Maybe I am missing something here, but was this a denial of permission for Catholics to build a Church in Saudi Arabia or a refusal by the royal family to build one? I cannot fathom how the latter prospect could have even been entertained. I suspect that it was the former proposal that was denied. In any event, nothing new here, just Mohammedans being Mohammedans. By the way, was there any protest from Mohammedan quarters about those traditional Catholic using the old Good Friday Prayer for the conversion of the infidels?
Riyadh, Mar. 25, 2008 (CWNews.com) – The president of the Middle East Center for Strategic Studies, Anwatr al Oshqi, has reported that Saudi Arabia’s royal family has decided against building a Catholic church in the kingdom.
Earlier this month Vatican Radio reported that the Saudi government was weighing a proposal for the construction of a Catholic church. That report came as a surprise, since the Saudi regime does not allow public worship by any faith other than Islam.
In November 2007, when King Abdullah became the first reigning Saudi king ever to visit the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI urged him to allow the building of a Catholic church.
While it was not an official response to that request, Al Oshqi’s report carries considerable weight because it was made during a broadcast on the Al Arabiya news channel, which is owned by the Saudi royal family.
