Posted on 11/11/2005 8:30:21 AM PST by Pyro7480
The Church Breaks its Silence over the Islam of the Ayatollahs
The Vatican lodges diplomatic objections. And the international magazine of the patriarchate of Venice, “Oasis,” publishes a report on the repression of Christians in Iran. Here it is:
by Sandro Magister
ROMA, November 11, 2005 – At the very moment when Iran is more at the center of the world’s attention than ever – on account of its nuclear weapons program and its restatement of its desire to eliminate the state of Israel – even the Vatican, which is usually prudent diplomatically, has made a little foray out of its customary silence.
On October 28, a press release from the Holy See press office, which was dictated by the secretariat of state, condemned “some particularly serious and unacceptable declarations denying the state of Israel’s right to exist.”
It doesn’t give any names, but the reference to Iran is unmistakable: in particular, to the speech given on October 25 in Tehran by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (in the photo), and even more particularly to this passage:
“Imam Khomeini said: ‘This regime that is occupying Jerusalem must be eliminated from the pages of history.’ This sentence is very wise. [...] The Islamic people cannot allow this historical enemy to exist in the heart of the Islamic world.”
Vatican diplomacy doesn’t usually protest publicly against the Islamic regime installed in Iran in 1979 by imam Khomeini. The logic of Vatican diplomacy is “realistic.” In order to safeguard the small Catholic community living in the country, silence is held to be more effective than open denunciation.
But this time, relations between the Holy See and Israel are also in play. The October 28 Vatican press release that condemns the declarations of the Iranian president also condemns “the terrorist attack in Hadera, and the ensuing backlash” and restates “the right of both the Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security, each group in its own sovereign state.”
Remaining silent over Iran’s declared intention of wiping Israel out would have damaged the entirety of the Vatican’s policy on the Holy Land.
In any case, Iran is a sore spot for the Holy See’s international agenda. In that country, the religious freedom of anyone who does not belong to Shiite Islam is significantly repressed. John Paul II pointed this out to the new Iranian ambassador to the Holy See in a discourse on October 29, 2004, in which he called for greater liberty. No promising sign of this can yet be discerned, in spite of – in the pope’s words – “the development in Iran of regular, high-level dialogue between Christians and Muslims.”
There are two reports that deal with the current restrictions on religious liberty in Iran: the one released in 2005 by Aid to the Church in Need, and the International Religious Freedom Report 2005 released last November 8 by the U.S. State Department.
The most persecuted, without a doubt, are the faithful of the Baha’i religion, which was born in Iran in the nineteenth century.
But the small Christian community also faces serious difficulties.
The Church’s roots in Iran are very ancient, going back to the second century. Mingled together with Zoroastrianism, which was dominant at the time, and with Manicheanism, it asserted itself against the influence of Rome and Constantinople, and did not adhere to the Christological dogmas established by the Council of Chalcedon. The later arrival of Islam stimulated its missionary expansion to the east, all the way to China. Today the majority of Christians in Iran belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church, called the “Gregorian” Church, while the Catholics number around 10,000. The fact that they are ethnic minorities – Armenians and Assyro-Caldeans – as well as religious minorities makes the Christians in Khomeini’s Iran outsiders twice over.
There is little information on the life of Christians in Iran. But just as the Vatican was breaking its diplomatic silence, an important magazine promoted by the patriarchate of Venice, headed by cardinal Angelo Scola, broke the informational silence.
The magazine is “Oasis.” It is printed in Italian, English, French, Arabic, and Urdu, and it is aimed at the Christians of the East. It is sent to bishops, Church leaders, and also to non-Christian personalities in the countries of Eastern Europe and Asia.
In its latest edition, released at the end of October, “Oasis” published a report on the Christians in Iran, which was written by a very competent observer of the Churches in Muslim countries, Camille Eid, from Lebanon.
Here follows the report, by the gracious permission of the magazine:
(Read the entire report at http://www.chiesa.espressonline.it/dettaglio.jsp?id=41931&eng=y Key excerpts follow)
“Shim’on pesar-e Yohana, àya mara mahabat mi nema’ì?,” pronounced the priest reading the Gospel in Farsi: “Simon, son of John, do you really love me?” This was a real surprise for the faithful and the representatives of the Iranian authorities who had gathered in the Chaldean cathedral of Tehran to honour the memory of John Paul II. The use of Farsi in Christian celebrations, in fact, is “strongly not advised” by the government, which is worried that the Christian Word will spread amongst Muslims.
