Posted on 01/04/2007 3:00:04 AM PST by Robert Drobot
A number of Catholic lay organizations of Cordoba and southern Spain expressed their unreserved support for the decision on the part of Bishop Juan José Asenjo to refuse to bow to pressures from the Islamic Council of Spain to turn a church into a mosque. Part of the cathedral in Cordoba was a mosque many centuries ago, but for some 600 years it has been a place consecrated to Catholic worship and the Mass.
Mansur Escudero, president of the Islamic Council, demanded in December 2006 that the cathedral be converted into a “multi-faith” centre where Muslims would conduct formal prayer and worship. Hearing of the Bishop’s decision, Escudero spoke at a press conference on January 1st in front of the cathedral where he prayed on a carpet to “soften the heart of the bishop.”
Felipa María Bautista, the president of the Forum for Christian Presence, said in response that “it makes no sense to take a share in Catholic worship in a cathedral” while criticizing Escudero for an “antagonizing” stance.
Victoria Briceño told the ABC newspaper of Spain said as president of Catholic Action of Cordoba that her organization utterly supports Bishop Asenjo. Referring to Escudero’s request for a multi-faith center, Briceño said that “he should have done the same with the imams who bar Christians from entering mosques” while reminding him that “he doesn’t to call on journalists in order to pray.”
Francisco Alcalde of the Confraternities and Brotherhoods of Cordoba also expressed his support for the bishop’s stance, saying that Escudero’s “prayer” merely “contributes to disunion, indeed it is inadequate.”
Juan José Jurado, president of the Spanish Society for Nocturnal Adoration in Cordoba said that “the first step towards living together is mutual respect. The freedom and ease with which Muslims practice their religion in countries of Christian tradition, including Spain, is not in any way corresponded to Christians living in Muslim countries.”
The vicar general of the diocese of Cordoba, Monsignor Santiago Gómez Sierra, said that Escudero’s request is “disproportionate”, while he also contrasted the freedom Muslims enjoy in Spain with the situation for Christians in Muslim countries. “It is saddening that the Catholic Church and the cathedral deanery of Cordoba, who are the owners of a temple consecrated to Catholic worship, should be subjected to such unjust and disproportionate pressures…Within the framework of a minimal amount of reciprocity, Muslims must consider to what extent they respect religious freedom where they are the majority.”
Amen, and amen. Shame on those touchy-feely in the Vatican and among American bishops who have lost their spiritual fortitude to re-establish the order of Sacred Dogma separating Catholicism from all false teachings coming from the lips of men and not God Almighty. Ecumenism is an abomination against the One True Faith.
ON THE NET...
http://www.truthusa.com/AllegedInsult.html
God Bless that Spanish Bishop. What we are seeing is the fruit of this error.
I hope the Church holds fast, because the Socialist government of Córdoba is very pro-Muslim. The Muslims, who are still not very numerous (about 1000), are almost all Spanish converts who have been moving to Córdoba over the last several years. They occupy one particular street in town and have bought up the businesses and houses on that street and basically driven out the Christian residents.
Now they want to build the biggest mosque in Europe there, and make it a "pilgrimage center" for Muslims from all over Europe. The mosque and in fact the entire group and its property purchases is funded by the Saudi government. The Socialist government of Córdoba gave intitial approval for the building of the mosque (which in addition is right near the Cathedral) but there is so much anger and unrest among the non-Muslim population that they are reconsidering it. Personally, I think it's going to go through anyway, since the regional government of Andalucía (equivalent to a US state government) is also Socialist and is also very pro-Muslim, if only because they hate the Church so much.
Like most socialists in the EU. they will keep trying to purchase favor with the Saudis, and they surely find it easy to throw over the interests of Catholics. But in this they are not unlike the foreign policy establishment of the United States, who are about as irreligious.
Thanks to the efforts of NATO in Kosovo, Orthodox Churches are regularly burned or torn down to make way for the Moslems.
There's no way a Christian can support what is happening there.
Punch in the state your searching. Thereafter a list of links will ( hopefully ) locate the info you're seeking.
SCUM.
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.