There is a great deal of confusion in the Church today as to whether or not Muslims worship the same God as do we. In fact many prelates, including our own Cardinal McCarrick, either are honestly confused about the matter or they exploit general confusion so that they may appear to be "ecumenical". Indeed, nine years ago at Catholic University His Eminence addressed some Muslim dignitaries; in that address he invoked "allah" three times but he gave not one mention to Jesus Christ. That address, which can be called de facto idolatry, is here.
Cardinal McCarrick and other devotees of ecumenicide often cite Lumen Gentium and the Catechism as their authorities. They are misreading those church documents. A few weeks ago Dr. Taylor Marshall posted an article that addressed this question. I link to it now; it's worth careful study. He points out that the Church documents state that the Muslims profess to worship the God of Abraham, and profess to hold faith in Him.
It's one thing to profess to worship God. It can be quite another to worship God in fact. Here's an example of this occurrence. We've all heard Nancy Pelosi's protestations of being a "good faithful Catholic". This is the same Pelosi who went on a rampage when her bishop upheld traditional marriage. This is the same Pelosi who was honored at Planned Parenthood's gala in March and said that" to be associated with the great Margaret Sanger is a distinct privilege" (she may well "enjoy that privilege" for all eternity if she doesn't repent, but I digress). She also believes Hamas to be a "humanitarian organization". So Pelosi may think she's a great Catholic, but reality indicates otherwise. Similarly, Muslims think they worship the God of Abraham but their actions indicate otherwise. The more vociferous Muslims state that we don't worship the same deity (more than we can say for Cardinal McCarrick); they just don't accept that they are the ones worshiping a false idol - if not actual demons.
Below is a video of Muslim jihadists burying alive opponents. This action (among so many others) is evidence that these monsters do NOT worship the One True God. Parents - you may wish to keep your small children from seeing this.
Marshall's argument is a noble attempt to read the Vatican II documents in line with tradition and sound theology. Unfortunately, he fails. Nostra Aetate (3) makes it quite clear that the Council fathers meant that Catholics and Muslims actually worship and believe in the same God, stating “The Church regards with esteem also the Moslems. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all- powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God.”
ReplyDeleteMarshall's argument was very tenuous to begin with, but Nostra Aetate leaves no room for doubt. The Vatican II documents are flawed and theologically unsound.
The Vatican II documents are flawed, you say? Nostra Aetate is itself a Vatican II document. There does appear to be a conflict between the two. Vatican II was a pastoral council, not a teaching council. It brought forth no new doctrine. As for the Muslims "taking pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees", what "decree" occasioned the beheading of James Foley, or the wholescale massacre of Christians? What decree mandates that little girls be "married" before the age of 10? They're trying to obey something, no doubt - but it's not the One True God.
DeleteI completely agree with you. Vatican II statements about the relations between Muslims and Catholics was NOT infallible or dogmatic (thank God). Personally, I think the Muslims worship a devil.
ReplyDeleteThe Catechism also sinks Marshall's attempt to reform-the-documents-through-interpretation. CCC 841 states "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." This paragraph cites LG & AE. What could be a more authoritative interpretation of LG & AE than the Catechism??? This paragraph debunks Marshall's argument again- it clearly asserts that Catholics and Muslims actually worship the same God and this assertion is based on the Vatican II documents. Again, Marshall's attempt was a noble and well-intentioned. However, the documents and Catechism show that his reading is erroneous, and that Vatican II stated that Muslims and Catholics actually worship the same God (as opposed to merelt "professing").