# 1
First Catholic Church for Saudi Arabia
# 2
Vatican-Saudi talks on Churches
# 3
Father Federico Lombardi
# 4
Saudi Arabia extends hand of friendship to Pope Richard Owen in
Details:
# 1
First Catholic Church for Saudi Arabia
Published: March 18, 2008
Negotiations are underway to build the first Catholic church in
Saudi Arabia with King Abdullah lending his support for its
construction.
Vatican Radio reports the Vatican and the Saudi government are
currently in talks to allow the church despite the kingdoms ban on allowing the
construction of any non-Muslim place of worship.
No religion other than Islam is allowed to schedule public services,
and even the possession of bibles, rosaries, and crucifixes is forbidden.
Saudi Arabia is the only country on the Arabian Peninsula without a
Catholic Church despite the 800,000 Catholics - virtually all of who
are foreign workers.
While Saudi Arabia does not have formal diplomatic relations with the
Holy See, King Abdullah became the first reigning Saudi monarch ever
to visit the Vatican last November.
Commenting after his meeting with the Pope Vatican officials
confirmed the Pontiff pressed for permission to open a Catholic church in the
kingdom.
Holy See spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi said that opening a Catholic
parish in the Islamic land would be "a historic achievement" for
religious freedom and a major step forward for inter-religious
dialogue.
The apostolic nuncio to Kuwait, Qatar, Yemen, the United Arab
Emirates, and Bahrain, Archbishop Paul-Mounged El-Hachem, is reportedly the
lead Vatican negotiator in talks with Saudi officials.
http://www.cathnews
# 2
Vatican-Saudi talks on Churches
[Archbishop Paul-Mounged el-Hachem (14 March 2008)]
Archbishop Hashem discussed the Saudi talks whilst visiting QatarThe Vatican is holding talks with Saudi Arabia on building the first church in the kingdom, where some 1.5m Christians are not allowed to worship publicly.
Archbishop Paul-Mounged el-Hachem, one of Pope Benedict XVI's most
senior Middle East representatives, said the discussions had begun a
few weeks ago.
But the archbishop cautioned that the Vatican could not predict the
outcome.
The discussions come in the wake of King Abdullah's historic meeting
with the Pope at the Vatican last November.
A Catholic-Muslim Forum was also set up by the Pope two weeks ago to
repair relations between the two faiths after the crisis caused by a
speech he gave in Germany in 2006, in which he appeared to associate
Islam with violence.
'Reciprocity'
The disclosure of talks between the Vatican and Saudi Arabia, which
do not have diplomatic ties, came soon after the first Roman Catholic
church in the Qatari capital, Doha, was opened in a service attended
by 15,000 people.
Archbishop Hachem, the Apostolic Nuncio to Kuwait, Qatar, Yemen,
Bahrain and the UAE, who attended the inauguration, said he hoped there would
soon be a similar church for the many Christians in neighbouring Saudi
Arabia.
[http://newsimg.
If we manage to obtain authorisation for the construction of the
first church, it will be an outcome of historic dimensions
[http://newsimg.
# 3
Father Federico Lombardi
Spokesman for Pope Benedict
"Discussions are under way to allow the construction of churches in the kingdom," he said. Although he made clear the outcome was uncertain, the archbishop added that a church in Saudi Arabia would be an important sign of "reciprocity" between Muslims and Christians. The Vatican has noted that Muslims are free to worship openly in Europe and demands religious freedom as a condition for the opening of diplomatic relations.
About a million Catholics, many of them migrant workers from the
Philippines, live in Saudi Arabia. They are allowed to worship in private, mostly in people's homes, but worship in public places and outward signs of faith, such as crucifixes,
are forbidden.
The last Christian priest was expelled from the kingdom in 1985.
Christians complain that rules are not clear and that the Saudi religious authorities, who enforce the kingdom's conservative brand of Islam, Wahhabism, sometimes crack down on legitimate congregations.
The authorities cite a tradition of the Prophet Muhammad that only Islam can be practised in the Arabian Peninsula. A spokesman for Pope Benedict, Father Federico Lombardi, said: "If we manage to obtain authorisation for the construction of the first church,
it will be an outcome of historic dimensions."
http://news.
# 4
Saudi Arabia extends hand of friendship to Pope Richard Owen in
The Times, March 17, 2008
Rome
The Vatican is believed to be holding talks with Saudi authorities
over opening the first Roman Catholic church in the Islamic kingdom, where
Christian worship is banned and even to possess a Bible, rosary or
crucifix is an offence.
The disclosure came the day after the first Catholic church in Qatar
was inaugurated in a service attended by 15,000 people and conducted by a
senior Vatican official.
The Vatican and Saudi Arabia do not have diplomatic relations.
However, Archbishop Paul-Mounged El-Hachem, the Papal Nuncio to Qatar, Kuwait,
the UAE, Yemen and Bahrain, who attended the Doha inauguration, said
that moves towards diplomatic ties were under way after an
unprecedented visit to the Vatican last November by King Abdullah. This would
involve negotiations for the "authorisation of the building of Catholic
churches" in Saudi Arabia, he said.
The move would amount to a potential revolution in Christian-Muslim
relations, since Saudi Arabia adheres to a hardline Wahhabi version
of Sunni Islam and is home to Mecca and Medina, the most holy sites of
the religion. No faith other than Islam may be practised.
Related Links
* Analysis: Saudi Arabia and the Vatican
<http://www.timesonl
Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said that he could not confirm that the two sides were in negotiations. However, he added: "If, as we hope, we reach an agreement authorising the construction of the first church in Saudi Arabia, it will be a step of historic importance."
Saudi religious police search the homes of Christians regularly; even private prayer services are forbidden in practice. Foreign workers have to observe Ramadan but are not allowed to celebrate Christmas or Easter.
La Stampa, the Italian daily, said that the talks would have been
"unthinkable" until recently. The way was paved by King
Abdullah's talks with the Pope and by the recent setting up of a
permanent Catholic-Muslim forum to repair relations between the two
faiths after the Pope's controversial remarks on Islam at the
University of Regensburg in 2006.
The Pope said that his apparent reference to Islam as inherently violent had been misunderstood and he made amends by praying at the Blue Mosque in Istanbul soon afterwards.
Of the Saudi Arabian population, 94 per cent are Muslim and less than 4 per cent - nearly a million people - Christian, nearly all of them foreign workers. The last Christian priest was expelled from Saudi Arabia in 1985.
Qatar, which hopes to bid to host the Olympic Games in 2016, has approved five churches for other Christian denominations, including the Anglican Communion.
Land of one faith
— Saudi laws do not recognise or protect freedom of religion. Non-nationals are severely restricted in practising different faiths
— Missionaries are banned and face imprisonment if caught. Sunni Muslims face severe repercussions from the Mutawwain, or religious police, for breaking Muslim law
— The official policy of allowing non-Muslims to worship freely at home is not reliably enforced
— In the courts, once fault is determined, a Muslim receives all of the amount of compensation determined, a Jew or Christian half, and all others a sixteenth
Sources: US State Department; Conference of Catholic Bishops
http://www.timesonl
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