By Archbishop John Charles Wester highlighted the Second Vatican Council’s document on religious freedom and the constitutional protections for religious liberty in the United States.
Archbishop John Charles Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico, voiced support for a Muslim group’s effort to construct a mosque in the suburbs of Albuquerque after the plan faced some community pushback.
The Albuquerque Islamic Center received approval for the new mosque in North Valley in a 5-1 vote by the Bernalillo County Planning Commission on July 1. The hearing was about five hours long with comments from the community, and the commission ultimately approved the mosque but not the proposed school, to keep the project smaller and the expected traffic lighter.
Wester issued a six-paragraph statement on July 27 in support of the project, saying Muslims have a right to access worship services and religious freedom extends beyond Christians.
In his statement, the archbishop said he has heard “concerns from residents” about the planned mosque and felt “compelled to speak clearly and pastorally” about the tension.
“Our Muslim neighbors have the same God-given and constitutionally protected right to worship freely as every other faith community, including our own,” he said and cited the Second Vatican Council’s declaration on religious freedom, Dignitatis Humanae.
Our Muslim neighbors have the same God-given and constitutionally protected right to worship freely as every other faith community, including our own.”
Archbishop John Charles WesterArchdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico
“[The document] taught that every person ‘must be free from coercion’ in matters of faith,” he said. “This principle applies universally. It is not limited to Catholics or Christians; it extends fully to Muslims, Jews, and all people who seek to worship according to their conscience. Supporting the construction of a mosque is therefore entirely consistent with our own tradition and moral commitments.”
Wester encouraged “respect, dialogue, and peaceful coexistence” among people of different religious beliefs. He added: “We do not need to share the same beliefs to share the same neighborhood. What we do need is a willingness to listen, to learn, and to recognize the face of a neighbor rather than a stranger.”
The archbishop said interfaith relationships “enrich our civic life and strengthen the social fabric we all depend on” and criticized “anti-Muslim sentiment.”
“Any hostility toward Muslims — whether expressed through rhetoric, suspicion, or opposition to their places of worship — is incompatible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who commands us to love our neighbor without exception,” Wester said.
“Fear of the other is not a Christian virtue,” he added. “Hospitality is. Our Muslim brothers and sisters have faced discrimination and hostility in many parts of the country. When such prejudice arises, Catholics are called to stand beside them, not apart from them. Supporting their right to build a mosque is one concrete way to affirm their dignity and to reject the forces that seek to marginalize them.”
Ibrahim Hooper, national communications director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, welcomed the archbishop’s support in a statement.
“We welcome Archbishop Wester’s principled statement defending religious freedom and thank him for speaking out,” Hooper said. “The freedom to worship is a fundamental and inalienable right of every American and every human being. As anti-Muslim bigotry rises throughout our nation, people of conscience and faith must stand together to encourage mutual respect.”
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We expect nothing more from homosexualist bishops
In Mathew 4:4 and earlier in the Book of Deuteronomy one comes across:‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’
Creating a conducive space for prayer, meditation, adoration, silence, worship, and spiritual camaraderie are time-tested practices among fellow pilgrims on journey worldwide.
Contributing generously with cash and labor for the construction of Churches, Synagogues, Mosques, Temples, Gurdwaras, Cathedrals, Basilicas, Shrines, Wayside Chapels, Grottoes, and prayer centers are universal practices among Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, Zoroastrian and Jewish brethren here, there, and everywhere.
Well said!
“[….] we have no business comparing diverse religious situations statically [….] Even before a judgment was pronounced one way or the other, this would be to disjoint God’s plan which bears the mark of unity. It would be to relativize ‘a priori’ the very idea of religious truth. To put different religions side by side is to admit the possibility that, whatever they are, they all come equally from God, even though they may make different—indeed, divergent—assertions on fundamental points. How, for instance, is the admission feasible that Islam, looked at objectively and as a whole, might be a divinely constituted way of salvation if one simultaneously admits the same thing of Buddhism, with the former stoutly affirming monotheism and the latter declaring itself atheist [….]
“[Instead] The important thing to note here is that the principle of…dynamism—which must synthesize everything into its unique truth—is not a mere concept or just one reality among others. It is neither the ‘idea of Christianity’ nor ‘Christianity’ itself. It is a reality, an existence, an action, a personal force: it is the very person of Jesus Christ. ‘Ego sum via, veritas et vita’ [I am the way, the truth, and the life]” (Henri de Lubac, “The Church: Paradox and Mystery,” 1967/Ignatius 2021, pp. 108-109).
Well said, dear Dr. Cajetan Coelho & dear ‘Gerard’; for such a lucid presentation of the Freemason, anti-Catholic worldview.
