The Vatican is holding talks with Saudi Arabia on building the first church in the kingdom, where some 1.5m Christians are not allowed to worship publicly.

Archbishop Paul-Mounged el-Hachem, one of Pope Benedict XVI's most senior Middle East representatives, said the discussions had begun a few weeks ago.

But the archbishop cautioned that the Vatican could not predict the outcome.

The discussions come in the wake of King Abdullah's historic meeting with the Pope at the Vatican last November.

A Catholic-Muslim Forum was also set up by the Pope two weeks ago to repair relations between the two faiths after the crisis caused by a speech he gave in Germany in 2006, in which he appeared to associate Islam with violence.

'Reciprocity'

The disclosure of talks between the Vatican and Saudi Arabia, which do not have diplomatic ties, came soon after the first Roman Catholic church in the Qatari capital, Doha, was opened in a service attended by 15,000 people.

Archbishop Hachem, the Apostolic Nuncio to Kuwait, Qatar, Yemen, Bahrain and the UAE, who attended the inauguration, said he hoped there would soon be a similar church for the many Christians in neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

If we manage to obtain authorisation for the construction of the first church, it will be an outcome of historic dimensions

Father Federico Lombardi
Spokesman for Pope Benedict

"Discussions are under way to allow the construction of churches in the kingdom," he said.

Although he made clear the outcome was uncertain, the archbishop added that a church in Saudi Arabia would be an important sign of "reciprocity" between Muslims and Christians.

The Vatican has noted that Muslims are free to worship openly in Europe and demands religious freedom as a condition for the opening of diplomatic relations.

About a million Catholics, many of them migrant workers from the Philippines, live in Saudi Arabia.

They are allowed to worship in private, mostly in people's homes, but worship in public places and outward signs of faith, such as crucifixes, are forbidden.

The last Christian priest was expelled from the kingdom in 1985.

Christians complain that rules are not clear and that the Saudi religious authorities, who enforce the kingdom's conservative brand of Islam, Wahhabism, sometimes crack down on legitimate congregations.

The authorities cite a tradition of the Prophet Muhammad that only Islam can be practised in the Arabian Peninsula.

A spokesman for Pope Benedict, Father Federico Lombardi, said: "If we manage to obtain authorisation for the construction of the first church, it will be an outcome of historic dimensions."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7302378.stm

quote:

The Vatican is holding talks with Saudi Arabia on building the first church in the kingdom, where some 1.5m Christians are not allowed to worship publicly.

Since when they gat Christians in Saudi?
Bonus and Andre know this? :D

quote:

Originally posted by Terry Ishmael:

quote:

The Vatican is holding talks with Saudi Arabia on building the first church in the kingdom, where some 1.5m Christians are not allowed to worship publicly.

Since when they gat Christians in Saudi?
Bonus and Andre know this? :D

Like yuh miss dis sentence - "About a million Catholics, many of them migrant workers from the Philippines, live in Saudi Arabia."

It would be a waste of time to build a church there anyway. The fanatics would bomb it before it even opens its doors.

quote:

Originally posted by André:

quote:

Originally posted by Terry Ishmael:

quote:

The Vatican is holding talks with Saudi Arabia on building the first church in the kingdom, where some 1.5m Christians are not allowed to worship publicly.

Since when they gat Christians in Saudi?
Bonus and Andre know this? :D

Like yuh miss dis sentence - "About a million Catholics, many of them migrant workers from the Philippines, live in Saudi Arabia."

It would be a waste of time to build a church there anyway. The fanatics would bomb it before it even opens its doors.

yu done noo...BOOOOOOOM..curch gann :):)

quote:

Originally posted by André:

quote:

Originally posted by Terry Ishmael:

quote:

The Vatican is holding talks with Saudi Arabia on building the first church in the kingdom, where some 1.5m Christians are not allowed to worship publicly.

Since when they gat Christians in Saudi?
Bonus and Andre know this? :D

Like yuh miss dis sentence - "About a million Catholics, many of them migrant workers from the Philippines, live in Saudi Arabia."

Keys words!
I was unda the impression from you and Bonus that Christians wuz not allowed to enter Saudi Arabia!

quote:

Originally posted by Terry Ishmael:

quote:

Originally posted by André:

quote:

Originally posted by Terry Ishmael:

quote:

The Vatican is holding talks with Saudi Arabia on building the first church in the kingdom, where some 1.5m Christians are not allowed to worship publicly.

Since when they gat Christians in Saudi?
Bonus and Andre know this? :D

Like yuh miss dis sentence - "About a million Catholics, many of them migrant workers from the Philippines, live in Saudi Arabia."

Keys words!
I was unda the impression from you and Bonus that Christians wuz not allowed to enter Saudi Arabia!

Why would you get that impression from me? Like you bin halucinating. I never made any statement to that effect. Those workers are only living there temporarily on work permits. They have temporary migrant workers from India and the Philippines and the rest of South Asia all over the the oil rich countries in the Middle East. Only recently they were threatening to strike because they are treated like slaves and paid $6.00 a day.

It's time Saudi Arabia treat their migrant workers with respect. They should have allowed places of worship for people of other faiths a long time ago..

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Chief,

Even if they built a million churches, that don't mean dem saudis know the meaning of respect for non-white workers. They dont respect their own, much less others.

Is dem sad ass Saudis who are giving muslims a blackeye.

quote:

Originally posted by Chief:
Is dem sad ass Saudis who are giving muslims a blackeye.

Bhai .dem iz we brodas so stap the nansense OK :(

quote:

Originally posted by SuperMike:

quote:

Originally posted by Chief:
Is dem sad ass Saudis who are giving muslims a blackeye.

Bhai .dem iz we brodas so stap the nansense OK :(

SM: U got a point. We forget that a lot of the press coverage is skewed against them. For example, this business about churches is right on. Saudi is an unadmitted theocracy. That means they have certain views. The rule of assembly does NOT prohibit non-Muslims from gathering..it is simply the construction of specific places of worship. And given the prosely. aims of Xity in particular, a muslim theocracy has every right to tell you what its rules are if you want to go work there. The europeans did it to our ancestors when they came to the colonies..and if the saudis relive past wrongs did to us..it is their damn right, like it or not. But for all their legal rights, some of them are generally a crude bunch of r*******s.

quote:

Originally posted by SuperMike:

quote:

Originally posted by Chief:
Is dem sad ass Saudis who are giving muslims a blackeye.

Bhai .dem iz we brodas so stap the nansense OK :(

SM: O ye who believe..be upholders of justice, witnesses for God..even if it be against yourselves, parents or kin....
Bhai...we gotta talk out sometimes. De problem is when we forget that in the US, they try to cover up THEIR aggressions.

You think they would let me open a black magic place of practice in SA. So that I can profess my trade and beliefs.?

quote:

Originally posted by bird:
You think they would let me open a black magic place of practice in SA. So that I can profess my trade and beliefs.?

Dem somalis got the monopoly on that. Underground.

quote:

Underground.

My idea is to establish the practice not no underground runnings. What you think my chances are.

Don't know...magic and sorcery are officially forbidden. the penalty is death...so you can try and we gun just call you jhumbie after they finish wid you