Vatican Backs Controversal Saudi Faith Center

I'm REALLY starting to think that this pope isn't Catholic at all. Pope Benedict (Ratzinger) is the same pope who went to Turkey and bowed to Mecca at a Mosque during prayer time ....

Vatican Backs Controversal Saudi Faith Center

The Vatican is helping promote a new Saudi-backed interfaith center in a bid to advance religious freedom around the world. The King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Center opened Monday in Vienna with the foreign ministers from the facility’s founding nations — Saudi Arabia, Spain, and Austria — in attendance, along with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.

Supposedly this center is supposed to help people of different faiths get along .. at least that's what they are pretending it's supposed to be. However, the article also says this ...

According to the New York-based Gatestone Institute, a non-profit international policy council, the center’s primary focus enter will be “to promote a work program called "The Image of the Other," which will examine stereotypes and misconceptions about Islam in education, the media and the Internet.

So it's PRIMARY FOCUS will be to make people more open to Islam. And that means it really isn't about religious freedom. If the Vatican thinks this is going to get Saudi Arabia to legalize Catholicism in it's country .. well ...... IMHO the Vatican is being bamboozled, or they are in cahoots with some other agenda. Considering it's the Vatican, either of those is very possible.

We shouldn't support Saudi anything...

reply to post by FlyersFan


Peter denied Christ three times and then repented. He was asked to feed the sheep ever 1000 years since the first century. The first time he was asked was in the first century, leaving two more times. This is the last time he will be asked.

John 21

15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter,“Simon son of John, do you love (Agape/Divine Love) me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love (Phileo/Friendly love) you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love (Agape) me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love (Phileo) you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love (PHILEO) me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love (PHILEO) me?”
He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love (PHILEO) you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.
18 Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

The last verse is telling. Before, Peter was a servant. Now, he is served. Because of this, he will die a death that will glorify God. He feeds the sheep and the Babylon is destroyed.

112 Peter the Roman, who will nourish the sheep in many tribulations; when they are finished, the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the dreadful judge will judge his people. The End.

That is a prophecy from Saint Malachy.

Pope 112 is coming and he is likely to be African (Feed the Sheep).

I see nothing about 1000 years at all here. And you do know the catholics dont recognize st malachys prophecy as authentic right?

The Catholic church has a big push for ecumenicalism these days, so I'm not sure that supporting a centre in a Muslim country that promotes non-extremist Islam is anything that's wildly out of character.

Unlike most Protestant faiths, Catholicism doesn't teach that not being a Christian earns you a one-way ticket to hell, so by encouraging Muslims, who are extremely unlikely to convert to Christianity anyway, to be more Christlike, that would be seen as positive progress.

Chris-lam,

Can you imagine? Now that would be a force to be reckoned with.
www.theblaze.com...

Christianity today is unrecognizable from the Christianity of the early Christians, it is not unimaginable that in a few hundred years it and Islam could become an unholy alliance,

Catholicism as always blended into the cultures of the tribes.

I think it's great that everyone's imaginary friends can play together.

reply to post by FlyersFan


Well it seems that actually what the Vatican is in hopes for is to have the Arabs open another pope city next to mecca.



This fools are inviting Islam troubles in their country and they are stupid enough to think that Islam is about freedom.

I wonder if money is the main influence behind the Saudi Faith Center, after all money is always behind everything even if it means causing conflict and chaos.

Stupid, stupid decision, knowing that is mostly Saudi finance what keep terrorist groups alive and thriving and concocting the Islam take over of the world.

reply to post by EnochWasRight


Our Messiah selected 12 ordinary mortals to write down their experiences and teachings from him, so that latter generations may cross reference their texts for verification of teachings and comprehend better the selection of disciples.

He chosed all of different characters - a skeptic (Thomas), a young bravado (Peter), a matured straightforward empathetic man ( John), to a betrayer (Judas), in the spirit of openess and transparency, to discuss and share those teachings to the world.

Each and EVERYONE of them, to feed the lambs, not just one disciple.

