continues to be a huge threat around the world. I thank God for the hard work of the French police & law enforcement who tracked down terrorist Cherif Chekatt. Remember the families of those whose lives were taken and the many wounded. 1/2 https://t.co/edjAvRxde7
Contrary to what some may say, the god of Islam & the God of the Christian faith are not the same. The God of the Christian faith is Creator of the Universe & sent His Son, Jesus, to earth to save us from our sin. He can change every heart who will put their faith in Him. 2/2
In the past, Rev. Graham has said that bloody jihadist attacks should not surprise anyone, since hatred and violence against nonbelievers are central to the teachings of Islam.
“Why does Islam hate so much?” Graham asked in a 2016 Facebook post. “It’s because the Quran teaches its followers to hate.”
“Jews, Christians and others are to be subdued so that Islam may ‘prevail over all religions,’” he added. “It’s all in the final chapter of the Quran—‘Kill or be killed in battle, and paradise awaits,’” he said.
Graham has been an ongoing critic of theories that would equate Islam to Christianity.
"Church leaders... have taken every opportunity to praise Islam, to declare their solidarity with it, and to join in various Islamic initiatives, such as the campaign against 'Islamophobia'. Judging by the Church’s great solicitude for Islam, one would think it was the most persecuted faith on earth, rather than one of the chief persecutors."
The below article by William Kilpatrick, while directed specifically towards Roman Catholic leaders, can be read with profit by Orthodox Christian hierarchs, clergy, and educators as well.
Pope Francis meets with Dr. Muhammad al-Issa, Secretary General of the Muslim World League, on September 20, 2017. (Photo credit: CNA / L’Osservatore Romano)
When I first began writing about the Church and Islam, I devoted a lot of space to describing ways that Church leaders could resist the spread of Islam. It seemed only a matter of time until they would wake up to the need to resist. As it turned out, however, that assessment was overly optimistic.
The immediate task, as I soon learned, was not to find ways to counter Islam, but to convince the Church’s hierarchy that Islam ought to be resisted. There’s no use talking battle strategies to people who won’t admit that they have an ideological enemy.
The enemy is not Muslims per se, but a belief system adhered to by the majority of Muslims, albeit with varying degrees of commitment. Although Islam does not easily lend itself to moderation, many Muslims manage to practice their faith in peaceful ways. Others merely give it lip service, and still others are on fire with a passionate zeal to spread it—by fire and the sword if necessary.
The idea of opposing dangerous ideologies is not foreign to Americans, but the idea of opposing an ideology that is also a religion is more problematic. It has become increasingly problematic now that we live in an era in which merely disagreeing with another’s opinions is tantamount to a hate crime.
So, just for the record, critiquing Islam does not mean that one hates Muslims. Criticizing Islam is not the same as criticizing Muslims, any more than criticizing communism is equivalent to criticizing Soviet-era Russians. One can acknowledge the humanity and good intentions of others without having to endorse their ideology. And if their ideology or belief system presents a grave danger to others, it would be wrong not to criticize it. Of course, one should employ tact and prudence when offering such criticism.
In an interview... Jesuit Father Henri Boulad explains why he believes Islamist terrorists are applying what their religion teaches them, and why the Church fails to address this because she has fallen prey to a leftist ideology that is destroying the West.
The below article's title resonates with a powerful quote from New Martyr Fr Daniil Sysoev of Moscow, who was killed by Muslims for preaching against Islam and converting some eighty of them to Orthodox Christianity:
"One must respect mistaken people but not their mistakes. Truth is one, that which contradicts and negates truth is a lie, and respect for a lie is contempt for the truth."
Over at Jihad Watch, Christine Douglass-Williams, in her introduction to another report based on Fr Boulad's interview and writings, provides some important context:
Boulad also accepted Hungarian citizenship, in a recent affirmation of Hungarian leader Viktor Orban’s restrictive immigration policy of keeping out Muslim migrants to protect his country from jihad attacks and the skyrocketing crime that other European nations have been plagued with due to vast Muslim migration. Boulad stated that he “would like to…..fight for the future and for the Christian values on the side of Hungary and Viktor Orbán.”
Jesuit Scholar: Seeking to Defend Islam at All Costs Is Betraying the Truth
The Church should not defend Islam “at all costs” and seek to “exonerate it from the horrors committed every day in its name” or else “one ends up betraying the truth,” a leading Jesuit scholar of Islam has asserted.