St Paul instructs Timothy (1 Timothy 4:1):
“The Holy Spirit explicitly states that in the end times there will be those who desert The Faith and are led by deceitful spirits & doctrines that come from devils”
So, well warned, one is not that shocked by your anti-Apostolic indifferentism, heretical unitarianism, and false universalism.
St Paul backs that up in his second letter to Timothy (2 Timothy 4:3):
“The time is sure to come when, far from being content with sound teaching, people will be avid for the latest novelty and will collect for themselves a whole series of teachers according to their own tastes; and then, instead of listening to the TRUTH, they will turn to myths.”
I humbly appeal to you both to repent of devil-inspired Freemason myths & return to genuine Catholic Apostolic, *New Testament* faith, such as is well explicated in *The Catechism of The Catholic Church*.
Love & blessings from marty & always in the grace & mercy of King Jesus Christ.
Archbishop Jester falsely conflates “interreligious” with “interfaith,” as if these are interchangeable. Interfaith is what Vatican II clearly labeled as “ecumenical,” not the same as interreligious.
After one “interreligious” dialogue: “By means of your democracy we will invade you, by means of our religion we shall dominate you” (recalled by His Eminence monsignor Guiseppe Bernardini, archbishop of the Turkish Diocese of Smyrna, in Oriana Fallaci, “The Rage and the Pride,” Rizzoli, 2001, p. 98).
So much for Bishop Jester’s “social fabric.”
Upon reflection, and without being asked, I apologize for the disrespect in referring to Archbishop Wester as Bishop Jester. The issue is not personal and is much broader.
The challenge before the USCCB is to develop a more differentiated attitude toward Muslim persons on the one hand, and package-deal Islam on the other (often not the same thing). This, rather than simply applying the myopic lens of alleged suspicion, and economic and political marginalization.
“Come on in,” said the frog on the stove, “the water’s fine!”
Not just a mosque and minarets on the New Mexico skyline, here and there. Ninety percent of the funding for mosques in the West is Wahhabi money. . . .The “cognitive dissonance” even extends to the seemingly insignificant Muslim prayer rug admitted into the Vatican Library: Fact check: Did the Vatican Library open a prayer room for Muslims? – Catholic Telegraph. If I were a believing Muslim, I would count this rug as a major beachhead: the Vatican Library sort of subsumed into the Islamic worldview? For Muslim scholars, the library (and more?) morphing into a reading room attached to a madrassa…Farfetched?
In 2014 yours truly was asked to review a monograph addressing Islamic-Christian dialogue in the United States: https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2014/02/16/christianity-and-islam-dialogue-and-monologues/
As with the poet Tennyson, “more things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.” Likewise, more things are wrought by a prayer rug, and more is going on in the United States than local building permits. While the permit for the attached school was refused (traffic!), wait til next year of maybe ten years. “The water’s fine!”
Also another squandered opportunity by the Church to frame historic and global trends coherently and, yes, respectful to all including parishioners. With more than predictable platitudes about (what’s that word again, oh yes) marginalization.
Dear Peter: if Wester jested I’m certain The LORD, our Most Blessed Mother Mary, Saint Joseph, Saint Peter & the other holy Apostles, the holy Martyrs & Saints, the Elders, great Heavenly Creatures, Archangels & hosts of holy Angels are not laughing; nay, not even one smiles.
From Revelation 2:5 we might wonder if some Catholic archdioceses are about to have their Lampstands removed by King Jesus.
Nassim Taleb, the author of “The Black Swan” (nothing to do with the idiotic movie) described how things progressed in his native Lebanon after the Muslims reached “critical mass”.
How have we possibly filled the episcopacy with such clowns?
Isn’t it Israel stealing Lebanese lands from the Christians who have lived there? Checks notes…..yup definitely not the Muslims.
If you are going to respond, read the damn thing. Taleb was describing events of decades ago, not now.
Being pro-Muslim requires being anti-Islam.
Islam is a false religion that follows a man who married a 6-year-old and then serially raped her starting at age 9. It is gravely harmful to all who adhere to it.
Perhaps the Archbishop should try converting some Muslims.
Brilliantly relevant! Many thanks, dear Amanda.
*Being pro-Muslim requires being anti-Islam*.
*Archbishop {Wester} should try converting some Muslims*.
Some of us are thinking about making a collection to enable Archbishop John Charles Wester to personally set up a Catholic church in Pakistan, or Iraq, or other Sharia-Law-dominated country of his choice.
He’s sure to expect Senior Moslem Imams will support this, saying: “We feel compelled to speak clearly and pastorally: our Christian neighbors have the same God-given and constitutionally protected right to worship freely as every other faith community, including our own.”
Like so many others who’ve tried to play ‘fair-game’ with Islam he’ll learn painfully that their modus operandus is to extirminate all other religions by fair means and foul.
