Dana Mathewson, with a hat tip to my wife Martha. This was received by her from a respected friend, who is a Catholic priest. It is from a Catholic publication, and the subject matter is of particular interest, but by no means restricted to, Roman Catholics. Indeed, it affects everyone in the non-Muslim world.

In a recent article, Fr. James Schall, S.J. argues that "The only real way to eliminate the historic aggressiveness of Islam is to convert its believers.” Yet if you had to bet, "the conversion of the world to Islam is, in the long run, more likely than its conversion to Christianity.”

From a purely human perspective, the conversion of Muslims is a tall order. It’s not just that Islam is a tough nut to crack, it’s also that some today – usually Catholics – have an aversion to conversion. (Even the pope had denounced "proselytism.”) In good multicultural fashion, they don’t want to fiddle with the unique cultural identity of the "other.”

These fashionable ideas won’t attract many Muslims, and it has an alienating effect on Christians as well. The Church in the West has been losing members as a result of the impression it gives that other faiths are just as valid as our own. So before undertaking the conversion of the Muslim world, the Church needs first to do something about the deconversion of Christians.

Ironically, one of the factors that is driving people out of the Church is its response to Islamic terror. After every terrorist attack, the Vatican (or some prominent bishop) assures us that the violence has nothing to do with Islam, which we are told is a "religion of peace” – a response not a whit different from the politically correct, secular liberal response.

In fact, Church leaders often put secular leaders to shame in their advocacy for Islam. The Obama administration called for the admittance of 10,000 Syrian refugees; the USCCB called for 100,000. When European leaders began to admit that Muslim migration should be restricted for the sake of national security, Pope Francis responded by insisting that the safety of migrants was more important than national security.

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 08:46 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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