Greek Melkite Jesuit Father Henri Boulad believes that when it comes to dealing with Islam, the Catholic Church has succumbed to a “liberal left ideology which is destroying the West” based on the pretext of “openness, tolerance and Christian charity.”
In a June 10 interview with the Register, Father Boulad reveals that he shared these sentiments with Pope Francis in a letter he wrote to him last August, telling him that many think the Pope’s own views on Islam are “aligned with this ideology, and that, from complacency, you go from concessions to concessions, and compromises in compromises, at the expense of the truth.”
“Jesus said to us, ‘the Truth will set you free.’ It is because he refused any compromise on this point that he knew the fate which was his. Following him, countless Christians preferred martyrdom to compromise, as is the case in Egypt and elsewhere to this day.”
“Christians,” he wrote, “are expecting something from you other than vague and harmless declarations that may obscure reality.”
Some said the Pope took a diplomatic yet slightly firmer line on Islam when he gave an address to Al Azhar university in Cairo at the end of April.
Father Boulad, 85, an Egyptian and a relative of the Jesuit scholar of Islam, Father Samir Khalil Samir, also discusses in this interview why he believes Islamists are merely carrying out what their religion teaches, whether Islam is capable of reform, and how, despite its problems, the religion can help the Church in acting as a bulwark against secularist ideology.
Had it not been for Pope Leo IV in the mid-9th century, building high and massive walls to keep out the Muslim invaders, Rome — and indeed all of Europe — might have been conquered for Islam well before the Crusades were even launched. We live in a new age of Global Islamic Jihad, being waged on multiple fronts. We live in an age that requires walls, wisdom, faith and strength — not multiculturalism, weakness, apostasy and foolishness.
Pope Francis Tears at History’s Ancient Walls against Islam
Pope Francis continues to argue for two interrelated points that, while seemingly humane, compromise Western nations and expose their citizens to danger.
He reiterated his first point earlier this month when he said, “I appeal not to create walls but to build bridges.” Francis has made this appeal frequently, both figuratively (when imploring Western nations not to close their doors against more incoming Muslim migrants) and literally (for instance by characterizing Donald Trump’s proposal to build a U.S.-Mexico wall as “not Christian”).
Francis reiterated his second point a few days ago when he said, “Muslim terrorism does not exist.” His logic is that, because there are Christians who engage in criminal and violent activities—and yet no one blames Christianity for their behavior—so too should Islam not be blamed when Muslims engage in criminal and violent activities.
In this, the Catholic pope appears unable or unwilling to make the pivotal distinction between violence committed in accordance with Islamic teachings, and violence committed in contradiction of Christian teachings.
But there’s another relevant and often overlooked irony: every morning Francis wakes up in the Vatican and looks out his window he sees a very large and concrete reminder that gives the lie to both his argument against walls and his argument in defense of Islam. I speak of the great walls surrounding Vatican City, more specifically the Leonine Walls.
"The bishops are not guilty of [Islamic jihad] atrocities. But they are guilty of grossly misunderstanding Islam and the threat it poses... They need to seriously consider whether Jesus’ warning about blind guides might apply to some of them. Their hearts, we must assume, are in the right place, but their heads are in the sand."
“Pope Francis condemns more ‘blind violence’ after Nice attack,” reads a headline from a Catholic news agency.
On behalf of the Holy Father, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, sent a telegram to the Bishop of Nice expressing the Pope’s sorrow:
As France was celebrating her national holiday, the country was again struck by blind violence, this time in Nice, claiming many victims, including children. Once again condemning such acts, His Holiness Pope Francis expresses his profound sadness and his spiritual closeness to the French people.
With all due respect to the Pope and his Vatican advisers, it is they who are blind. They have shut their eyes to the role that Islam plays in motivating terrorist attacks like the one in Nice that left 84 dead and over 200 injured.
"This is a perfect opportunity for us to open our arms to the many Christian refugees fleeing persecution, often at the hands of Muslims, and to ask serious questions about the compatibility of Islamic values and Western ones."
Photo caption: Pope Francis meets migrants on the Greek island of Lesbos on April 16, 2016. (Photo credit: AP)
Since last fall, few political issues have both dominated international newspaper headlines and triggered debate within the Catholic hierarchy as much as the so-called migrant crisis. Recently, many thousands of people, mostly Muslims, have been trying to flee oppressive political regimes, wars, and difficult economies in the Middle East and Africa for the West, especially Europe.
