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London:
Christians in Europe must have more children or else the continent
would become Islamised, said a Vatican official who predicted that
Islam would "sooner rather than later conquer the majority in
Europe".
Italian Father Piero Gheddo said the poor birth rate among
Europeans coupled with waves of Muslim immigrants could lead to
Europe getting dominated by Islam.
"The challenge must be taken seriously," Daily Telegraph Tuesday
quoted Father Gheddo of the Vatican's Pontifical Institute for
Foreign Missions as saying.
He said: "Certainly from a demographic point of view, as it is
clear to everyone that Italians are decreasing by 120,000 or
130,000 persons a year because of abortion and broken families -
while among the more than 200,000 legal immigrants a year in
Italy, more than half are Muslims and Muslim families, which have
a much higher level of growth."
"Newspapers and television
programmes never speak of this. However, an answer must be given
above all in the religious and cultural fields and in the area of
identity."
The official held Christians responsible for failing to live up to
their own beliefs that led to the creation of a "religious vacuum"
being filled by Islam.
He said Islam would "sooner rather
than later conquer the majority in Europe".
"The fact is that, as a people, we are becoming ever more pagan
and the religious vacuum is inevitably filled by other proposals
and religious forces."
Gheddo went on to say that Christians were also making themselves
vulnerable to secularists' attacks.
He stated that when "religious practice diminishes in Christian
Europe and indifference spreads, Christianity and the Church are
attacked".
"If we consider ourselves a Christian country, we should return to
the practice of Christian life, which would also solve the problem
of empty cradles."
A few months back, a Czech cardinal had also blamed lapsed
Catholics for Europe's Islamisation.
Cardinal Miloslav Vlk had said Muslims were well placed to fill
the spiritual void "created as Europeans systematically empty the
Christian content of their lives".
He said that in case Christians didn't wake up to the threat they
would one day realise that they don't have the strength to make
their mark on society.
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