The document is full of deceptions and deflections, but Cupich and Bambera would dismiss such concerns as “Islamophobic.” It has become a superdogma in the Catholic Church: if you don’t believe that Islam is a Religion of Peace, you will be ruthlessly harassed and silenced by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the hierarchy elsewhere as well. The bishops of the Catholic Church are much more concerned that you believe that Islam is a religion of peace than that you believe in, say, the Nicene Creed.
“Leave them; they are blind guides. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” (Matthew 15:14)
“U.S. Catholic officials welcome Catholic-Muslim document signed by pope,” Catholic News Service, February 8, 2019:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The declaration signed by Pope Francis and Sheik Ahmad el-Tayeb, the grand imam of al-Azhar, during the pope’s trip to the United Arab Emirates “is a clarion call for robust dialogue that leads to peace,” said the Catholic chairman of the National Catholic-Muslim Dialogue and the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.
“In our increasingly hostile world in which violence too often predominates between Christians and Muslims – violence that has led to tragic consequences for the most vulnerable humans – we welcome with great joy this historic joint statement on human fraternity,” said Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago and Bishop Joseph C. Bambera of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Pope Francis and Sheik el-Tayeb, a leading religious authority for many Sunni Muslims around the world, signed “A Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together” Feb. 4 in Abu Dhabi….
But the centerpiece of the declaration was a call on Christians and Muslims to recognize and respect one another and work together for the good of humanity.
Commenting on the document Feb. 8, Cupich and Bambera urged “all people of goodwill, especially leaders of nations and religious groups,” to read and study the declaration “in the hope that it might serve as a resource to overcome division through a renewed commitment to dialogue and the establishment of goodwill.”