While political leaders and many prominent churchmen, including the pope himself, have pushed hard for the West to accept large numbers of migrants regardless of their religion, there are many sound reasons to fear a massive influx of Muslims. However, that doesn’t mean that the West should reject migrants altogether. On the contrary, this is a perfect opportunity for us to open our arms to the many Christian refugees fleeing persecution, often at the hands of Muslims, and to ask serious questions about the compatibility of Islamic values and Western ones.
Western Christians have been slow to respond to Muslim Persecution of Christians, and reluctant to name Islam as the cause. This article asks why. See also:
Why Has the Church Abandoned the Christians of the Middle East?
by Judith Bergman, Gatestone Institute via AINA, December 12, 2015:
The 21 Coptic Christians Martyrs before being beheaded by followers of Muhammad.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, was interviewed recently about the Paris attacks and asked about his reaction. "Like everyone else -- first shock and horror and then a profound sadness..." he replied. "Saturday morning, I was out and as I was walking I was praying and saying: 'God, why -- why is this happening?'"
Welby is the principal head of the Anglican Church and the symbolic head of the Anglican Communion, which stands at around 85 million members worldwide and is the third largest communion in the world -- after the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. This is a man with an extremely high public profile, and millions of Christians looking to him for spiritual guidance.
But why is a man who is the symbolic head of 85 million Christians worldwide expressing shock at yet another terrorist attack perpetrated by the Islamic State? Had the Archbishop of Canterbury paid more than just fleeting attention to his fellow Christians in Iraq and Syria, he would know that the Islamic State has been slaughtering Christians in the Middle East since 2006. Between 2004 and 2006, before the Islamic State evolved out of Al Qaeda in Iraq, it hardly showed less zeal to root out Christianity even then.
The Archbishop had eleven years to get used to the idea of people being made homeless, exiled, tortured, raped, enslaved, beheaded and murdered for not being Muslims. How much more time did he need?
The Archbishop of Canterbury had more wisdom to offer in the interview. "The perversion of faith is one of the most desperate aspects of our world today," he said, explaining that Islamic State terrorists have distorted their faith to the extent that they believe they are glorifying their God. But it is unclear how he is as qualified an expert in Islam as Islamic State "Caliph " Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, who possesses a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Baghdad.
Christians, Yazidis and persecuted Muslims in the Middle East can probably point to aspects of the world more desperate than "the perversion of faith," but then again, the Archbishop does not seem too preoccupied with the situation on the ground.
Fortunately, others are. In a piece for The Atlantic, "What ISIS Really Wants," Graeme Wood spent time researching the Islamic State and its ideology in depth. He spoke to members of the Islamic State and Islamic State recruiters; his conclusions were the following:
Pope Francis' recent visit to the United States has prompted much commentary. It is impossible for me to cover it all, but this particular report, which includes links to three additional articles (below the break), was forwarded to me and gives clear insights into the problems with statements by Pope Francis.
Differing Views from Catholic Clergy on the Threat from Jihad and Shariah
By Christopher W. Holton, Terror Trends Bulletin — September 27, 2015 (Thanks to Plamen)
Pope Francis at the 9/11 Memorial, Ground Zero, NYC (Telegraph UK)
With the visit of Pope Francis to the United States, some attention has been paid to his views on Jihad in general and the September 11 attacks in particular.
On a visit to the September 11 memorial at Ground Zero, the pope made a statement that we find offensive and born of ignorance.
From USA Today:
In a remark some relatives of 9/11 victims may disagree with, the pope attributed “the wrongful and senseless loss of innocent lives” at Ground Zero to “the inability to find solutions which respect the common good.”
To what solutions could Pope Francis possibly be referring?
What “solutions which respect the common good” would have convinced Osama Bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Mohammed Atta that violent Jihad was wrong?
Al Qaeda and all Jihadist groups have as their goal the imposition of Shariah through violent Jihad. We can only assume that the pope is unaware of this. We must also assume that he is unaware that mainstream Islamic doctrine also calls for the imposition of Shariah worldwide.
Which Catholics and other Christians should be sacrificed to live under Shariah for the “common good?”
This was not the first time Pope Francis made statements that demonstrate an ignorance of Islamic doctrine.
