The New Partnership Between the Papacy and Islam

In the years just prior to his death, Pope John Paul II worked hard to woo Mecca to Rome. In May, 2001, the pope made history by becoming the first Catholic leader to set foot in a mosque and participate in an organized prayer service. The symbolic meeting took place when the Pope entered the Umayyad Mosque in the Syrian capital of Damascus. This mosque has significance for both Muslims and Christians. For Muslims it is the oldest stone mosque in the world, while for Christians it is the alleged place where John the Baptist was buried.

The Pope led in Christian prayers, while his Muslim counterpart, Sheikh Ahmed Kataro, led in Muslim prayers. By this dramatic act of worshipping in a mosque, the Pope underlined his commitment to work toward a rapprochement with the Muslims.

Twelve days after the horrors of September 11, 2001, the Pope renewed his com­mit­ment to work toward a new partner­ship with Muslims in his message to the predominantly Muslim nation of Kazakhstan. The Pope declared: “There is one God. The Apostle proclaims before all else the absolute oneness of God. This is a truth which Christians inherited from the children of Israel and which they share with Muslims: it is faith in the one God, Lord of heaven and earth (Luke 10:21), almighty and merciful. In the name of this one God, I turn to the people of deep and ancient religious traditions, the people of Kazakhstan.”

The Pope then appealed to both Muslims and Christians to work together to build a “civilization of love”: “This logic of love is what He [the Messiah] holds out to us, asking us to live it above all through generosity to those in need. It is a logic which can bring together Christians and Muslims, and commit them to work together for the civilization of love. It is a logic which overcomes all the cunning of this world and allows us to make true friends who will welcome us into the eternal dwelling-places (Luke 16:9), into the home­land of heaven.”

In his final prayer, the Pope again appealed for Christians and Muslims to work together side by side in fulfilling YEHOVAH’s will: “And in this celebration we want to pray for Kazakhstan and its inhabitants, so that this vast nation, with all its ethnic, cultural, and religious variety, will grow stronger in justice, solidarity, and peace. May it progress on the basis in particular of cooperation between Christians and Muslims, committed day by day, side by side, in the effort to fulfill God’s will.”

In spite of the catastrophic events of September 11th, the new Pope is also committed to work toward a partnership with the Muslims. The basis of this partnership is the misguided belief that Catholics and Muslims worship the same God of Abraham.

This belief is clearly expressed in the new official Catechism of the Catholic Church, which speaks of the new Catholic relationship with the Muslims in these terms: “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.”

The Catechism continues affirming that “The Church has also a high regard for the Muslims. They worship God, who is one, living and subsistent, merciful and almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has also spoken to men. They strive to submit themselves without reserve to the hidden decrees of God, just as Abraham submitted himself to God’s plan, whose faith Muslims eagerly link to their own. Although not acknowledging him as God, they venerate Jesus as a prophet, his virgin Mother they also honor, and even at times devotedly invoke. Further, they await the day of judgment and the reward of God following the resurrection of the dead. For this reason they highly esteem an upright life and worship God, especially by way of prayer, alms-deeds, and fasting.”

It is evident that the Catholic estimation of Islam has undergone a fundamental change from the religion of “infidels” to that of believers who worship the same God of Abraham. While in the past the Catholic Church denounced Islam as an evil religion to be suppressed by crusades (Holy War), today, she welcomes and affirms Muslims as having the same faith of Abraham as herself.

The driving force behind this tactical reappraisal of Islam is the determination of the Vatican to bring about a New World Order under the moral and religious leadership of the Pope. This goal was expressed at Vatican II, which declares: “The encouragement of unity is in harmony with the deepest nature of the [Roman Catholic] Church’s missions.”

The profound danger facing Evangelical Christians today is to naively accept the Pope’s claim to be the official spokesman for the Messiah on earth — a deception that is deeply embedded in the new thrust to create a global coalition of nations on the basis of a politically constructed god which can be adapted to different religious systems.

The determination of the Pope to develop a partnership with Muslims stems from the simple fact that their 1.3 billion members outnumber the one billion Catholic members. By acknowledging the legitimacy of the Islam faith, the Pope is facilitating the Muslims’ acceptance of his role as the leader of a future New World Order.