First Christian Church Opens in Qatar
Yep, that is correct. According to this report,DOHA, Qatar - Thousands of worshippers gathered Saturday for the consecration of Qatar's first Christian church, ending decades of underground worship in this Sunni Muslim and deeply conservative Persian Gulf nation.Not only that, but,
Cardinal Ivan Diaz, envoy to Pope Benedict XVI, presented the new Roman Catholic parish of Our Lady of the Rosary with a chalice offered by the pope. Many congregants wept when a relic of Saint Padre Pio da Pietrelcina was dedicated in the five-hour mass.
Three dozen bishops and priests gathered to celebrate the mass, which was conducted in English with prayers in the Tagalog language from the Philippines, Hindi, Arabic and other languages.
Nearby, five more churches are under construction for other Christian denominations in this oil-rich state, where over 70 percent of the population are expatriate workers.However,
Out of respect for local sensitivities, the exterior does not feature any religious symbols that identify the building as a place of Christian worship.Does this mean that Qatar is taking its first baby steps out of medieval Islamic theology to join the rest of us in the 21st century? Will a synagogue be built next? Maybe a tiny one in case they decide to allow Jews into their country, maybe even Jews from Israel? Don't count on it. Believe it or not, there is an ulterior motive here.
The consecration and construction appear to be signs of Qatar's efforts to open up to the West as it seeks a bid for the Olympic Games in 2016.With the "genocide Olympics" in Beijing, the next logical step would be offering legitimacy to modern theocratic Islamofascists. Do you think Qatar will allow Israel to participate? We know that answer to that.
Qatar's most ambitious move to open up to the world has come through sports. It held the 2006 Asian games and hopes to win the 2016 summer OlympicsThe 2006 Asian games did not include Israel, an Asian country, and nobody cared. Just as if Qatar is given the 2016 Olympics, the Olympic committee won't be bothered that Israel isn't included. They'll give it as much thought as they allow for the 11 Israeli athletes that were massacred in Munich.
Labels: Israel, Olympics, Qatar
posted by Harry @ 4:07 PM
CHALLAH AKBAR
5 Comments:
I could debate with you about whether a Catholic church is a Christian church, but interesting article. I don't know if I would be brave enough to attend a church or if I would just be a realllly subversive Muslim LOL!
And, you know, I hadn't thought of Israel as an Asian country, but I guess the "Middle East" must fit on *some* continent. Of course it would be Asia... Hm. I mean, people from Israel are NEVER referred to as Asian-Americans...
Actually, as I have no dog in that fight, that's one debate I probably wouldn't engage in.
Lebanon and Syria both participated in the games. And there was rivalry between E & W Asia, E Asia being more Arab and Persian.
Someday, when we get down to microlabeling people (strictly in the progressive interests of multiculturalism and affirmative action) we will know the exact pedigree of every person on Earth.
Oh, scary, Harry. I wonder what sort of mutt I would be. I'm "ethnically" Catholic, but converted Protestant. My dogs are confused sometimes themselves because I wouldn't want to see Catholic persecution, but obviously I disagree with some tenets of the faith. ;]
I don't know enough about either one to comment intelligently on the differences, except that Catholics have a fondness for the Pope and demand that their clergy be celibate.
My wife grew up Catholic and converted to Judaism before we got married. (I tried to talk her out of it, but some people just don't listen, which is probably one reason she's been able to put up with me for all these years.) So as big a mongrel as her background makes her, and as big a mongrel as my background makes me, our kids are really mixed up.
My brother and I had a discussion about this and I agree wholeheartedly.
But why with so much money at stake should they not try? I mean Bejing?????????
I am still wondering if some will boycott...but unlike the last time we have come so far in political tolerance and that the Western view is the evil one...I doubt any will boycott.
Just my thoughts
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