![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/56\/2013\/06\/13pope2.jpg\" "\\"Pope")
<\/a><\/p>\nVarious corners<\/a><\/strong> of the internets have been aswarm with critical reaction<\/a><\/strong> to Cardinal Timothy Dolan\u2019s recent visit to a Staten Island mosque.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Some critics have said he was wrong to state that Muslims and Christians worship the same God; commenters have criticized him for comparing Muslims to Catholics and a few have expressed shock that he stated that he doesn\u2019t want them to abandon their faith. \u00a0For the record: the cardinal was following in the footsteps of popes; both Pope Benedict (see above) and Blessed John Paul II \u00a0visited and prayed at mosques and had had warm words for those of the Muslim faith.<\/p>\n I thought it might be helpful to look at what the Church has had to say about relations with the Muslims. These writings give the cardinal\u2019s visit context; I think they also might clear up a few misunderstandings about the Church\u2019s relationship with other religions.<\/p>\n From the Vatican II document,\u00a0Nostra Aetate<\/em>:\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n The Church regards with esteem also the Moslems. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all- powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth,(5) who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God. Though they do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere Him as a prophet. They also honor Mary, His virgin Mother; at times they even call on her with devotion. In addition, they await the day of judgment when God will render their deserts to all those who have been raised up from the dead. Finally, they value the moral life and worship God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting.<\/p>\n Since in the course of centuries not a few quarrels and hostilities have arisen between Christians and Moslems, this sacred synod urges all to forget the past and to work sincerely for mutual understanding and to preserve as well as to promote together for the benefit of all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom\u2026<\/p>\n \u2026As the Church has always held and holds now, Christ underwent His passion and death freely, because of the sins of men and out of infinite love, in order that all may reach salvation. It is, therefore, the burden of the Church\u2019s preaching to proclaim the cross of Christ as the sign of God\u2019s all-embracing love and as the fountain from which every grace flows.<\/p>\n We cannot truly call on God, the Father of all, if we refuse to treat in a brotherly way any man, created as he is in the image of God. Man\u2019s relation to God the Father and his relation to men his brothers are so linked together that Scripture says: \u201cHe who does not love does not know God\u201d (1 John 4:8).<\/p>\n No foundation therefore remains for any theory or practice that leads to discrimination between man and man or people and people, so far as their human dignity and the rights flowing from it are concerned.<\/p>\n The Church reproves, as foreign to the mind of Christ, any discrimination against men or harassment of them because of their race, color, condition of life, or religion. On the contrary, following in the footsteps of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, this sacred synod ardently implores the Christian faithful to \u201cmaintain good fellowship among the nations\u201d (1 Peter 2:12), and, if possible, to live for their part in peace with all men,(14) so that they may truly be sons of the Father who is in heaven.(15)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n From Pope Benedict\u2019s document on the Church in the Middle East, Ecclesia in Medio Orient<\/a>e<\/strong>:<\/em><\/p>\n Jews, Christians and Muslims alike believe in one God, the Creator of all men and women. May Jews, Christians and Muslims rediscover one of God\u2019s desires, that of the unity and harmony of the human family. May Jews, Christians and Muslims find in\u00a0other believers<\/em>\u00a0brothers and sisters to be respected and loved, and in this way, beginning in their own lands, give the beautiful witness of serenity and concord between the children of Abraham. Rather than being exploited in endless conflicts which are unjustifiable for authentic believers, the acknowledgment of one God \u2013 if lived with a pure heart \u2013 can make a powerful contribution to peace in the region and to respectful coexistence on the part of its peoples\u2026<\/p>\n \u2026The Catholic Church, in fidelity to the teachings of the\u00a0Second Vatican Council<\/a>, looks with esteem to Muslims, who worship God above all by prayer, almsgiving and fasting, revere Jesus as a prophet while not acknowledging his divinity, and honour Mary, his Virgin Mother. We know that the encounter of Islam and Christianity has often taken the form of doctrinal controversy. Sadly, both sides have used doctrinal differences as a pretext for justifying, in the name of religion, acts of intolerance, discrimination, marginalization and even of persecution.<\/p>\n Despite this fact, Christians live daily alongside Muslims in the Middle East, where their presence is neither recent nor accidental, but has a long history. As an integral part of the Middle East, Christians have developed over the centuries a type of relationship with their surroundings which can prove instructive. They have let themselves be challenged by Muslim devotion and piety, and have continued, in accordance with their means and to the extent possible, to live by and to promote the values of the Gospel in the surrounding culture. The result has been a particular form of symbiosis. It is proper, then, to acknowledge the contribution made by Jews, Christians and Muslims in the formation of a rich culture proper to the Middle East.<\/p>\n \u2026 Religious tolerance exists in a number of countries, but it does not have much effect since it remains limited in its field of action. There is a need to move beyond tolerance to religious freedom. Taking this step does not open the door to relativism, as some would maintain. It does not compromise belief, but rather calls for a reconsideration of the relationship between man, religion and God. It is not an attack on the \u201cfoundational truths\u201d of belief, since, despite human and religious divergences, a ray of truth shines on all men and women.\u00a0We know very well that truth, apart from God, does not exist as an autonomous reality. If it did, it would be an idol. The truth cannot unfold except in an otherness open to God, who wishes to reveal his own otherness in and through my human brothers and sisters. Hence it is not fitting to state in an exclusive way: \u201cI possess the truth\u201d. The truth is not possessed by anyone; it is always a gift which calls us to undertake a journey of ever closer assimilation to truth. Truth can only be known and experienced in freedom; for this reason we cannot impose truth on others; truth is disclosed only in an encounter of love.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n I\u2019d encourage anyone interested in more to visit the links and read these documents in full.<\/p>\n Also: a reader alerted me to a two-part examination of monotheism by Mark Shea which she found illuminating and helpful. \u00a0Check out Part 1<\/a><\/strong> and Part 2.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Various corners of the internets have been aswarm with critical reaction to Cardinal Timothy Dolan\u2019s recent visit to a Staten Island mosque. Some critics have said he was wrong to state that Muslims and Christians worship the same God; commenters have criticized him for comparing Muslims to Catholics and a few have expressed shock that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,20,24,602,39],"tags":[1057,1182,11208],"class_list":["post-24133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bishops","category-hanging-with-the-saints","category-interfaith-news","category-muslims","category-pope","tag-cardinal-dolan","tag-interfaith-news-2","tag-muslims"],"yoast_head":"\n