The following is an MPAC op-ed about Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United States this week:

While in the U.S. this week, Pope Benedict XVI held an interfaith gathering with over 200 representatives from religious groups, including several from the Muslim community. The Pope received gifts and took photographs with the dignitaries, but the meeting seemed to lack the necessary depth to build bridges between the Muslim and Catholic communities, especially when considering Pope Benedict's spotty track record to date.

The first two years of Pope Benedict's tenure at the Vatican have been a departure from the tradition and legacy of Pope John Paul II in terms of Catholic-Muslim relations. For example, in 2006, Pope Benedict cited in a lecture at the University of Regensburg in Germany a conversation between a 14th-century Christian Byzantine emperor and a Muslim interlocutor where the former stated, "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

The Pope seemed to juxtapose a rational Islam against an irrational theology typified by violence and force. The Pope expressed deep regret, but never clearly apologized nor clarified the meaning of the lecture. This was an unfortunate way for one of the world's most important religious figures to start his tenure.

The move by the Pope to baptize Magdi Allam, an Egyptian writer, was also troubling. The baptism of the Egyptian in St. Peter's Basilica on Easter provided fodder to Muslim radicals that the West is at war with Islam and leaves one to believe that the Pope has a political agenda. While there is no compulsion in matters of faith, and people have the right to follow any religion they choose, the Pope made the conversion out to be a victory for Catholicism. The act of conversion itself was not offensive, but rather, the high-profile nature of how the conversion was carried out was puzzling to many Muslims. The fact that the conversion took place at one of the most sacred locations for Christians and on the holiest day of the Christian calendar carried a negative message of competition and superiority. Unfortunately, these recent events are neither constructive, nor conducive to effective interfaith dialogue. It is time to promote theologies that encourage positive engagement for peace and justice.

These episodes have proven Pope Benedict to be less tactful than his predecessor. For example, a recent Pew Poll found that the current pontiff is less highly regarded than Pope John Paul II. Overall, 40% of those who have heard at least a little about the current Pope say that he has done a fair to poor job of promoting positive relations with other faiths. His actions provide fodder to Muslim radicals that the West is at war with Islam.

In contrast, Pope John Paul II was a reassuring figure. He was the first pope to visit a mosque (in Damascus, Syria, in 2000) where he kissed the Quran and stated, "For all the times that Muslims and Christians have offended one another, we need to seek forgiveness from the Almighty and to offer each other forgiveness."

Everyday, Muslims and Christians in the United States meet and work together to find ways to better understand each other. Unfortunately, these efforts are undercut when the pontiff couples unnecessarily confrontational poses with lukewarm attempts to dialogue with members of other religions during his first papal visit to the United States. It will have to be left to the grassroots to re-double efforts for a robust dialogue.

Comments (0) >>

Write comment

Name

Title

Comment

Add Comment