In this well reasoned article, William Kilpatrick urges "humility before the facts." And one of the most undeniable facts of the last fourteen centuries continues to be Islamic persecution of Christians, to the point of near eradication in lands which were nearly 100% Christian at the dawn of the seventh century. Kilpatrick urges Catholic bishops:
"Will Christianity in Europe survive successive waves of Muslim migrants? Considering what’s at stake, the attitude of the Pope and numerous European bishops is puzzling. We expect bishops to remind their flocks of the duty to help those in need. But we also expect them to warn Christians when there are grave dangers involved."
Much has been written about the Pope’s humility, and he himself has often spoken about the need for humility. Yet it is possible to detect a certain amount of hubris in the positions he takes on political and scientific matters.
For example, it takes a certain level of hubris for a man to take a public stand on the threat of global warming when he has no background in the subject, and when the evidence for global warming is sketchy. On that score, it would be interesting to know if the Pope or his advisers subscribe to the “hockey stick” model of global warming promoted by Dr. Michael E. Mann of Penn State University, and later given a starring role in Al Gore’s documentary An Inconvenient Truth. If they do, are they aware that scores of eminent scientists and climatologists are now deserting the Mann model faster than retirees are deserting the frozen-over country otherwise known as the Northeast.
I’m not saying that the Pope is puffed up with pride—just that he must be awfully sure of his opinion to promote the global warming scare at just the point in time when so many prominent scientists are beginning to have their doubts. “The ecological crisis threatens the existence of humanity,” said Pope Francis. Yet the earth has been warming and cooling for millions of years, and will likely continue to do so for a long time to come.
Moreover, one has to be decidedly sure of oneself to stress the urgency of addressing this hypothetical hyper-crisis when there is another ominous and much more obvious threat to global safety. The pope has spoken about the persecution of Christians and other minorities in the Middle East and Africa, but not with the same urgency he reserves for environmental issues. When speaking of the genocide being committed in the name of Islam, Pope Francis tends to use the language of moral equivalence. Thus, when addressing Congress he lamented:
Our world is increasingly a place of violent conflict, hatred and brutal atrocities committed even in the name of God and of religion. We know that no religion is immune from forms of individual delusion or ideological extremism. This means that we must be especially attentive to every type of fundamentalism…
“Religion?” What religion might that be? Although Pope Francis is quick to condemn rapacious capitalist corporations for the crime of environmental destruction, he lets Islam off the hook for the “brutal atrocities.” Rather, he spreads out the blame for “violent conflict” to include generic fundamentalists from every religion. Could be Catholics. Could be Mormons. Could be Buddhists. Best not to look too closely.
The Pope seems quite sure about things that are widely debated. He is sure that global warming is an imminent threat, and he is sure that violence has nothing to do with Islam. Pride, as they say, goeth before a fall, and, in a way, the pope’s sublime assurance that he is on the right side of the issues helps open the door for even more violent conflict. But before going into that, let me say a bit more about hubris—or, to be specific, liberal hubris.
When it comes to strictly theological matters, it’s not wise to try and fit popes into liberal and conservative categories. But otherwise it seems safe to say that on many political and economic issues, Pope Francis (along with others in the hierarchy) tends to line up with liberals and with the big government solutions that liberals favor. The hierarchy often simply borrows the liberal analysis of problems, assuming that a great deal of thought has gone into the analysis.
But anyone who has dealt with liberals knows that, with some exceptions, they are more interested in feeling good about their policies than in checking to see whether the policies work. What allows them to skip over the details is the presumption that they are highly intelligent, because all the smart people—in government, in the universities, and in media—agree with them. The thinking process for liberals consists largely in checking around to see what other liberals are saying. In brief, if your intentions are good, and if all the best people are of the same mind, there’s no need for further research.
Glory be to God for this holy hierarch who laid down his life for his flock and earned his crown as a true witness for Christ. May we learn from him and all the martyrs to stand firm in our faith in Jesus Christ, preferring to die rather than to deny Him who laid down his life for us.
When his friends and acquaintances urged him to withdraw from Gazireh to a safer location, he replied, “Even my blood I will shed for my sheep.”
One of the bishop’s most striking phrases comes from when he was pressured to renounce the faith and to convert to Islam. Rather than giving in, the bishop replied, “I will defend my faith to the blood.”
Syriac Bishop Will Be Beatified on the 100th Anniversary of His Martyrdom
In 1915, Flavien-Michel Malké said, “I will defend my faith to the blood.”
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — On Saturday, Pope Francis approved a decree recognizing the martyrdom of Flavien-Michel Malké, a Syriac Catholic bishop who was killed in 1915, amid the Ottoman Empire's genocide against its Christian minorities.
