From The Trumpet and Europe News:
Muslims Angle for Ownership of German Catholic Churches
January 9, 2012
From theTrumpet.com
The Catholic Church is planning to close five or six churches in Duisburg, Germany, because of diminishing patronage, and local Muslims wish to buy the churches to use as Islamic worship locations, the German daily Der Westen reported January 1.
Only 19 percent of Duisburg-Marxloh residents are Catholic, and the diocese already closed several churches there five years ago. Pastoral counselor Michael Dörnemann said church officials have explored many options, but see “no way around” this second round of closings.
Mohammed Al, the association chairman of Duisburg’s Merkez Mosque, doesn’t want the churches to sit empty or be demolished. He is among the Muslims striving to convince Catholic officials to allow Merkez, the largest mosque in Germany, to buy the churches after the Catholics vacate them, to use them for Islamic worship. Al explained the apparent incongruity, saying, “Regardless of whether it’s a church or mosque—it’s about a house of God.”
Germany’s Catholics have protested the planned closings and possible Muslim ownership with vigils and letters, and they have planned demonstrations if the sales go through.
The late Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi once said, “There are signs that Allah will grant Islam victory in Europe without swords, without guns, without conquests. The Muslims of Europe will turn it into a Muslim continent within a few decades.” Current trends in religious affiliation, birthrate and immigration in Germany and other European nations support Qadhafi’s prediction.
But the current trends will not persist.
The Catholic Church is aware of its declining membership, and is hell-bent on reversing it. Last month, the church launched a global advertizing crusade to convince “lost souls” to return to its ranks. From Dec. 16, 2011, to Jan. 8, 2012, the church is saturating prime-time tv with advertisements like this one. A church spokesman said it is “the first time ever in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church” that the church has run such a campaign.
A few days after the ad campaign was launched, Pope Benedict xvi told the Roman Catholic clergy that the economic crisis besieging Europe is the result of a continent-wide ethical breakdown: “[T]he motivation is often lacking for individuals and large sectors of society to practice renunciation and make sacrifices. … Where is the force that draws the will upwards?”
The pope essentially asked where the spiritual, political and motivational power is that could remedy Europe’s crisis in ethics. His tacit answer was that this force lies within the Catholic Church.
The German-born pope is committed to rectifying Europe’s “ethical breakdown” and reversing the trend—the decline in the Catholic Church’s power—that he views as its cause. The church closings in Duisburg will add urgency to the pope’s calls for a Catholic resurgence. The desire of Muslims to convert the churches into mosques will supercharge that urgency.
The Bible prophesies of an Islamic “push” against Europe and Catholicism, which the trends in Duisburg and elsewhere show to be well under way. Bible prophecy also reveals that the Catholic Church’s campaign to boost its power will be wondrously successful in the months and years ahead, and that this power will be devastating to the adherents of Islam. To understand these electrifying prophecies, and how they will affect your life, read our free booklet Daniel Unlocks Revelation. •
Muslims Angle for Ownership of German Catholic Churches
January 9, 2012
From theTrumpet.com
The Catholic Church is planning to close five or six churches in Duisburg, Germany, because of diminishing patronage, and local Muslims wish to buy the churches to use as Islamic worship locations, the German daily Der Westen reported January 1.
Only 19 percent of Duisburg-Marxloh residents are Catholic, and the diocese already closed several churches there five years ago. Pastoral counselor Michael Dörnemann said church officials have explored many options, but see “no way around” this second round of closings.
Mohammed Al, the association chairman of Duisburg’s Merkez Mosque, doesn’t want the churches to sit empty or be demolished. He is among the Muslims striving to convince Catholic officials to allow Merkez, the largest mosque in Germany, to buy the churches after the Catholics vacate them, to use them for Islamic worship. Al explained the apparent incongruity, saying, “Regardless of whether it’s a church or mosque—it’s about a house of God.”
Germany’s Catholics have protested the planned closings and possible Muslim ownership with vigils and letters, and they have planned demonstrations if the sales go through.
The late Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi once said, “There are signs that Allah will grant Islam victory in Europe without swords, without guns, without conquests. The Muslims of Europe will turn it into a Muslim continent within a few decades.” Current trends in religious affiliation, birthrate and immigration in Germany and other European nations support Qadhafi’s prediction.
But the current trends will not persist.
The Catholic Church is aware of its declining membership, and is hell-bent on reversing it. Last month, the church launched a global advertizing crusade to convince “lost souls” to return to its ranks. From Dec. 16, 2011, to Jan. 8, 2012, the church is saturating prime-time tv with advertisements like this one. A church spokesman said it is “the first time ever in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church” that the church has run such a campaign.
A few days after the ad campaign was launched, Pope Benedict xvi told the Roman Catholic clergy that the economic crisis besieging Europe is the result of a continent-wide ethical breakdown: “[T]he motivation is often lacking for individuals and large sectors of society to practice renunciation and make sacrifices. … Where is the force that draws the will upwards?”
The pope essentially asked where the spiritual, political and motivational power is that could remedy Europe’s crisis in ethics. His tacit answer was that this force lies within the Catholic Church.
The German-born pope is committed to rectifying Europe’s “ethical breakdown” and reversing the trend—the decline in the Catholic Church’s power—that he views as its cause. The church closings in Duisburg will add urgency to the pope’s calls for a Catholic resurgence. The desire of Muslims to convert the churches into mosques will supercharge that urgency.
The Bible prophesies of an Islamic “push” against Europe and Catholicism, which the trends in Duisburg and elsewhere show to be well under way. Bible prophecy also reveals that the Catholic Church’s campaign to boost its power will be wondrously successful in the months and years ahead, and that this power will be devastating to the adherents of Islam. To understand these electrifying prophecies, and how they will affect your life, read our free booklet Daniel Unlocks Revelation. •
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