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| Catholic US Archbishop calls Muslims out on their lies |
| 2006-08-17 |
| Denver, Aug. 16, 2006 (CNA) - Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput spoke out this week against the promulgation of lies regarding the history of Christian-Muslim relations. In his weekly Denver Catholic Register column, Chaput said that recent fallacious statements by a Denver-area Islamic leader, who reportedly claimed that Muslims have never tried to force conversions to their faith, do nothing to advance the causes of peace or interreligious understanding. Chaput said that the Muslim-Christian conflict has existed for centuries and is based upon “deep religious differences.” During centuries of fighting, both Christians and Muslims have acted in a sinful manner towards one another, he said, but it’s necessary to be honest about the sins both sides have committed in the past in order to bring about peace in the future. The archbishop said he felt compelled to address the issue after reading a recent news story which contained claims that, “it was European Christians, never Muslims, who tried to root out those who didn’t agree with them,” a statement which Chaput says is just plain false. Chaput said that while Christians have certainly committed sins against Muslims in the past, to claim that Muslims have not committed their own sins and acted in violent, militant manners is a lie. Added emphasis mine. Read the rest at the link. The Catholic Church needs more like this guy - he certainly calls things what they are and isnt afraid of the truth about Muslims or history. |
| Posted by:Oldspook |
| #23 an aside about the Catechism I quoted regarding Catholic obligations when dealing with sinners or those doing sinful acts, we are culpable for sins when we promote them ... —by ordering, advising, praising, or approving them; —by not disclosing or not hindering them when we have an obligation to do so; Now you can see why so many Catholics are angry with the Church over its coddling of the pro-abortion positions so-called Catholic politicians like Kennedy and Kerry - the Church's own guidance contradicts the "hands off" that some Bishops and Cardinals have taken. If you aren't Catholic there is no binding on you - so go ahead and be pro-abortion or pro-choice, but don't expect to be able to call yourself a Catholic in good faith, and don't expect the Church to support you because of your involvement in such matters. I have no problem with Lieberman being pro-choice. I oppose him, but understand his position (even as I disagree with it). But for Kerry and Kennedy to proclaim themselves to be Catholic and Pro-Choice is beyond the pale. They denigrate Catholicism by flouting God's rules (as Catholics see them) for political convenience. They are dishonest and dishonorable as shown by those actions. OK done ranting, back to your regularly scheduled rantburg.... |
| Posted by: Oldspook 2006-08-17 22:26 |
#22 (putting on my Biblical Scholar hat)Matt. 7:1-5 Do not judge lest you be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, `Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Its a shame the whole of the quotation is never used, and the context is almost always lost. The "Judge Not" was an admonishment to the hypocritical Pharisees and Sadducees of the times. The held others to letter of the law without understanding the spirit of the law. They distorted the laws of God in order to use them to persecute people they didn't like, and were simply blatantly unfair. Jesus' warning to them was to be objective, just, impartial and fair, not to be morally relative, nor to abuse the law for their own powers. It is a warning to judges that they will be held to a higher standard by God. This is pointed out in James: James 3:1 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment. The intent here is not to aver judgment - indeed judgement is necessary for repentance - and repentance is the key for mercy. The intent here is to allow Christians to judge, because wrong is wrong, but to show mercy to those who repent and genuinely try to reconcile themselves to God, and to not abuse the law such as certain parts of Judaism were doing at the time. From a Catholic point of view, we can draw on the Catechism of the Church: The Catechism #1868 says, "...we have a responsibility for the sins committed by others when we cooperate in them: —by participating directly and voluntarily in them; —by ordering, advising, praising, or approving them; —by not disclosing or not hindering them when we have an obligation to do so; —by protecting evil-doers." Pretty encompassing, eh? As beings "in God's own image", we are called to discern good from evil (remember that tree and banishment from Eden?), and to state the truth and point out error. If we do not, we fail part of our essential natures; we may tacitly encourage error or sinful actions of others to continue, and the burdens of those sins will fall on us as well. John 7: 24 calls us to "judge with righteous judgment." So we cannot be reluctant to call evil, "evil" and good, "good." We should never judge hearts except in perhaps extreme circumstances, but we are to judge behavior against God’s standard of right and wrong. As Catholics, we are a moral people and must make moral judgments -- consequently we cannot be afraid to stand for the truth. Chuck Colson (whose prison ministries have done wonderful work) puts all of the above quite succinctly: "True tolerance is not a total lack of judgment. It’s knowing what should be tolerated—and refusing to tolerate that which shouldn’t." Archbishop Chaput seems to be center target on this with his comments. |
| Posted by: Oldspook 2006-08-17 22:19 |
