Pope makes Turkish mosque visit

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Pope Benedict is under unbelievable scrutiny and is doing a magnificent job. I’m so proud of him. His bravery and courage.

The cameras are focusing on every move he makes and during the silent meditation/prayer in the Mosque, a close up of the Popes hands revealing them crossed and very respectful for his hosts. 🙂

Please continue your Rosaries and prayers for Pope Benedicts continued journey with the Holy Spirit.
:gopray2:
 
Melvin said:
If I were a Muslim, I would believe that the Pope was praying to allah, in effect thereby acknowledging allah as the true god. I would further interpret this as a sign of the weakness and waning of the Christian faith and its civilization and peoples.
Let’s hope the Moslems (not to mention some Catholics) are smarter than that.
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My primary concern is that the Holy Father’s actions will seem to Muslims to legitimize their faith, hence decreasing rather than increasing any motivation for peaceful coexistence on their part. We’re talking propaganda value here…not truth. The two are often mutually exclusive.

I admit that I really never quite accepted the idea that Muslims worship the One True God. On again reviewing the Catechism and passages from Lumen Gentium and Nostra Aetate on that point it is apparent that I was in error, so I repent.

Even so, there is a decided difference between acknowledging that Muslims worship the One True God and legitimizing their belief system. My concern is that both John Paul II and Holy Father Benedict XVI have, unfortunately, done the latter. But, as you can see, I’ve been wrong before…
 
this columnust, covering the Pope’s visit to Turkey for Inside the Vatican, says it better than I ever could, and probably better than anyone on this thread
catholicexchange.com/node/7855

we can pray anytime, anywhere, with anyone, entirely alone, with or without gestures, with or without words.

criticism of this particular action of our Pope betrays a shocking lack of understanding of the true nature of prayer
 
My gripe wasn’t that the Pope was not praying, I understand that you can pray without words. Its the overt and public displays made at a Mosque, a place and religion that denies the very esscense of our faith. But, in a Church that was consecrated the Holy Father made no gestures. It is the wrong message to send to Islam, His goal is for the salvation of souls not to be politcally correct with Christendoms longest running enemy.
 
I am glad that his visit is going well. I pray that it continues to go well.
 
This Is From The Newspapers In Turkey “. 'pope Prays In The Blue Mosque Like A Muslim Facing Mecca…he Did Not Make The Sign Of The Cross”
Then There Is His Denial That The Real Presence Of Christ Is In The Eucharist . From His Book The Sanramental Reason Of Christian Existence 'eucharist Devotion As Is Noted In The Silent Visit By The Devout In Church Must Not Be Thought Of As A Conversation With God. This Would Assume That God Was Present There Locally And In A Confined Way, To Justify Such Asn Assertion Shows A Lack Of Understanding Of The Christological Mysteries Of The Very Concept Of God. This Is Repugnant To The Serious Thinking Of The Man Who Knows About The Omnipresence Of God. To Go To Church On The Ground That One Can Visit God Who Is Present There Is A Sensless Act Which The Modern Man Rightfully Rejects"
 
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genotob:
did pope benedict commit heresy ?
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No. Don’t be silly.
 
click on Format, change case, toggle on Title Case for your title, and lower case for your message. This is already being discussed on another thread.
 
Prayer_Warrior said:
You must be getting your info from another source. …
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I used the “Modern Catholic Dictionary” by Fr. John Hardon S.J.

I’d copy the text, but I’m at work right now and my wife will have it at class tonight (it’s one of her textbooks for the class she is taking at the seminary)

So I’ll post the quote tomorrow.
 
A.Pelliccio said:
My gripe wasn’t that the Pope was not praying, I understand that you can pray without words. Its the overt and public displays made at a Mosque, a place and religion that denies the very esscense of our faith. But, in a Church that was consecrated the Holy Father made no gestures. It is the wrong message to send to Islam, His goal is for the salvation of souls not to be politcally correct with Christendoms longest running enemy.
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He had a very good reason to make no gestures. In 1967 Pope Paul VI made the same visit and also prayed there but when he prayed he prayed with gestures on his knees. The Muslims were furious b/c they thought he was trying to claim the building for Christians. Pope Benedict is trying to promote peace. Had he made gestures it would have been disrespectful to Muslims and they would not take it peacefully. Had he made gestures Christians may have been killed for it. Our Holy Father is a very wise man.
 
