Vatican Ramadan Letter Praises Mecca Pilgrimage, Says Christians and Muslims Should Unite to End Unemployment, Wishes "Happy Feast!"

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The full text is at the bottom.

But first, let me make a serious comment. The Vatican letter claims:

We know that Christianity and Islam both believe in a merciful God, who shows his mercy and compassion towards all his creatures...

It is true that the Koran - which Muslims believe was literally dictated by Allah - mentions the words "mercy" or "merciful" many times. Indeed, I would wager that it mentions them far more frequently than, say, the Old or New Testaments. Here is a typical line:

Then after that you turned back; and had it not been for the grace of Allah and His mercy on you, you had certainly been among the losers (2:64). 

That's from the second chapter or surah of the Koran - commonly called "The Cow." On one translation, there are ten other uses of "mercy" or "merciful" in "The Cow," alone. I've always liked the above verse, by the way, because it mixes the antique - "you had certainly been" - with the modern - "losers."

But if you actually read the Koran from beginning to end, it is impossible to come away from it without thinking that the mercy thing is merely a sort of ongoing deadpan bait and switch.

The basic format goes something like this:

1. Allah is all merciful.
2. And he will disembowel the unbelievers and fry them in Hell forever. 

I'm not kidding. Read, say, the twenty-first surah - "The Prophets" - where "mercy" appears five times, ending with

And We have not sent thee but as a mercy to the nations...My Lord, judge Thou with truth. And our Lord is the Beneficent...(21:107, 112).

And then continue on to surah twenty-two, innocently called "The Pilgrimage":

...But as for those who disbelieve, garments of fire will be cut out for them; boiling fluid will be poured down on their heads, 

Whereby that which is in their bellies, and their skins too, will be melted; 

And for them are hooked rods of iron. 

...Taste the doom of burning (22:19-22).

That's Allah talking, by the way. And you could multiply that sort of thing by about infinity.

Claiming that Muslims worship a merciful god is pretty dim.

We might sum up the modern Christian-Muslim dialogue this way:

Happy Feast! 

Allah will melt your skin!

Here's the text of that letter:

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

Is Pope Francis an Indifferentist?

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From Carol Glatz Catholic News Service (10/28/15):

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The world expects all people of religious faith to work with everyone for a better future, Pope Francis told representatives of major religions. 

"We can walk together taking care of each other and of creation" in joint projects that fight poverty, war and corruption and help people live in dignity, he told them during a special general audience dedicated to interreligious dialogue. 

The audience in St. Peter's Square Oct. 28 marked the 50th anniversary of "Nostra Aetate," the Second Vatican Council's declaration on relations with other religions; the audience also recalled the historic first World Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi, Italy, Oct. 27, 1986. 

"The flame, lit in Assisi, spread to the whole world and marks a permanent sign of peace," Pope Francis said in his address. 

The rain-soaked square was awash with color as thousands gathered under colorful umbrellas or plastic ponchos. Large groups of people came from other Christian communities and from other world religions and many held aloft olive branches. Representatives of many religious traditions sat in a VIP section near the pope and prayed in silence with him at the end of the audience. 

Inviting the thousands gathered in the square to pray according to their own religious tradition, the pope said, "Let us ask the Lord to make us be more like brothers and sisters, and more like servants to our brothers and sisters in need." 

In his written address, the pope said, "The world looks to us believers, it urges us to collaborate with each other and people of goodwill who do not profess any religion, it asks from us effective responses to many issues: peace, hunger, poverty," the environmental and economic crises, corruption, moral decay and violence -- especially that waged in the name of religion. 

Religions don't have a special "recipe" to solve these problems, he said, "but we have a great resource -- prayer. Prayer is our treasure," which believers turn to in order to ask for those gifts people are yearning for. 

Concerning the future of interreligious dialogue, he said, "the first thing we have to do is pray. Without the Lord, nothing is possible; with him, everything becomes" possible. 

He asked that prayer lead people to follow the will of God, who wants everyone to recognize each other as brothers and sisters and to form a "great human family in a harmony of diversity." 

Unfortunately, much of the violence and terrorism unfolding in the world have made people suspicious or critical of religion, he said. 

However, "although no religion is immune from the risk of fundamentalist or extremist deviations," he said, people must look at the positive aspects of religious beliefs, especially how they are a source of hope for so many. 

Pope Francis said respectful dialogue can lead to friendship and concrete initiatives between religious believers in serving the poor, the elderly, the marginalized and immigrants. 

In fact, the upcoming Year of Mercy is the perfect occasion to work together on charitable projects, he said. 

Charity, "where compassion especially counts, can unite with us many people who do not consider themselves to be believers or who are seeking God and truth," and with anyone who makes those in need a priority, he said. 

The pope also praised the profound improvements in Jewish-Christian relations. He said the past 50 years have seen indifference and conflict turn into collaboration and goodwill, and enemies and strangers have become friends and family. 

Mutual understanding, respect and esteem make up the only path for fruitful dialogue, not only with Jews, but with Muslims as well, he said. 

"The dialogue we need has to be open and respectful," he said, and includes respecting people's right to life, physical integrity and fundamental freedoms like freedom of conscience, thought, expression and religion."