The decision was made during an Aug. 8 meeting between Pope Francis and Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
Bishop Malké will be beatified Aug. 29, the 100th anniversary of his martyrdom, during a liturgy celebrated by Ignatius Youssef III Younan, the Syriac patriarch of Antioch, at the convent of Our Lady of Deliverance in Lebanon. It is expected that thousands of Syrians and Iraqis displaced by the Islamic State will attend the beatification.
“In these painful times experienced by Christians, especially the Syriac communities in Iraq and Syria, the news of the beatification of one of their martyrs, will surely bring encouragement and consolation to face today's trials of appalling dimension,” read an Aug. 9 statement of the Syriac Patriarchate of Antioch.
“Blessed Martyr Michael, intercede for us, and protect especially the Christians in the Orient and all the world in these hard and painful days.”
Our beloved Orthodox hierarchs also might wish to consider Raymond Ibrahim's analysis here. Mr. Ibrahim, whom I know personally, is a Coptic Orthodox Christian. We were both presenters (along with Archimandrite Daniel Byantoro) at a conference on Orthodoxy, Islam and Muslim Persecution of Christians, held at an Orthodox Church in Ohio in 2011. His is a sober and informed voice we would do well to heed. "The Christian worldview is not about 'saving the earth'—'where moth and rust do corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal'—but in saving souls, both in the now and hereafter. The Lord questioned Saul of Tarsus as to why he was persecuting his flock, not about the environment."
Pope Francis recently released a new encyclical. Portions of it deal with environmentalism, global warming, and climate change. Naturally, this has prompted controversy.
It’s noteworthy that Francis didn’t merely make a passing comment on global warming during this or that sermon, but that he issued a papal encyclical on the matter. Encyclicals are much more formal and significant than remarks made during mass. They are letters written by a pope and sent to bishops all around the world. In turn, the bishops are meant to disseminate the encyclical’s ideas to all the priests and churches in their jurisdiction, so that the pope’s teaching reaches every church-attending Catholic.
All this leads to the following question: Where is Pope Francis’ encyclical concerning the rampant persecution that Christians—including many Catholics—are experiencing around the world in general, the Islamic world in particular?
To be sure, the pope has acknowledged it. On April 21, during mass held at Casa Santa Marta, Francis said that today’s church is a “church of martyrs.” He even referenced several of the recent attacks on Christians by Muslims (without of course mentioned the latter’s religious identity).
The pope is acquainted with the reality of Christian persecution around the world. So why isn’t he issuing an encyclical about it? Such an encyclical would be very useful.
The pope could instruct bishops to acknowledge the truth about Christian persecution and to have this news spread to every Catholic church. Perhaps a weekly prayer for the persecuted church could be institutionalized—keeping the plight of those hapless Christians in the spotlight, so Western Catholics and others always remember them, talk about them, and, perhaps most importantly, understand why they are being persecuted.
(Brussel/Istanbul) The European Parliament backed a motion on Wednesday that calls the massacre a century ago of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turkish forces a "genocide", days after Pope Francis triggered fury in Turkey by using the same term.
Although the resolution repeated language previously adopted by the parliament in 1987, it could stoke tensions with EU candidate nation Turkey. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said even before the vote took place that he would ignore the result.
After the vote, the Turkish foreign ministry accused the European Parliament of attempting to rewrite history.
Muslim Turkey agrees that Christian Armenians were killed in clashes with Ottoman forces that began on April 15, 1915, when large numbers of Armenians lived in the empire ruled by Istanbul, but denies that this amounted to genocide.
These are times of martyrdom, Francis said last week, and the martyrs of today are so many, “we can say that they are more numerous than in the first centuries.”
The day after publicly commemorating the Armenian genocide and risking a hostile response from Turkey, Pope Francis spoke of the need for courage to proclaim the truth boldly, no matter what the consequences.
The way of the Church is that of “openness and speaking freely,” said Francis Monday in his homily at Mass in the Santa Marta residence in Vatican City.
Drawing from the reading of the day from the Acts of the Apostles, the Pope pointed to the example of the apostles of Peter and John, who fearlessly preached Christ’s resurrection despite the threats from local authorities.
According to the account, the Apostles prayed, “Lord, take note of their threats, and enable your servants to speak your word with all boldness.”
On Sunday, the Pope announced that it was “a duty” to honor the memory of the victims of the genocide, “for whenever memory fades, it means that evil allows wounds to fester.”
“Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it!” he said.