He did not appoint anyone leader. He left it free for mortals to choose, and through his teachings of paying to Caesar and to the Kingdom of Heaven, it was very clear he made the distinction between religion and state governance, to be separated, one that teaches spirituality, and the other - governance of mortals in the temporial, with moral and ethical guidelines using free will to choose, to progress and evolve.

Peter was young, immatured and filled with bravado, ever ready with the sword. This, our Messiah knew from the start. Millions had misinterpretated that he favored Peter. It was not with favor that Peter was singled out, but rather, his lack of maturity that our Messiah had to devote extra attention to so that Peter's fate will not come to pass.

He was provened right, as Peter denied him not once, but thrice in public, on his own free will.

Our Messiah also knew Judas would betray him from the start, but his inclusion was to warn mankind of wolves existing amongst assemblies of man, and to always be careful. Judas time was short. He hung himself, and thus ended his legacy and views of the time spent with the disciples, as his words can never be accepted for the dark heart that he carried even while in the presence of our Messiah.


The Saudi interfaith initiative funded by the enlightened ruler of Saudi Arabia is for a good cause, and much good in terms of building common grounds with other faiths will help bridge our differences and end much of the religious turmoil in our world.

Saudi Arabia had long been accused of funding religious schools in their country and around the world to spread their brand of fiery Islam. Such accusations are true, and not due to the funding effort, but rather upon the men who taught in those schools.

They were largely uneducated men, steeped only into the singular religious faith, with little or no comprehension of other societies sharing our world, nor inclined to seek for such knowledge as they ignorantly and delusively believe that the interpretations and often MISinterpretations by ancestors is all the knowledge that is necessary, and thus their ignorance and backwardness.

Worse are those village imans - whom very often do not even have formal schooling, let alone religous trainning, and yet allowed to minister to their tribe or community. They hardly leave their villages, thus their worldview is limited, and easily swayed by the more cunning living amongst them.

Islam is a religion of peace. It is only by submitting one's will to Allah and follow His moral and ethical guidelines laid out will a muslim's life be better and richer in depth.

But unfortunately, the more cunning MISUSED the religion's 'submission' tenet for themselves - making muslims submit to mortal men whom can mouth a few verses of the sacred Koran for any excuse to compell another, into thinking they had submitted to the will of Allah, but in actual fact, had only submitted to the will and desires of evil men whom twisted truths and divided societies.

With this interfaith initiative, the hope is that more religious faithfuls share and discuss their insights, freely without fear or favor, so that enlightenment of common grounds can be achieved for all to live in peace at least, if not in harmony. It may take more years and efforts to change mindsets.

The OP's linked source mentions that it's story was based on a Catholic News Service report. Here's the link: www.catholicnews.com...

From the CNS story:

Explaining the Vatican's role in the new initiative, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said the center's purpose of furthering interreligious and intercultural dialogue was a "basic and an urgent need for the humanity of today and tomorrow."

The Vatican will use its role in the center to call for the "effective respect of the fundamental rights of Christians who live in countries with a Muslim majority, in order to promote authentic and integral religious liberty," the spokesman said in a statement Nov. 23.

He said the Vatican was participating in the center "in order better to put to use her experience and trusted expertise in the field of interreligious dialogue." He also noted that the center's co-founding states, Austria and Spain, "have centuries-old Christian traditions."

I just don't see a devious plot.

reply to post by FlyersFan

So it's PRIMARY FOCUS will be to make people more open to Islam. And that means it really isn't about religious freedom. If the Vatican thinks this is going to get Saudi Arabia to legalize Catholicism in it's country .. well ...... IMHO the Vatican is being bamboozled, or they are in cahoots with some other agenda. Considering it's the Vatican, either of those is very possible.

If I remember correctly, from a couple of years ago, the Board of Directors was going to be all Christian or Islamic, with other faiths represented as "observers". That seems to have changed. Now Rabbi David Rosen is a board member. There's the shift!

