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London, England, 5 October
2004 (CNA) -
During Aid to the
Church in Need’s annual Mass and Conference in
Westminister Cathedral Hall in London on Saturday
October 2, Fr. Paul Stenhouse, ACN’s chairman of the
board in Australia, explained that Western society’s
current religious and moral vacuum is in grave danger of
being filled by an intolerant and militant Islamic
fundamentalism.
In his address, entitled “ Islam: A
Wake-up Call to Slipshod Catholics and to the West,” Fr,
Stenhouse summoned Catholics to respond to the threat by
witnessing strongly to their faith in an effort to
rebuild Christian culture in the West.
“Islamist ideology…left
uncontrolled, will cause harm not just to religious
freedom but to the civic life of our community,” Fr
Paul, editor of the Australian Catholic magazine
Annals.
He claimed that the media –
especially TV and the Internet – had played into the
hands of extremist Muslims by spreading their mission to
kill and spread violence in the name of their religion
and intimidating people into submission.
“If Islamists do take over,
it will be by default – even by democratic means – made
possible by liberalism in the West, which does not
permit us to take pride in our national and religious
identity.”
However, he said, “ I do
not think that Catholics have anything to fear from
fundamentalist Islam – by Catholics I mean those who
practice their faith and take an interest in the world
around us.”
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