Pope Benedict XVI has risked a renewed rift with the Muslim world by baptising a converted Muslim born journalist who describes Islam as intrinsically violent and characterised by "hate and intolerance" rather than "love and respect for others".However the move revived memories of the Muslim fury which greeted Pope Benedict's speech at Regensburg University in German in 2006 in which he appeared to brand Islam as inherently violent, inhumane and irrational by quoting a Byzantine emperor to that effect.
He has since sought to make amends, praying in a mosque in Turkey and establishing a permanent forum for Catholic-Muslim dialogue to be inaugurated in November. His talks last November with King Abdullah in Rome have led to exploratory discussions on opening a church in Saudi Arabia, where at present all faiths other than Islam are banned.
However, in a combative article for Corriere della Sera, the Italian paper of which he is a deputy editor, Mr Allam - who has lived in Italy most of his adult life and has a Catholic wife - said his soul had been "liberated from the obscurantism of an ideology which legitimises lies and dissimulation, violent death, which induces both murder and suicide, and blind submission to tyranny".
Instead he had "seen the light" and joined "the authentic religion of Truth, Life and Liberty". He added: "Beyond the phenomenon of extremists and Islamist terrorism at the global level, the root of evil is inherent in a physiologically violent and historically conflictual Islam."
Mr Allam, who was educated at a Salesian Catholic school in Egypt and and previously described himself as a "not very devout" Muslim, was one of seven adults baptised during the Easter vigil, which is traditionally used for adult conversion ceremonies.
He said that by baptising him publicly the Pope had "sent an explicit and revolutionary message to a Church that until now has been too cautious in the conversion of Muslims because of the fear of being unable to protect the converted, who are condemned to death for apostasy".
He added: "Thousands of people in Italy have converted to Islam and practise their faith serenely. But there are also thousands of Muslims who have converted to Christianity but are forced to hide their new faith out of fear of being killed by Islamist terrorists."
Muslim groups in Italy said Mr Allam would have done better to have undergone a low key conversion at a local parish. "What amazes me is the high profile the Vatican has given this conversion," said Yaha Sergio Yahe Pallavicini, deputy head of the Italian Islamic Religious Community.
Today, Pope Benedict celebrated Easter Mass from under a canopy in torrential rain on St Peter's Square, calling for an end to "injustice, hatred and violence." Many of the tens of thousands on the square huddled under umbrellas but others were soaked in the downpour, including Swiss Guards, altar boys and Italian army and police bandsmen.
The Pope made several impromptu references to the weather, saying with a smile that it could not dampen the joy of Christians at Christ's Resurrection. He offered Easter blessings in 63 languages, and in his "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) message called for "solutions that will safeguard peace and the common good" in Tibet, the Middle East and African regions such as Darfur and Somalia.
He deplored "the many wounds that continue to disfigure humanity in our own day. These are the scourges of humanity, open and festering in every corner of the planet, although they are often ignored and sometimes deliberately concealed; wounds that torture the souls and bodies of countless of our brothers and sisters".
He called for "an active commitment to justice in areas bloodied by conflict and wherever the dignity of the human person continues to be scorned and trampled", adding - with a wry reference to the dark storm clouds overhead - "May the light that streams forth from this solemn day shine forth in every part of the world".
Last week, the Pope broke his silence on Tibet, calling for for an end to violence and urging "dialogue and tolerance." But Beijing brushed off the appeal, declaring there was "no tolerance for criminals, who will be punished by the law." Neither the Easter message nor the Good Friday meditations specifically mentioned China, a reflection of the Vatican's desire not to upset its dialogue with Beijing over the fate of the country's Catholics.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce