Even as the dust settles on the fallen Twin Towers, the practitioners of "interreligious dialogue" within the Catholic Church are rushing to exonerate Islam from any complicity in the terrorist attack of September 11.

       The pan-religious "peace and love" group known as the Sant'Egidio community has announced that it is organizing "a world summit of Christian and Muslim leaders, to be held in Rome this week, to discuss threats to international peace." [CWNews.com, October 2, 2001) Participating in the interreligious love-fest will be Bishop Michael Fitzgerald, the secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. Bishop Fitzgerald says that "Since Islam has been accused by the United States, it seems important to react by participating in this dialogue." CWN points out, however, that even President Bush "has taken pains to make it clear that the Islamic faith should not be held responsible for the terror attacks of September 11." So, everyone is falling all over himself to be politically correct in excusing the religion of Islam from any involvement in acts by avowedly Islamic terrorists, who expressly act according to the command of their religion that there be a jihad against the nations of the West.

       What is meant by "the Islamic faith"? There are clearly Muslims around the world who celebrate the terrorist attack as a mighty blow for Allah. Are these not practitioners of "the Islamic faith"? Does not their "faith" tell them that Atta and his fellow highjackers are martyrs in the great tradition of Islam, which has been making war on Christianity since Mohammed invented the religion out of whole cloth when he began receiving his alleged revelations in the year 610?

        Only 25 years before Vatican II, Pius XI commanded the Church to pray, on the Feast of Christ the King, that Christ would be King of those "who are still involved in the darkness of Idolatry and of Islamism," and that Christ the King would "refuse not to draw them into the light and kingdom of God." But the Vatican apparatus continues with its dogged pursuit of "interreligious dialogue" with a religion invented by a mere man, whose teachings are antithetical to the Gospel of Christ. Why do they go on dignifying this so-called "religion"?

       So, the upcoming love fest "will include the grand mufti of Egypt, a leading imam of the Muslim community in the United States, and Islamic scholars from Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. Participants from the Vatican will include Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, the past president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace; Cardinal Walter Kasper, the president of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity; Cardinal Achille Silvestrini, the former prefect of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches; and Cardinals Carlo Maria Martini of Milan, William Keeler of Baltimore, and Miloslav Vlk of Prague. Orthodox and Lutheran leaders are also expected to attend."

        In short, another three-ring circus sponsored by the Sant'Egidio community which will accomplish exactly nothing for the cause of the Gospel and true world peace. Completely forgotten, it seems, is the prayer of Pius XI that the practitioners of Islamism need to be delivered from their darkness.

       But, of course, it was precisely the darkness of Islam which the world saw on September 11, 2001 - an act of war by those who think their war, their jihad, is holy. The darkness of Islam will continue to grow until the men who govern the Church today recognize it for what it is - a great lie - and return to the mission which Christ the King gave His Church 2,000 years ago: that of making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.