Bishop Paul Hinder blesses the cornerstone of a new UAE church. Credit:St. Joseph's Cathedral of Abu Dhabi
Posted on 07/31/2013 6:21:17 AM PDT by NYer
.- Catholics in the town of Mussafah in the United Arab Emirates have begun construction on a new church dedicated to St. Paul.
Bishop Paul Hinder, O.F.M., the Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia, blessed the church’s foundation stone on June 29 in the presence of the local Catholic community, including priests and religious missionaries .
“God dwells in each person ... and with faith and love (is) gathering us together in this new church,” Bishop Hinder said.
He said he hoped the love of Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit will enable the “speedy” completion of the church, expected to be finished in two years.
Mussafah is an industrial town southwest of the capital city Abu Dhabi.
There are about 3,500 Catholic families and about 15,000 Catholic laborers around Abu Dhabi. Many are guest workers from Africa, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and the Philippines, but some are local Arabs, George Puthussery, press officer for the Abu Dhabi-based Vicariate of Southern Arabia, told CNA.
In 2011, the local government of Abu Dhabi granted a land area of 1.1 acres for the construction of the parish church.
St. Paul’s Church would be the second parish of the Abu Dhabi area. For almost fifty years, St. Joseph’s Cathedral has been the only church for Catholics near Abu Dhabi.
People travel 23 miles from Mussafah to attend to religious services at
St Joseph’s Cathedral.
Puthussery said the new church will make it “easy” for working residents of the area to attend church.
The Vicariate of Southern Arabia covers the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen, where the population s primarily Muslim. Eighteen Masses are celebrated in the vicariate each Sunday in various languages. There are 46 priests serving about seven million Catholics in the vicariate.
A new church recently opened in the United Arab Emirates.
In June, Cardinal Fernando Filoni, head of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, consecrated St. Anthony of Padua Church in the northeastern town of Jazirat Al Hamra on the Persian Gulf.
The Holy See and the United Arab Emirates established full diplomatic relations in 2007.
Ping!
This is great. I wish them blessings, safety, and peace.
I’m a little puzzled by the architecture, which doesn’t look like a church at all.
Maybe that is intentional, but it looks like a car wash.
Just guessing that this Church isn’t going to go over well, in a primarily murderous muzzie filth country. Hope I’m wrong.
well, Bahrain has had a church for decades now (Sacred heart Church — i used to go there), and Dubai too.
More than likely, you are correct about it being intentional (= mandated). FWIU, the other catholic church, recently built in Dubai? (help me out here Cronos) is also used by non-catholic christians for their services.
“I’m a little puzzled by the architecture, which doesn’t look like a church at all.”
It’s not allowed to look like a church. It is built this way to not “offend” Muslim sensibilities.
I assumed that to be the case...that it can’t look like a Catholic Church because of the you-know-whos. Of course, the mosques they built in my (mostly elderly Jews)neighborhood are UNMISTAKABLY MOSQUES.
Here’s an example from the U.A.E.: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLoxNeTSTFc
Catholic Churches can be built in some of the Persian Gulf companies but they are built without crosses being displayed, no towers, and no bells. Muslims hate the bells especially. Bells and bell towers are signs of conquest to Muslims because that’s how they view their own minarets.
“Displaying any kind of statue or cross, or putting a bell or steeple on the outside of the building is prohibited. With these restrictions enforced, many Muslims do not have a problem with the church’s presence. Symbolism of any kind, including hanging of statues of religious figures is forbidden in Islam, Uzma Ansari, executive assistant at The Next Generation School in Qatar, said. “If they’re [Christians] not disturbing us and peacefully carrying out their practice, then it’s fine,” Ansari said.” http://elysiaw.wordpress.com/2010/11/08/the-catholic-church-of-our-lady-of-the-rosary-in-qatar/
Even inside these Catholic churches have only muted Christian symbols so Muslims don’t murder the Christians:
http://hrga-av.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Picture18.png
Notice here the wall and barriers to stop car bombers: http://elysiaw.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/dsc_0001.jpg
When it opened in 2008 Christians feared a backlash: http://web.archive.org/web/20080316000915/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,338014,00.html#
These Catholics are among our Persecuted Brethren, and we pray for them daily here on FR.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