| #21 While I am not a big fan of the Catholic church and its historical track record, I can only applaud both Pope Benedict and Archbishop Chaput for their unflinching assessments of Islam. As seen with Pope John Paul's intercession regarding Poland, the church has within its grasp the power to instill much positive change. I can only hope that Pope Benedict et al will continue to press Islam with respect to freedom of religion within the borders of Muslim majority nations. This is a keystone issue in making the final determination that Islam is not a religion and, instead, a political ideology. It is almost incumbent upon the Catholic church, as a global institution, to begin applying this pressure, if only for the sake of its own spread. Moreover, for the sake of all mankind and, even, its putative salvation, the Catholic church is literally obliged to begin administering less-than-subtle pressure upon Islam and Muslims in general. That all other religions, save perhaps Judaism, stand mute in the face of relentless religious persecution by Islamic theocracies is an indictment of their own, however sublimated, desires for ascendancy. If our governments lack the fortitude to enforce a prohibition upon the current practice of Islam, with its death sentence for apostasy, then it is up to our religious institutions to begin a push for the proscription of any religion that maintains a death penalty for conversion to another religion. Elsewise, it betokens an acceptance or admission that all other religions are inferior to Islam. All undue bias aside, I can confidently say, based upon mysogynistic practices alone, that Islam is decidedly inforior to a vast majority of this world's other faiths. Such being the case, perhaps it is time for the church to dispense with the outdated concept of moral relativism (i.e., judge not lest ye be judged) and begin calling a spade a spade. Pope Benedict has done so and gets my loud applause for it. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-08-17 18:24 |
| #20 In true form they should loudly scream that the Archbishop is lying, that Islam is a religion of peace, and threaten to behead him. Hopefully all in the same sentence. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-08-17 17:22 |
| #19 SwissTex, yup, and apparently this works in french too. Who cares about dyslexia with that? |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2006-08-17 16:46 |
| #18 Archbishop Chaput does indeed have some serious stones. He is a treasure in the Catholic Church in the United States. We need more like him. |
| Posted by: Sgt. D.T. 2006-08-17 16:44 |
| #17 And muzzies are wildly misanthopic. |
| Posted by: Spot 2006-08-17 16:25 |
| #16 I hvae raed some wehre it deos not mttaer if the ltteres are mxeid up as lnog as the frist and lsat lttere are at the rghit palce ): |
| Posted by: SwissTex 2006-08-17 16:24 |
| #15 I'm mildly misanthropic. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2006-08-17 15:54 |
| #14 So, you have heard the one about the dyslexic theologians who got into a tremendous argument about the meaning and purpose of dog? |
| Posted by: Sgt. Mom 2006-08-17 15:48 |
| #13 After reading Mucky for a couple years, I had no problem understanding, OS |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-08-17 15:46 |
| #12 Screen alert, Sea. That was LOW. |
| Posted by: BA 2006-08-17 15:45 |
| #11 What's wrong with lysdexia? |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2006-08-17 15:29 |
| #10 Yeah, but it's not as bad as some of the other failings.... |
| Posted by: Bobby 2006-08-17 15:22 |
| #9 I have been diagnosed as mildly dyslexic. Bad news, OS. It seems to get worse with age. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-08-17 15:13 |
| #8 Archbishop Chaput has some serious stones. He has been outspoken on a lot of things - he is remarkable compared to the many other mealy-mouthed "politician" Bishops/Archbishops. Would that more in the Catholic Church have such courage to speak the truth! (or at least KNOW the truth unlike Soldano and the euro-leftys that seem to abound in the Vatican, in spite of the Pope's more orthodox views) |
| Posted by: Oldspook 2006-08-17 14:52 |
| #7 whenever someone says "always" or "never" I tend to assume them wrong. With some exceptions, of course ;) |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2006-08-17 14:18 |
| #6 Nah, for some reason I transpose a lot when I'm in a rush. I even transpose syllables. the odd thing is that they read normally when I look at them, but later jump out. I have been diagnosed as mildly dyslexic. |
| Posted by: Oldspook 2006-08-17 14:13 |
| #5 He's right. |
| Posted by: newc 2006-08-17 14:13 |
| #4 Ditto OS. Hey are you using my keyboard ? |
| Posted by: J. D. Lux 2006-08-17 14:09 |
| #3 To the leftists and terr backers: TRUTH and history. Learn It, Know It, Live It. The Muslims have been doing this for centuries - the only time they stop si when they ahve been beaten into submission. Time for another beating. |
| Posted by: Oldspook 2006-08-17 14:06 |
| #2 Why can't out newspaper peopel learn these thigns that wer ein the article - and debunk all the BS the Islamists spout? The archbishop pointed out the “armed military expansion” of Islam which has occurred since the religion’s creation. On the other hand, he said, Christians struggled with the place of military force in its worldview for the first 300 years and had no “theology of Crusade” until the 11th Century. “In fact,” Chaput said, “the Christian Byzantine Empire had already been resisting Muslim expansion in the East for 400 years before Pope Urban II called the First Crusade – as a defensive response to generations of armed jihad.” Chaput also pointed to the forced conversion of the once Christian Middle East. “Surviving Christian communities have endured centuries of marginalization, discrimination, violence, slavery and outright persecution – not always and not everywhere; but as a constant, recurring and central theme of Muslim domination,” he said. “That same Christian suffering continues down to the present,” Chaput said. In addition to mentioning the persecution of Christians in the Muslim Ottoman Empire of the early 1900’s, in Turkey, and in Egypt, Archbishop Chaput pointed to more recent reports of harassment and violence throughout the world, “from Bangladesh, Iran, Sudan, Pakistan and Iraq, to Nigeria, Indonesia and even Muslim-dominated areas of the heavily Catholic Philippines.” “In Saudi Arabia,” the archbishop continued, “all public expressions of Christian faith are forbidden. The on-going Christian flight from Lebanon has helped to transform it, in just half a century, from a majority Christian Arab nation to a majority Muslim population.” |
| Posted by: Oldspook 2006-08-17 14:04 |
| #1 Good. These things need to be said. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-08-17 14:02 |