POPE BELIEVES ISLAM INCAPABLE OF REFORM

Pope Benedict XVI believes that unlike other religions, Islam cannot be reformed and, therefore, is incompatible with democracy, according to a Catholic leader who participated with the pontiff in a secretive meeting on the subject.

Fr. Joseph Fessio, provost of Ave Maria University in Naples, Fla., and founder of the publishing house Ignatius Press, spoke on radio recently about the gathering with the Pope’s former theology students, which took place at Castelgondolfo in Italy, the papal summer residence. The Pope, according to Fessio, believes Islam cannot become compatible with democracy because a radical reinterpretation of the religion would be required, which is “impossible, because it’s against the very nature of the Quran, as it’s understood by Muslims. There’s a fundamental problem he said, because in the Islamic tradition God has given his word to Muhammad, but it’s an eternal word. It’s not Muhammad’s word.”

In contrast, the Pope said, according to Fessio, there’s “an inner logic to the Christian Bible, which permits it and requires it to be adapted and applied to new situations.”

Fessio noted the discussion is not merely theoretical, but “has significant geopolitical repercussions. “America’s overall strategy in Iraq and the greater Middle East is founded precisely upon the possibility of democracy’s birth and growth in those Muslim regions,” he said. “It also involves the future of Muslim immigrants into Western nations. An Islam reconciled with democracy would allow their integration. An Islam incapable of distinguishing between God and Caesar would trap them in a state of “alienation.”

Source: WorldNetDaily.com

April 2006