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Vatican-Muslim dialogue back to square one: cardinal
 PARIS - Vatican relations with the Islamic world must be restarted from square one because Muslims insist on misinterpreting Pope Benedicts recent comments on Islam, Germanys top Catholic cardinal said in an article on Wednesday. Cardinal Karl Lehmann, head of the German Catholic Bishops Conference, accused Muslim critics of running a campaign against the Pope and said the Pontiff had nothing to apologise for.
The blunt comments from Lehmann, whose rich and influential church has close ties to the German-born Pope, seem to have been sparked by an unusual call from the 56-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) for him to retract his words.| These open or hidden threats have to stop ... The Catholic Church ... will not be bullied. |
These open or hidden threats have to stop, Lehmann said in the weekly newspaper of his Mainz diocese. Obviously we have to start at square one because were not talking here about important contents of a necessary dialogue, but about the fundamental requirements for one to succeed.
There is freedom of religion and speech in our civilisation. The Pope can also be criticised. But there are elementary rules that apply for factual and fair contacts with each other and with clear statements, he wrote. One cannot constantly repeat completely unfounded misunderstandings when the texts are so clear.
| The jihadis move forward by repeating unfounded nonsense. |
Lehmanns article echoed a statement last week by the bishops he leads complaining some critics had tried to escalate the dispute with ever new charges, demands or even threats. The Catholic Church and many people in our country and around the world, who respect and defend the right of free speech, will not be bullied, the bishops conference said after its meeting in Fulda last week.
The German bishops, an influential voice at the Vatican because of their churchs financial power and theological depth, also repeated Benedicts frequent calls for Muslim countries to give their Christian minorities equal rights.
| That's something that ought to be said louder and more often. |
Meeting shortly after a Berlin theatre cancelled a Mozart opera for fear it might prompt Muslim protests, the bishops also expressed concern about self-censorship over religion. We are concerned that fear of religiously motivated violence is spreading, not only in Germany, and leading to a direct or indirect limitation of free speech, they said.
| Figured the Church would notice that. Now we just need the various governments to notice. |
Posted by: Steve White 2006-10-05 |