“The use of Farsi in the liturgy is a service of faith,” observes Msgr. Ramzi Garmou, the Catholic Chaldean Archbishop of the Iranian capital. “We are not at the service of a specific ethnic group, but of the whole nation. If every religious community were to attend solely to its own ethnic group what would happen tomorrow to the Church in Iran?”
...And to what point does the ethnic character of the Iranian Churches constitute a handicap for their mission? “Our chief concern is to maintain our traditions. We do not encourage proselytising. Witness to the Gospel is reflected in the life of a Christian before it is preached in church. We do not live in the West. Iran in the final analysis is an Islamic state and it is up to us to be astute, as Christ, indeed, asks us to be.”
This “astuteness”, we should remember, has in large measure saved the Armenians from the repression endured by other Christians. For example, they managed to obtain their confiscated schools, even though that had to accept the government appointment of Muslim directors. Such was not the case with the Latin Church which was suspected of sympathy for the West and whose school structures were dismantled during the first two years of the Islamic revolution: fourteen Catholic schools were closed (amongst which prestigious schools run by Lazarists and Salesians), lodging houses and dispensaries were confiscated, and priests and nuns were expelled. “We are here because Christians should not be abandoned,” a foreign nun who has lived in Iran for a number of years told me in confidence. “We strive to maintain what is essential in Christianity. Thank heaven we have seen an improvement in the situation: the state has moved from open hostility towards the Latin Church to a stage of moderation under Rafsanjani and then to greater openness under Khatami.”
...Msgr. Neshan Karakeheyan, of Greek origins, since February 2001 has been the Bishop of the small Armenian-Catholic community, a community that has been reduced to only one hundred and fifty families (and no priest) after the departure of a large number of faithful for America and Europe. “The Gregorians – laments the Bishop – took advantage of our temporary absence to take over our school.” Did you not ask the Gregorian Bishop to intervene? “Unfortunately he was not able to do anything because in the Gregorian community it is the Majles-e Melli, the community council made up of members of the laity, who take the decisions. However, we were able to take back two schools thanks to the mediation of the Palestinian prelate Hylarion Cappucci, who has good relations with Iran.” The seven hundred students, all of whom are Armenians because it is forbidden to have Muslims, follow lessons in Armenian and study the catechism as well the official curriculum.
The catechism is a reason for a shared protest on the part of all the Christians. The bookseller looks at us with an amazed air when he sees us take all the available editions of Ketob-e Ta’limate Dini, the textbook on religion for the exclusive use of the non-Islamic minorities. On the frontispiece there is always (as is the case with some parish halls) a photograph of Ayatollah Khomeini, a symbol of the control exercised by the Ministry of Islamic Guidance (Ershad) over religious teaching. “This textbook is clearly syncretistic,” observes Mattia, an Assyrian-Chaldean lecturer. “For that matter, in Iranian schools Islam permeates all the disciplines, from literature to language. In the catechism one has only to replace the word Khoda (God in Persian) with Allah, din (religion) with Islam and nabi (prophet) with Mohammed to understand that this is a veiled injection of Islam into the lessons of religion,” which number five in elementary schools and three in secondary schools. Mattia also emphasises that the mark that students receive at their religious examination is awarded in part (50%) by the Church and in part (50%) by the government.
“We are not satisfied with the contents or the question-answer style of this book,” says Msgr. Garmou. “This textbook was drawn up immediately after the revolution, in special circumstances, and should thus be changed. A new edition is currently being prepared by a team of experts from four Churches. We hope that we will obtain the approval of the authorities to put it in circulation by the next academic year.” Many people complain that the teachers entrusted with religious teaching are not sufficiently trained. “Some of them – says Mrs. Karakeheyan – only want to increase their salaries. One of them even stated in front of the students that Christ is not God!”
...In an empty church in Tehran, the devotion of four Muslim girls attracts my attention. “I am ashamed that I met Jesus Christ so late,” says Negar, who works as an interpreter. Parastoo says that she comes to church once a week “to find peace.” And how does she pray? “I pray to Hazrat Mariam (i. e. Our Lady), saying: Lady of the earth, I believe in your God, who is also mine, in your Son, Issa (Jesus), and in your religion. Help me to be a good person and I will always be at your side.”
ping
Catholic ping!
Yeah, but the Teheran Times just came out with a six part series on the condition of Muslims in Vatican City. It's apparently not good -- they're excluded from most employment, including from all the top business and government posts.
I should hope that Muslims are excluded from Vatican City. DUH.
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