Funded by limitless oil-dollars, they will do that in Santa Fe, as they have in many other places, where they’ve ruthlessly expelled or decapitated all who refused to convert.
Yes: true Christians will compassionately love their enemies who are in need but, in all commonsense, not those enemies who perceive our compassion as their god gifting them our backyards.
There is a line between compassion and craziness.
Let’s stop trying to play softball with those who only play hardball.
Ever in the grace & mercy of King Jesus Christ; love & blessings from marty
*Archbishop {Wester} should try converting some Muslims*.
To what?
The native of San Francisco is a bold contrarian. Now nine months since his 75th birthday his replacement is yet to be determined. The day is longed for by not a few of the faithful and the clerical crew.
There are more than a few our local clergy here in New Mexico that could snap the Archdiocese of Santa Fe back into shape. Maybe take a look at one of them?
Rome appears to be looking for someone that will impose the favored flavor of the month. So much for listening to the groundlings.
Archbishop John Charles Wester, Archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico is a public representative of King Jesus Christ, who has publicly admired & welcomed Koranicly-defined detractors and enemies of King Jesus Christ.
Like an oncologist who publicly admires, welcomes, and encourages cancers.
Where is Holy Spirit wisdom?
* OF COURSE we should be friendly to friendly muslims, they are human beings like us, and members of our society.
* OF COURSE we Catholics & all Christians should do everything that is legally within our power to discourage and block the growth of their false religion, its cruel & murderous heart, and the resultant damnation of souls.
Apostatical, blind-stupid incapacity to discern the difference will register as an historical characteristic of a generation of morally-corrupted (even demon-oppressed) Catholic hierarchs. What a legacy . . !
Saint Paul’s warning speaks clearly: “Even from your own (episcopal) ranks there will be men coming forward with a travesty of truth on their lips to induce the faithful to follow them. SO BE ON YOUR GUARD” Ephesians 20:30.
Will the faithful cardinals, archbishops, & bishops please stand up . . .
Ever in the grace & mercy of King Jesus Christ; love & blessings from marty
First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
Dear Gerard, please try again, once you’ve acquired a wider education: particularly in the basics of Christianity as contrasted with false religions!
Your delusive ditty has been around for donkey’s years, used again & again by those who want to scare people into their silo of prejudice.
In the contemporay world *The One True Church* (see John 18:37) is currently besieged by a 4-pronged attack from satan and his hordes of fallen angels.
Even a cursory reading of the literature of the Muslims, Freemasons, Marxists, and Mormons (& numerous imitators) exposes the spiritual originator of their religions as the father of lies, the prince of this world, the enemy of jumankind, the devil, lucifer, satan.
They all have one foundational objective: to replace & extinguish the saving & sanctifying witness to truth of our King Jesus Christ and His Church. They use many direct & indirect strategies and are experts in winning unthinking followers and in white-anting The Church.
Only by the grace of GOD does *The Church* survive, since so many Catholic clergy, philosophers, theologians, etc. are suckers, taken-in by the 4 M’s of this world’s devilish prince (Masonry, Muslimism, Marxism, Mormonry) & their many, multicolored mutations.
How to escape the sticky-web? Steep yourself in the *Apostolic New Testament* & *The Catechism of the Catholic Church*. Lovingly obey GOD’s commandments and bravely witness to *The Gospel of King Jesus Christ*. Like Jesus taught: Ask Father GOD for more & more of *His Holy Spirit*.
You’ll find the yoke of genuine faith is easy & its burden is lite.
In the eternal love of King Jesus Christ; blessings from marty
Archbishop John Charles Wester, Archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico is a public representative of King Jesus Christ, who has publicly admired & welcomed Koranicly-defined detractors and enemies of King Jesus Christ.
Like an oncologist who publicly admires, welcomes, and encourages cancers.
Where is Holy Spirit wisdom?
* OF COURSE we should be friendly to friendly muslims, they are human beings like us, and members of our society.
* OF COURSE we Catholics & all Christians should do everything that is legally within our power to discourage and block the growth of their false religion, its cruel & murderous heart, and the resultant damnation of souls.
Apostatical, blind-stupid incapacity to discern the difference will register as an historical characteristic of a generation of morally-corrupted (even demon-oppressed) Catholic hierarchs. What a legacy . . !
Saint Paul’s warning speaks clearly: “Even from your own (episcopal) ranks there will be men coming forward with a travesty of truth on their lips to in
Yes, but when do you hear THEM defending our freedom of religion?
It is not possible. We are infidels…conversion or death.
Well now you are expecting reciprocity?
Vast amounts of terrorism stems from Islam. I understand that freedom of religion must be upheld, but Islam is a violent, false, and extremely dangerous religion that hopefully will one day crumble. Pray that their followers become Christians.