Another major source of concern was how independent this center would be. That's why the center was established by the three equal national partners as an international organization under Austrian law. Its directorship is constitutionally managed by a nine-member board -- three Christians (representing the Vatican, the Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarchate, and the archbishop of Canterbury), three prominent Muslim scholars (two Sunni and one Shiite), one Jew, one Hindu and one Buddhist.
. . .
(Rabbi David Rosen, the international director of interreligious affairs for the American Jewish Committee, is the Jewish member of the board of directors for the King Abdullah Center for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue.)
Why we have to take the Saudis' interfaith offer seriously

David Rosen is quite the Cosmopolitan: Israeli Rabbi, International Director of interreligious affairs for the American Jewish Committee, (does that make him an American rabbi?), received a papal Knighthood in 2005 (does that make him a Vatican rabbi?), in 2010 he was made a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) by H.M. Queen Elizabeth II (does that make him the official British rabbi?)

reply to post by SeekerofTruth101

Our Messiah selected 12 ordinary mortals to write down their experiences and teachings from him, so that latter generations may cross reference their texts for verification of teachings and comprehend better the selection of disciples.

He chosed all of different characters - a skeptic (Thomas), a young bravado (Peter), a matured straightforward empathetic man ( John), to a betrayer (Judas), in the spirit of openess and transparency, to discuss and share those teachings to the world.

Each and EVERYONE of them, to feed the lambs, not just one disciple.

He did not appoint anyone leader. He left it free for mortals to choose, and through his teachings of paying to Caesar and to the Kingdom of Heaven, it was very clear he made the distinction between religion and state governance, to be separated, one that teaches spirituality, and the other - governance of mortals in the temporial, with moral and ethical guidelines using free will to choose, to progress and evolve.

Peter was young, immatured and filled with bravado, ever ready with the sword. This, our Messiah knew from the start. Millions had misinterpretated that he favored Peter. It was not with favor that Peter was singled out, but rather, his lack of maturity that our Messiah had to devote extra attention to so that Peter's fate will not come to pass.

He was provened right, as Peter denied him not once, but thrice in public, on his own free will.

Our Messiah also knew Judas would betray him from the start, but his inclusion was to warn mankind of wolves existing amongst assemblies of man, and to always be careful. Judas time was short. He hung himself, and thus ended his legacy and views of the time spent with the disciples, as his words can never be accepted for the dark heart that he carried even while in the presence of our Messiah.

WOW! I love your writing style and content. Very well thought out. It is ironic because I have been contemplating an overview of each disciple and how the reflect each of us in the world. You are doing a great job on it. I'll keep reading.

reply to post by SeekerofTruth101

Peter was young, immatured and filled with bravado, ever ready with the sword. This, our Messiah knew from the start. Millions had misinterpretated that he favored Peter. It was not with favor that Peter was singled out, but rather, his lack of maturity that our Messiah had to devote extra attention to so that Peter's fate will not come to pass.

Peter is a key to understanding the church and its future. I won't go into in here, but you can take the link in my signature and look at the Peter article and the rock to be rolled away. I think you are right in the fact the each disciple will have something to add to the overall story. I have only been show these thing so far and I continue to follow the path I am given in my studies. One piece at a time.

The Commission for Global Governance (CGG), which was established in 1992 with the full support of the U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali, calls for “global governance, cultural diversity, a one-world economy, the new world order, and a global rule of law” (“A Beginning of Global Governance,” Contender Ministries, May 20, 2002).
On April 4, 1997, the CGG issued the Milano Charter, which called for a worldwide struggle against intolerance “against culture, civilization, religion, and ethnicity.” It called intolerance “the new enemy.” The CGG urged the nations to “empower the U.N. to confront” this and other “enemies.” One response to this plea was the formation of the World Court in 2002 to prosecute “human rights abuses.” It defines these as “injury to a population’s mental health.”
Thus, when the United Nations has its way and has the power to enforce its will, the “intolerance” of a Bible- believing Christian toward those beliefs and actions that are contrary to the Scripture will be considered a very evil thing.

www.wayoflife.org...

The Christ of the UN is not the Saviour of scripture. The image of the Christ of this unbelieving world defines good as tolerance and evil as intolerance. The image of the world's Christ doesn't say "I am THE truth, THE way and THE life", but rather all paths (except those of true Christian faith) are valid. The image of the world's Christ rejects God's commands to go and make disciples of the nations. The image of the world's Christ is not coming in judgement but rather coming to reward all of humanity. The image of the world's Christ doesn't preach "Go and sin no more" for he states that there isn't anything such as sin. The image of the world's Christ is adored by many.

