On March 22 at St. Peter's in Rome Pope Benedict XVI baptized a Muslim journalist named Magdi Allam, and in the eyes of many put in reverse the rapprochement of Islam and Catholicism, the world's two largest faiths. If the Vatican had made a prior consultation to a New York public relations expert, something he is not in the habit of doing, the advice would have been swift and brief: don't do it.
Nevertheless, the conscience of the pope is captive to two very important principles, however impolitic: religious freedom and the truth of the Christian faith.
Magdi Allam, the deputy director of Milan's Corriere della Sera, first came to public notice five years ago when he published a report on Muslim converts to Christianity in Italy who had to hide their faith for fear of assassination by Islamic extremists. He himself had to be put under permanent surveillance with a police escort because of terrorists' death threats. The day after his baptism he publicly thanked the pope whose courage, he said, sent an explicit message to "a church that until now has been too prudent in the conversion of Muslims ... out of fear. The fear of not being able to protect converts in the face of their being condemned to death for apostasy and fear of reprisals against Christians living in Islamic countries." (A few days earlier the Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Mosul in Iraq and two companions were kidnapped and murdered, an event that received scant U.S. coverage. Most Iraq Christians have been rendered homeless refugees.) "Today Benedict XVI with his witness tells us that we must overcome fear and not be afraid to affirm the truth of Jesus even with Muslims."
Besides religious freedom, the pope's conscience is equally captive to the truth that salvation comes though faith in Jesus Christ. "There is no other name under heaven," says Peter, the first pope, " by which we must be saved." For him not to baptize Allam would have been to allow political expediency to trump the truth of salvation through Christ and his Church. It would have been to surrender to the relativist notion that truth is but an opinion and that all religions are equally conducive to salvation.
Building bridges is definitely Benedict's priority. An 81-year-old scholar would hardly make this grueling trip if it were not. In New York he will celebrate Mass at St Patrick's Cathedral, but the day before, which also happens to be the day before the Jewish Passover, he will visit the Park East Synagogue at 67th Street, the first ever papal visit to a U.S. synagogue.
Last week Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah Aziz proposed a dialogue on the family among Muslims, Christians and Jews. His initiative was surprising in that there is no religious freedom and no Christian worship allowed in Saudi Arabia. But the king had discussed it at the Vatican in November with Pope Benedict. The pope "warmly encouraged me," said the king, in a "meeting of a human to human which I would never forget." In the deeds as well as the words of Benedict it is love that builds bridges.
Please e-mail On Faith if you'd like to receive an email notification when On Faith sends out a new question.
Email Me | Del.icio.us | Digg | Facebook
