As a counterpoint to the predictably sycophantic speech of the French bishop Jean-Paul Mathieu in welcoming a new Islamic mosque in France, the enclosed comes from a cleric of the Priestly Society of St. Pius X. Rarely, if ever, will you read today anything with this force coming from Catholic—or Protestant, for that matter—clergymen, most of whom are self-deluded about Islam’s innocence.
It should be mentioned that the four bishops of the Priestly Society of St. Pius X (hereafter: SSPX) were excommunicated by Pope John Paul II in 1988, when they were consecrated by the SSPX founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefevbre; that ban was lifted by the current pontiff. Still, the SSPX, which now has more than 550 priests worldwide, insists that the results of the catastrophic Second Vatican Council departed from traditional Catholic teaching. Nowhere does Vatican II depart from previous Catholic orthodoxy more dramatically than in fostering a phony spirit of “ecumenism,” which has notably failed despite Catholic efforts to keep it alive.
Events in Libya and Syria demonstrate once again—if that is necessary—that Islam seeks the total annihilation of Christianity in the Middle East, proof coming from the voices of Catholic clerics, and articles included on the Vatican website, Fides. If Syria falls, Lebanon will be the only nation in the region with a sizeable Christian population, but for how long? Despite all of these signs, Vatican officials continue their delusional desire for dialogue with those who have no interest in hearing or speaking to them.
Here is the document sent by Mr. Chiarello:
A one-way street:
USCCB sharing concern with Muslims
on religious freedom
Bishop Madden of Baltimore who chairs the Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said that he took “great joy” in sharing a message from the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue with the U.S. Muslim community [for the Islamic holy season of Ramadan—Ed].[1]
This letter promoted the need for “solidarity and fraternal love” in order to properly build “a culture which respects the dignity and the rights of every citizen.”[2]
Bishop Madden also added that the faithful of the future will “look to us for guidance and as exemplars of the peace and harmony intrinsic to productive, positive interreligious work.” Growing threats to religious freedom have become an increasing concern to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, as local and national policies have threatened the ability of the faithful to live out their faith in the public sphere. “Together let us commit to joining our voices in religious liberty, both for our fellow Christians and Muslims today and for those who will come after us,” the bishop said, adding that “we move forward together standing shoulder to shoulder in loving service and fidelity to God.”
Meanwhile, in other parts of the world, Christians are undergoing persecution on the part of relentless Muslims. The Fides Agency repeatedly mentions the growing number of Christian children kidnapped and killed in the framework of sordid traffics, as in the recent case of Sunil Masih (a Pakistani Maria Goretti) and Shazia Bashir. Others are accused of blasphemy like Rimsha Maish. [of which it has just come to light that the accusing iman completely fabricated the accusations of a blasphemous act, even against the advice of his Islamic confreres.—Ed] “Those who strike children have reached an intolerable limit of prevarication and inhumanity,” says Fr. Channan, OP, Director of the Peace Centre of Lahore, who is fully engaged in interreligious dialogue. He is lobbying for a revision of an “unjust and ambiguous law against blasphemy” open to all types of abuses. He is trying to alert UN special observer to take note of these violations against religious freedom.
Our commentary
No doubt, there is a gulf between the religious situation in the United States and Pakistan. And in more ways than one! Pakistan is one of the world’s largest Muslim countries where Christians are a minority group under five percent of the total population. The Sharia [Islamic laws] dominates the political and social horizon, which is not particularly freedom friendly. The list of Catholic martyrs is long in that country and so far, the United Nations has not made any serious move to stop the persecution, possibly because few are ready to tackle another big cat, besides the Afghanistan nightmare.
This being said, a grain of wisdom from the United States’ bishop delegated to the Muslim rapprochement might help him realize that we are light years away from any serious “productive, positive interreligious work.” It may be well and good to offer a common front against the radical agenda of modern legislation under the name of the First Amendment protection each one’s religious faith. This is substantially what Pope Benedict XVI has been advocating all along against the atheistic takeover of legislation across the European board.
But is the interreligious front the last bastion against the approaching godless Agamemnon? Archbishop Lefebvre knew by experience that Catholic groups could not join forces with Christian denominations—let alone non-Christian ones—to defend their liberties. In the case of the defense of private schools in Senegal, he found out that the common front was a weakened front and that the “allies” soon turned out to be but weaklings or traitors or both.
And here, we are dealing with an altogether different kettle of fish. When in power, the Shariaist and fanatical Muslims—like it or not, this is their trademark—will not enforce the principle of religious liberty for others, nor even their natural human rights, evidenced by even an avant-garde Dominican who found this out in Pakistan and finally uttered the word: “enough!”
This is because, at its core, the Muslim religion is against nature, a devilish invention made to entrap millions of souls through fear, threats and the destruction of reason, not unlike Communism. It is difficult to understand, as Bishop Madden pretends, how both Muslims and Catholics can be united “in loving service and fidelity to God” when they do not worship the same God, when Muslims reject His name of “Father” and do not equate one’s “neighbor” as a brother deserving of Christian charity.
It would behoove Bishop Madden to be mindful of this inescapable reality, particularly the next time he deals with his “friends” whose not so reassuring (and self-serving) motto is “kiss the hand [the bishop’s ring] that you cannot strike” (for now).