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Please read this letter and then in the comboxes give me a guesstimate  of the percentage of people at the Vatican who actually believe that Catholicism is the True Faith:

 

Christians and Muslims: 

Beneficiaries and Instruments of Divine Mercy

Dear Muslim brothers and sisters,

1. The month of Ramadan and ‘Id al-Fitr is an important religious event for Muslims around the world, focused on fasting, prayer and good deeds, and is esteemed by Christians, your friends and neighbours. On behalf of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and Christians all over the world, we extend best wishes for a spiritually rewarding fast, supported by good deeds, and for a joyful feast.

As is our cherished custom, we wish to share with you on this occasion some reflections in the hope of strengthening the spiritual bonds we share.

2. A theme that is close to the hearts of Muslims and Christians alike is mercy.

We know that Christianity and Islam both believe in a merciful God, who shows his mercy and compassion towards all his creatures, in particular the human family. He created us out of an immense love. He is merciful in caring for each of us, bestowing upon us the gifts we need for our daily life, such as food, shelter and security. God’s mercy is manifested in a particular way, however, through the pardon of our faults; hence he is the one who pardons (al-Ghâfir), but the one who pardons much and always (al-Ghafour).

3. To underscore the importance of mercy, His Holiness Pope Francis declared a Jubilee Year of Mercy to be celebrated from 8 December 2015 to 20 November 2016. In this regard he said: “Here… is the reason for the Jubilee: because this is the time for mercy. It is the favorable time to heal wounds, a time not to be weary of meeting all those who are waiting to see and to touch with their hands the signs of the closeness of God, a time to offer everyone, everyone, the way of forgiveness and reconciliation” (“Homily”, 11 April 2015).

Your pilgrimage (hajj) to the Holy places, mainly Mecca and Medina, is surely a special time for you to experience God’s mercy. In fact, among the well-known aspirations addressed to Muslim pilgrims is: “I wish you a blessed pilgrimage, praiseworthy efforts and the pardon of your sins”. Making a pilgrimage to obtain God’s pardon for sins, both for the living and dead, is truly a salient custom practice among believers.

4. We, Christians and Muslims, are called to do our best to imitate God. He, the Merciful, asks us to be merciful and compassionate towards others, especially those who are in any kind of need. So too he calls us to be forgiving of one another.

When we gaze upon humanity today, we are saddened to see so many victims of conflicts and violence – here we think in particular of the elderly, and children and women, especially those who fall prey to human trafficking and the many people who suffer from poverty, illness, natural disasters and unemployment.

5. We cannot close our eyes to these realities, or turn away from these sufferings. It is true that situation are often very complex and that their solution exceeds our capacities. It is vital, therefore, that all work together in assisting those in need. It is a source of great hope when we experience or hear of Muslims and Christians joining hands to help the needy. When we do join hands, we heed an important command in our respective religions and show forth God’s mercy, thus offering a more credible witness, individually and communally, to our beliefs.

May the Merciful and Almighty God help us to walk always along the path of goodness and compassion!

6. We join our prayerful good wishes to those of Pope Francis for abundant blessings during Ramadan and for a lasting joy of ‘Id al-Fitr.

Happy Feast to you all!

From the Vatican, 10 June 2016

Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran

President

Bishop Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, M.C.C.I.

Secretary

 

 

The Pope’s namesake had a somewhat different approach to Islam:

In the thirteenth year of his conversion, Francis journeyed to the regions of Syria, constantly exposing himself to many dangers in order to reach the presence of the Sultan of Babylon. Taking a companion with him, a brother named Illuminato, he came upon two lambs. Overjoyed to see them, he said, “Trust in the Lord, brother, for the Gospel is being fulfilled in us: Behold, I am sending your forth like sheep in the midst of wolves.”
When they proceeded farther, the Saracen sentries fell upon them like wolves swiftly overtaking sheep. By divine providence they were led to the Sultan, just as Francis had wished. When the Sultan inquired by whom, why and how they had been sent, Francis replied with an intrepid heart that the Most High God had sent him to point out to the Sultan and his people the way of salvation and to announce the Gospel of truth.
Inspired from heaven, Francis continued: “If you wish to be converted to Christ along with your people, I will most gladly stay with you for love of him. But if you hesitate. . .then command that an enormous fire be lit and I will walk into the fire along with your priests so that you will recognize which faith deserves to be held as holier and more certain.”
The Sultan replied that he did not dare accept this choice because he feared a revolt among his people. Nevertheless, he offered Francis many gifts, which the man of God spurned as if they were dirt. Seeing that Francis so completely despised worldly possessions, the Sultan was overflowing with admiration and developed an even greater respect for him. Thus it came about that the divine fire burned still more perfectly in Francis’ heart, so that later it would be clearly seen in his flesh.

 
Selections from Saint Bonaventure, The Major Legend of Saint Francis, Chapter 9.

 

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Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus
Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus
Tuesday, June 21, AD 2016 6:39pm

Less than 5% at the Vatican really believe that only Jesus is the way, the truth and the light.