The interfaith movement isn't designed for peace. It's designed to silence the Word of God that tells the world that it is already condemned because the light appeared in this world but men rejected it for darkness because their deeds were evil. It's designed to allow the leaders of this world, the 'mighty men' of today, to be worshipped and praised instead of God Almighty. Envy. The same reason why the leaders in Judea sought and killed the Son of God - they were not prepared to give up their earthly position and rule then, and they most certainly aren't today. And just as then, they managed to sway the crowds to release the "son of the Father", the insurrectionist and murderer, instead of the Son of the God - Jesus Christ.

What was, will be again.

reply to post by WhoKnows100


Precisely, this is about the one world religion, brought to you by those "great" people of the UN.

This religion will be based on Paganism, adoring nature, Gaia - mother earth. Wait and see, for those who don't think so - spend some time on the UN website.

Satanism is what the UN is selling - or forcing - down the world's throat.

This is from the Gladstone Institute article:

Saudi 'Propaganda Center' Opens in Vienna
Critics say this work will parallel long-standing efforts by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a bloc of 57 Muslim countries, to pressure Western countries into making it an international crime to criticize Islam or Mohammed, all in the name of "religious tolerance."

The Austrian Initiative of Liberal Muslims (ILMÖ) said "this dubious Wahhabist center in Vienna" will "only serve Saudi Arabia's political and religious interests abroad, under the guise of dialogue" and that its sole aim was to make Riyadh "respectable."

This links to another article by Soeren Kern of the Gladstone Institute dated January 6, 2012

U.S., E.U. Spearhead Islamic Bid To Criminalize Free Speech
The European Union has offered to host the next meeting of the so-called Istanbul Process, an aggressive effort by Muslim countries to make it an international crime to criticize Islam.

The announcement comes less than one month after the United States hosted its own Istanbul Process conference in Washington, DC.

The Istanbul Process – its explicit aim is to enshrine in international law a global ban on all critical scrutiny of Islam and/or Islamic Sharia law – is being spearheaded by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a bloc of 57 Muslim countries.

________________

The Holy See has been deaf, mute, and blind
for millenniums. Observers no, more as stink-eyed.

________________

When our Messiah came into our world to help enlightened all mankind, many of the jews preached against him and even tortured and slaughtered him, an innocent being.

He did not came to force his views upon anyone by the sword, but by sharing and teaching peaceful ways, to progress and evolve beyond the rigid dogmatic beliefs held by mortal rabbis whom had only enchained the jews, as well as help other so different beliefs to know our Creator.

Thousands who learnt him come away without being untouched by his compassion, love and empathy for mankind, right to billions more today. 'Upon this rock shall I build my church'. A fact proven true with billions who have his teachings from our Creator in our hearts.

Unfortunately, only those with hardened hearts condemned his teachings.

Today, we have the Interfaith centre, to promote comprehensions upon sacred teachings from mainstream religion. It does not seek to convert anyone to any religion, nor sought to kill anyone, but for all who seek for knowledge of our common Creator, to find it and walk out more at peace with himself and his environment.

Some may do have specific agendas - those within the interfaith centre as well as those whom condemn it. But No man will be compelled against his will, but only to know the truth, of central tenets of mainstream religions where lays the common grounds, to make informed choices.

It must start somewhere, or should ignorances continue to reign, we will only end up killing each other as those whom had misused religion had tried to do to mankind for centuries, even today.

Hi, I only read the initial post. Whats so bad about helping people be more open to Islam? I personally don't follow the religion but I know there are plenty of Muslims in my school who follow the religion who are great people. This program doesn't seem like a conspiracy, more like a program to help educate people that not every Muslim is out to get you and destroy your freedom.

I am not saying all Muslims are great people, but many Muslims who are not extremists and live in North America are normal people. There are also lots of great and normal Christians but also many extremest ones, I am sure Christians wouldn't want non-believers to think of them all as extremists.

Whats the danger/negatives in this?