Has the Pope embraced Islam? Some would say he has.
Otherwise, what is the point of the latest Papal Encyclical, if newsmedia reports are to be believed, asking Parish Priests to be more accepting of Divorce and Remarriage?
Islam has been saying this for over 1400 years. And it took Catholic Church all this time to catch up?
My response?
Hallelujah! Better late than never.
Celibacy -- the Church Ideal for good people -- is not a natural human state: not for male priests, not female nuns. It never was. It simply does not make any sense.
However, the Church imposed that unnatural state on its flock and the results are obvious for all to see.
Matrimony is a basic human need. The Church woke up to it late. But Islam has been knocking at the door for the longest time.
The Prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, saying:
An-Nikaah Min Sunnatee.
Meaning:
"Marriage is the way to go!"
But the best marriages sometimes don't work. What are we supposed to do?
The Church said: What God has put together, let no one rend asunder.
Meaning: Absolutely, positively, no divorce.
That has been the position of the Catholic Church all these long and painful and traumatic centuries. Just ask the divorced Catholics what pain and trauma many of them have endured.
But Islam has again been knocking at the door, saying, hey, look, if there is no way to save your marriage, and if all good-faith efforts to save your marriage have failed, then, consider Divorce as a last-resort option.
And now the Pope is saying in effect: hey, look, Divorce happens. So, let us all learn to live with it and let us all treat each other with the compassion and understanding that we all need.
Has the Pope then embraced Islam? The Pope knows.
And Allah does.
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