The Christian Teacher
The Christian Teacher
Tuesday, June 21, AD 2016 8:07pm

Sickening!!! Absolutely sickening!!!! Heretical!!!! Beyond my ability to express in words my horror. The people who sent this letter to Muslims do not know Christ.

Michael Dowd
Michael Dowd
Wednesday, June 22, AD 2016 2:01am

Gone is the apostolic fervor of St. Francis. In are the political machinations of Pope Francis. Any Muslim reading Cardinal Tauran’s letter would say the Catholic Church has surrendered to Islam and given up it’s mission to preach Christ to the whole world.

I will guess that less that 50% believe Catholicism is the true faith. However, I also believe that over 90% believe it is no longer necessary to convert the entire world to our faith.

Grammy
Grammy
Wednesday, June 22, AD 2016 3:13am

I can’t put a number on it but I would bet that the overwhelming majority of Catholics – lay and clergy – have not thought through the logic that if you say that other religions are effective ways to God you have told Christ that the cross was not necessary. Thanks, Jesus, but did you know that whole miserable cross buisness was not necessary??? Look at all these other ways!!

TomD
TomD
Wednesday, June 22, AD 2016 3:53am

“‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me”

Grammy, you are correct, and so we also get out of that pesky Luke 9:23 requirement. What a relief! We can follow the Jesus who we want.

TomD
TomD
Wednesday, June 22, AD 2016 3:58am

Actually, the letter is pretty innocuous, except for this:

Your pilgrimage (hajj) to the Holy places, mainly Mecca and Medina, is surely a special time for you to experience God’s mercy. In fact, among the well-known aspirations addressed to Muslim pilgrims is: “I wish you a blessed pilgrimage, praiseworthy efforts and the pardon of your sins”. Making a pilgrimage to obtain God’s pardon for sins, both for the living and dead, is truly a salient custom practice among believers.

This passage basically confirms Muslim beliefs concerning the hajj.

TomD
TomD
Wednesday, June 22, AD 2016 4:00am

It has been said that there are very few act of mercy described in the suras.

Norden
Norden
Wednesday, June 22, AD 2016 5:13am

37%

The Christian Teacher
The Christian Teacher
Wednesday, June 22, AD 2016 5:33am

“Actually, the letter is pretty innocuous, except for this:”

Innocuous my hind end!!

Muslims are not our spiritual brothers & sisters as they are still in the kingdom of Satan and are children of the devil as is anyone who has not been made a new creation through the cleansing power of forgiveness of sins and the receipt of the Holy Spirit.

True Christians do not esteem the useless & spiritually fruitless fasting and other physical exercises carried out in fleshly powers during the month of Ramadan. We recognize these machinations for what they are–useless exercises in the flesh in the service of a false god that accomplishes nothing in the spiritual realm except binding the adherent further into spiritual bondage.

Christians, who have been brought into the kingdom of light through repentance and faith in the death, burial, & resurrection of Jesus Christ, do not share spiritual bonds with those who are still members of the kingdom of darkness.

Equating our God of the Bible with the false god of the Koran is pure blasphemy.

Allah is NOT a merciful god. He has made no way for his followers to gain entrance to Heaven–hence them committing suicide, etc., in an attempt to achieve paradise in the next life. The death & slaughter being carried out in the name of Allah is not mercy. Allah calls for the death and/or subjugation of anyone who is not of the Muslim Faith and the slavery of all women.

Do you know of anywhere in the world where Christians & Muslims work side by side in peace to cure societal’s ills? I don’t.

Christians wish that Muslims be set free from their useless and Hell bound false beliefs & practices. Not that Muslims continue in them further.

T. Shaw
T. Shaw
Wednesday, June 22, AD 2016 6:35am

What The Christian Teacher said!
.
In fact, Islam is the sum-total and combination of nearly every heresy ever hatched by Satan.
.
The garbage that Muslims “believe ” about Jesus is a sin against the Holy Spirit: the one sin Jesus told us can never be forgiven.

Patricia
Patricia
Wednesday, June 22, AD 2016 8:46am

It has to be 1% – modern rhetoric dictates so. Probably a greater number that would include spineless, cowardly, and tortured silent hierarchy.
What a wasteland!
Francis of Assisi spoke of love for the Lord, what is the stuff of the First Commandment of God, given in love for His people to Moses, defining love and the way to live in Ten steps.
Contrast to the verbiage, publications, and personnel activites of today’s namesake that teach a one-way love from, not for, God.

Pinky
Pinky
Wednesday, June 22, AD 2016 8:49am

I don’t think that any of the letter is strictly false, but none of it is innocuous either. It’s misleading. Take TomD’s passage:

Your pilgrimage (hajj) to the Holy places, mainly Mecca and Medina, is surely a special time for you to experience God’s mercy. (It could lead you to realize the hollowness of your religion, and to recognize God’s true mercy through the Cross.)

In fact, among the well-known aspirations addressed to Muslim pilgrims is: “I wish you a blessed pilgrimage, praiseworthy efforts and the pardon of your sins”. (That’s a fact. That’s what they say. It doesn’t prove that the pilgrimage does lead to the pardon of your sins.)

Making a pilgrimage to obtain God’s pardon for sins, both for the living and dead, is truly a salient custom practice among believers. (Salient means important. Rubbing peanut butter on your head for the pardon of sins could be a salient practice. It doesn’t make it valid. Or better yet, taking real medicine is a salient part of Western healing, and taking fake medicine is a salient part of Asian healing, but only real medicine works.)

So, there, I’ve found a way to read the statement so that I could pass a lie detector test. Is that a good criterion for a document? This is the problem with ecumenism.

Just me
Just me
Wednesday, June 22, AD 2016 10:08am

Popes from the beginning have fought the Muslims. In the year 916 or there about, Pope John X led the battle against the Muslims and the Pope kisses their feet.

.Anzlyne
.Anzlyne
Wednesday, June 22, AD 2016 11:34am

What ever the % is, they should be making an uproar right now! Jesus chase the devil out! The lightening strike, the smoke, the fog…. all sensible signs call us to battle.

Harold Ullenberg
Harold Ullenberg
Thursday, June 23, AD 2016 2:11pm

The Church’s relationship with the Muslims. The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind’s judge on the last day. Catechism of the Catholic Church 841

Harold
Harold
Thursday, June 23, AD 2016 2:20pm

Is The Christian Teacher Catholic? Here what Pope SAINT John Paul the great said: “I close my greeting to you with the words of one of my predecessors, Pope Gregory VII who in 1076 wrote to Al-Nasir, the Muslim Ruler of Bijaya, present day Algeria: ‘Almighty God, who wishes that all should be saved and none lost, approves nothing in so much as that after loving Him one should love his fellow man, and that one should not do to others, what one does not want done to oneself. You and we owe this charity to ourselves especially because we believe in and confess one God, admittedly, in a different way, and daily praise and venerate him, the creator of the world and ruler of this world.’
“These words, written almost a thousand years ago, express my feelings to you today as you celebrate ‘Id al-Fitr, the Feast of the Breaking of the Fast. May the Most High God fill us with all His merciful love and peace.” Pope Saint John Paul II, April 3, 1991

Harold
Harold
Thursday, June 23, AD 2016 2:25pm

Man is a spiritual being. We believers know that we do not live in a closed world. We believe in God. We are worshipers of God. We are seekers of God.
“The Catholic Church regards with respect and recognizes the equality of your religious progress, the richness of your spiritual tradition. . . .
“I believe that we, Christians and Muslims, must recognize with joy the religious values that we have in common, and give thanks to God for them. Both of us believe in one God, the only God, who is all justice and all mercy; we believe in the importance of prayer, of fasting, of almsgiving, of repentance and of pardon; we believe that God will be a merciful judge to us all at the end of time, and we hope that after the resurrection He will be satisfied with us and we know that we will be satisfied with him.
“Loyalty demands also that we should recognize and respect our differences. Obviously the most fundamental is the view that we hold onto the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth. You know that, for Christians, Jesus causes them to enter into an intimate knowledge of the mystery of God and into the filial communion by His gifts, so that they recognize Him and proclaim Him Lord and Savior.
“Those are the important differences which we can accept with humility and respect, in mutual tolerance; this is a mystery about which, I am certain, God will one day enlighten us.
“Christians and Muslims, in general we have badly understood each other, and sometimes, in the past, we have opposed and often exhausted each other in polemics and in wars.
“I believe that today, God invites us to change our old practices. We must respect each other, and we must stimulate each other in good works.” Pope St John Paul the Great, 1985

The Christian Teacher
The Christian Teacher
Friday, June 24, AD 2016 1:23am

“Harold on Thursday, June 23, A.D. 2016 at 2:20pm
“Is The Christian Teacher Catholic?”

Since when is being Catholic equated with declaring Islam equal with Christianity?

I wasn’t aware that agreement with greetings with falsehoods in them written by Popes to Muslim leaders was a requirement of Catholicism.

Do you believe it is?

The Christian Teacher
The Christian Teacher
Friday, June 24, AD 2016 1:38am

“Harold Ullenberg on Thursday, June 23, A.D. 2016 at 2:11pm
The Church’s relationship with the Muslims. The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind’s judge on the last day. Catechism of the Catholic Church 841.”

Harold, are meaning to indicate that you are among the number who do not believe that Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection is necessary for salvation? That we could follow the teachings & god of Islam and be right with God?

Judge Deborah
Judge Deborah
Friday, June 24, AD 2016 6:48am

This is not what I converted to Catholicism for.

Dan
Dan
Friday, June 24, AD 2016 11:16am

What did Jesus say about the false prophets to come? All of it applies to Mohammy the pedophile/liar/murderer/thief/schizophrenic………

All who understand the faith are ashamed of this wimpy pope….

Kennybhoy
Kennybhoy
Friday, June 24, AD 2016 11:58am

Pinky wrote:

“I don’t think that any of the letter is strictly false, but none of it is innocuous either.”

Aye. That is what makes it so dangerous…

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