Senior Vatican cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran has thanked Muslims for brining religion back into the public life in Europe. “Muslims, having become a significant minority in Europe, were the ones who demanded space for God in society,” said Tauran. Vatican officials have long bemoaned the increasing absence of religion in secular Europe. Tauran echoed calls for…
Comments by Pope Benedict XVI about the difficult of interfaith prompted both questions and praise. The pope cast doubt on the possibility of interfaith dialogue but called for increased discussion concerning the practical consequences of religious differences. He was quoted as saying in a letter to Marcello Pera, a center-right Italian politician: “intercultural dialogue which…
Over fifty leading Muslim and Catholic scholars and religious leaders from the Middle East, Europe, and America sat behind closed doors in a Vatican building, discussing issues about what divides, and can unite the two faiths. The landmark talks were a hopeful attempt to establish new, positive dialogue after a fall out two years ago…
Upwards of 1,000 illegal immigrants are being moved from a holding center in Lampedusa to the Italian mainland, after 900 migrants reached the island in the past few days, and an overflow was cited as concern. Most of those moved included men, women, and children seeking asylum to the country. The Italian Interior Ministry said…
According to the Vatican, Islam has overtaken Roman Catholicism as the single biggest religious denomination in the world. Monsignor Vittorio Formenti, who compiled the Vatican`s 2008 statistics, claims that Muslims make up 19.2 percent of the world population and Catholics 17.4 percent. Referring to 2006, Formenti told Vatican newspaper L`Osservatore Romano, “For the first time…