Well I think the pope acted correctly. He showed respect to Islam but didn’t lose his christian faith. and here is an article on how he was receieved.
today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2006-12-01T120223Z_01_L28626797_RTRUKOC_0_US-POPE-TURKEY.xml&src=rss&rpc=22

Pope hailed for praying toward Mecca like Muslims

The Pope’s dreaded visit was concluded with a wonderful surprise," wrote daily Aksam on its front page.

“In Sultan Ahmet Mosque, he turned toward Mecca and prayed like Muslims,” popular daily Hurriyet said, using the building’s official name…

Catholic officials also presented the mosque visit, where Benedict stood in silent prayer while Istanbul Grand Mufti Mustafa Cagrici prayed aloud, as a key moment of reconciliation.

“I would compare the Pope’s visit to the mosque to Pope John Paul’s gestures at the Western Wall,” said veteran Vatican mediator Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, referring to Pope John Paul II’s prayers at Jerusalem’s Western Wall in 2000.
“Yesterday, Benedict did with the Muslims what John Paul did with the Jews.”
 
A.Pelliccio said:
My gripe wasn’t that the Pope was not praying, I understand that you can pray without words. Its the overt and public displays made at a Mosque, a place and religion that denies the very esscense of our faith. But, in a Church that was consecrated the Holy Father made no gestures. It is the wrong message to send to Islam, His goal is for the salvation of souls not to be politcally correct with Christendoms longest running enemy.
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I think the Holy Father is acutely aware of two things:
  1. He has no power to convert Islam. Islam has resisted conversion since its conception and he can’t do anything at all to bring them closer to Christ. Only to carry on a dialogue, whatever that means.
  2. When Muslims don’t like something the Pope does, innocent people die, and Christians are deprived the world over of their basic human rights. Taking that into consideration, it was probably more important that he used this mosque visit to cool things off in Turkey than to further the Christian cause and risk more bloodshed.
I wonder, though, what the Pope prayed? For the conversion of the world? Or the protection of his flock?
 
My gosh, people! Give our Pope credit for bravery for even going in the first place! If anybody can diffuse this whole situation with Islam, he can. Pray for our Popes safe return.
 
davy39 said:
My gosh, people! Give our Pope credit for bravery for even going in the first place! If anybody can diffuse this whole situation with Islam, he can. Pray for our Popes safe return.
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Worth repeating!

:gopray2:
Blessed St. Peter, our first Bishop and Pope, you were made the foundation of Our Lord’s Church on Earth. We ask for you prayers and intercessions for your successor, Pope Benedict XVI. We ask for his safety in travel and that the Lord will grant graces to those he visits that peace may be instilled on those who do not currently desire peace. And that these peaceful relations will be the beginning of the conversion of the world. Amen.
:gopray2:
 
Lance said:
I personally am disappointed in him.
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Imagine if a Muslum leader (not a radical Jihadist but a peace-loving Muslum leader) came to visit a Catholic Church. For that matter think of anyone who is not Catholic who attends a Mass.

What would be the most respectful thing to do if one does not believe in the Real Presence of the Eucharist and understand the gestures we use to express ourselves while worshiping? I have witnessed them standing, sitting, or kneeling (most non-Catholics prefer not to kneel but to sit) when everyone else does. They face the altar and sometimes pray along or pray quietly or daydream. They shake hands during the sign of peace. I have many family members who don’t practice any religion but they show respect when they come to a Catholic wedding/funeral/baptism/first Eucharist/ etc…

Can you not see how the Holy Father did the same thing in the Mosque? He isn’t worshiping Allah or turning over Christianity to the Muslums. He is simply showing respect for fellow human beings and most likely praying for their conversion.

We all need to be praying for the conversion of Muslums and and an end to violence because only God can bring about the change of hearts. But God may use men, such as Benedict, to bring about that change. Will you allow him to use you, too?

Instead of being disappointed in the pope, why not praise his actions as peaceful and respectful to others without expecting the same in return. Pope Benedict is not compromising the Church or Christianity by his actions. He is teaching by example. After all, Jesus ate with the tax collectors and prostitutes.
 
  1. If an unbeliever invites you and you want to go, eat whatever is placed before you, without raising questions on grounds of conscience…
  2. So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.
  3. Avoid giving offense, whether to Jews or Greeks or the church of God,
  4. just as I try to please everyone in every way, not seeking my own benefit but that of the many, that they may be saved.
    1 Cor 10:27, 31-33
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