This blog is written by a Christian living in the Middle East. My desire is to discuss Islam and Christianity in ways that will be helpful for people of the other religion.
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Jimmy Akin on Fatima (فاطمة بنت محمد المطيري), martyr, evangelist. and saint
An extended Roman Catholic article on the martyrdom and status of our dear sister and martyr Fatima bint Muhmammad. Please do head over there and express your views on the topic.
I have read this, but yes, it is a splendid narrative--encouraging and edifying. Do you have anything else more recent? Perhaps less than a decade old?
I'll try to find more recent information, but I'm not having much luck so far. I read an article several years old in which the Catholic bishop said the Catholic church did not evangelize in Saudi because it was too dangerous.
I think where Jimmy goes somewhat wrong is in the idea that there are, in the fundamental sense, "other churches" into which a person can be baptized.
When you are baptized, you are baptized into the 'one, holy, catholic Church" which subsists in what is popularly known as "the Roman Catholic" or "the Catholic Church".
There just isn't anything else to be baptized into.
This is a different question from the question of full, external communion. That requires an informed consent on the part of the baptized or his sponsor and an understand, commensurate with the capacities of the candidate.
Now, for those who have a belief or a loyalty which separates them from the full unity of the Church, there is an additional problem.
But for those who do not have any particular belief which separates them from the Catholic Church, I think the question of full communion only arises as a matter of governance: Would you give such a person communion, would you marry such a person, without and overt acceptance of all Catholic teaching?
Nothing like this arises in Fatima's case.
We don't know whether she was Catholic in the full sense of the term, of course. It's very unlikely.
But it seems from her writing that Fatima simply wanted the fullness of Jesus Christ and took it as she could find it.
Msgr. Ronald Knox once famously said, "All the identity tags in heaven read 'RC'". And you don't get those tags when you enter. You have them because you were 'RC' before you got there...
7 comments:
Dear Abu,
This catholic priest ( http://www.jmanjackal.net/eng/eng.htm ) claims to have shared fruitfully Gospel several time in the Gulf lands.
An excerpt of its testimony is here, but in french : http://v.i.v.free.fr/spip/spip.php?article176
It seems finally that some catholic guys take seriously the call to evangelize muslims. ;-D
Dear John,
This is excellent. I believe the Catholic Church has so much to offer the world of Islam. Thank you for sharing this site with me.
AD
Here is an article by a Catholic missionary in Saudi that you might find interesting: http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/1998/9811fea2.asp
Hi Salome,
I have read this, but yes, it is a splendid narrative--encouraging and edifying. Do you have anything else more recent? Perhaps less than a decade old?
AD
I'll try to find more recent information, but I'm not having much luck so far. I read an article several years old in which the Catholic bishop said the Catholic church did not evangelize in Saudi because it was too dangerous.
-the Catholic church did not evangelize in Saudi because it was too dangerous.-
The mass is not permitted there. Neither are there any priests allowed in the country.
Here is the comment I left on Jimmy Akin's site:
I think where Jimmy goes somewhat wrong is in the idea that there are, in the fundamental sense, "other churches" into which a person can be baptized.
When you are baptized, you are baptized into the 'one, holy, catholic Church" which subsists in what is popularly known as "the Roman Catholic" or "the Catholic Church".
There just isn't anything else to be baptized into.
This is a different question from the question of full, external communion. That requires an informed consent on the part of the baptized or his sponsor and an understand, commensurate with the capacities of the candidate.
Now, for those who have a belief or a loyalty which separates them from the full unity of the Church, there is an additional problem.
But for those who do not have any particular belief which separates them from the Catholic Church, I think the question of full communion only arises as a matter of governance: Would you give such a person communion, would you marry such a person, without and overt acceptance of all Catholic teaching?
Nothing like this arises in Fatima's case.
We don't know whether she was Catholic in the full sense of the term, of course. It's very unlikely.
But it seems from her writing that Fatima simply wanted the fullness of Jesus Christ and took it as she could find it.
Msgr. Ronald Knox once famously said, "All the identity tags in heaven read 'RC'". And you don't get those tags when you enter. You have them because you were 'RC' before you got there...
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