Post by iagosan on Sept 7, 2023 8:42:25 GMT
ArchBish defends giving Communion to Muslim Sheik who then walked off with it in his hand.
Archbishop Geremias Steinmetz (b. 1965) is the Archbishop of Londrina, Brazil. Pope Francis, personally appointed him to that position in 2017.
With the recent death of 89-year-old Cardinal Geraldo Majella Agnelo (Aug. 26, 2023), formerly the Archbishop of São Salvador da Bahia, Archbishop Steinmetz found himself participating in a funeral Mass presided over by Cardinal Sérgio da Rocha on Monday, Aug. 28 2023
As Holy Communion was being distributed Archbishop Steinmetz was approached by a Muslim cleric who was in attendance. It was Sheik Ahmad Saleh Mahairi, founder of the local King Faiçal Mosque. Achbishop Steinmetz placed the host right into the sheik’s hands, who then walked away with it. Obviously the Sheik is unbaptised and denies the divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, i.e. The Holy Trinity
The incident was broadcast on a live stream and predictably raised a furore.
Consequently, the Archbishop decided to issue a statement defending his actions.
This is a translation from the Portuguese -A link to the original can be found below alongside a link to the relevant video footage.
“Dear brothers and sisters, still mourning the death of Cardinal Geraldo Majella Agnelo, archbishop emeritus of São Salvador and primate of Brazil, former archbishop of Londrina, we would like to make a statement about the repercussions generated by the communion given by me, Dom Geremias Steinmetz, to Sheiki Jeque Ahmad Saleh Mahairi.
In recent days, we have experienced a very beautiful ceremony in our Roman Catholic Church, which celebrates not death, but faith in eternal life through the living and risen Christ. The funeral of Dom Geraldo, one of the most important men in the Church in Brazil and the world, involved more than 24 hours of uninterrupted prayers in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Londrina, with the presence of priests from all the deaneries of the Archdiocese of Londrina, which encompasses 16 municipalities in the region, and around 20 bishops, including three cardinals, priests and religious from all over the country.
In addition to being a respected religious authority, Dom Geraldo was a friend and loved one of many, who attended the celebrations, especially the last Holy Mass before his burial at 10am, to pay their respects. People from different religious denominations were there, including civil and religious authorities, such as Sheiki Jeque Ahmad Saleh Mahairi, from the King Faiçal Mosque.
Sheiki Mahairi had known Dom Geraldo Majella since the 1980s and was at Cardinal Agnelo's funeral as a friend, saddened by the burial of another friend. Sheiki is well known in various spheres of society and has a respectful relationship with the Catholic Church. He was also a friend of another archbishop of Londrina, the late Dom Albano Cavallin, with whom he had a close relationship. As a friend, he took part in the Eucharistic celebration and, entering the communion line, received the body of Christ.
The images of the Holy Mass broadcast show Sheiki Mahairi receiving the Eucharist from my hands, but they don't show him consuming it. Faced with the repercussions of these images, I asked the vicar general of the Archdiocese of Londrina, Father Rafael Solano, to talk to Sheiki to clarify the situation. Deeply regretting what had happened, because his desire was not to disrespect the Catholic Church, Sheiki Mahairi told the vicar general that he received Jesus, went to his pew, sat down and consumed the Eucharist. According to him, Dom Albano had explained many years ago that the Eucharist is the body of Jesus, considered a prophet for Islam.
The Church also looks with esteem on Muslims. They worship the One God, living and subsistent, merciful and omnipotent, creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to mankind and to whose decrees, even if hidden, they seek to submit wholeheartedly, as Abraham submitted to God, whom the Islamic faith gladly evokes. Although they don't recognize him as God, they revere Jesus as a prophet and honor Mary, his virginal mother, whom they sometimes devoutly invoke. They await the day of judgment, when God will repay all men once they are resurrected. They therefore hold the moral life in high esteem and worship God above all through prayer, almsgiving and fasting (Declaration "Nostra Aetate", n.3).
Having clarified these points, we would finally like to consider what Pope Francis teaches us in his latest document on the Liturgy, Desiderio Desideravi, from 2022. No one had earned a place at the Last Supper. Rather, they were invited, attracted, by the burning desire of Jesus himself to eat that Passover with them, whose lamb is himself.
"Before our response to the invitation - long before - is his desire for us: we may not even be aware of it, but every time we go to Mass the primary reason is because we are attracted by his desire for us. For our part, the possible response, the most demanding asceticism is, as always, to surrender to his love, to let ourselves be drawn to him. What is certain is that all our communions in the Body and Blood of Christ were desired by him at the Last Supper," wrote Pope Francis. All creation is a manifestation of God's love. And since this love was manifested in the fullness of the Cross of Jesus, "all creation is drawn to him. It is the whole of creation that is taken up to be put at the service of the encounter with the Word incarnate, crucified, dead, risen, who has ascended to the Father." (n.42)
The Eucharist that is raised, the true Body and Blood of Jesus, is received by the people gathered around the altar also as a sign of charity, of that unrepeatable love of God that is manifested in the Cross of Jesus. Therefore, "let us abandon polemics in order to listen together to what the Spirit is saying to the Church, let us preserve communion, let us continue to marvel at the beauty of the Liturgy. Easter has been given to us, let us be guarded by the desire that the Lord continues to have to be able to eat it with us. Under the gaze of Mary, Mother of the Church". (Pope Francis - Desiderio Desideravi, n.65). The Eucharistic celebration teaches us the noble exercise of charity, nourishes meekness, leads us to fraternity and respect for all. May the Eucharist, the mystery of love, be for everyone a source of grace and light that illuminates the paths of life.
Londrina, August 30, 2023
In Christ Jesus. My blessing,
Archbishop Geremias Steinmetz
Metropolitan Archbishop of Londrina”
Clearly, the Archbishop seems happy to give Holy Communion to those members of a proselytizing religion, which denies the divinity of Jesus Christ and The Holy Trinity, are unbaptised and are able to make it to the front of the que, who then walk off with it in hand, whilst quoting Pope Francis`s teaching as the justification.
Original statement in Portuguese: arquidioceselondrina.com.br/2023/08/30/nota-de-esclarecimento-4/
or : archive.ph/BpI1I
Video Footage of the incident : www.instagram.com/reel/Cwf3DExJrjF/
