Spanish bishop rejects Muslims' request to worship in cathedral

Published: 2007-01-04

OXFORD, England (CNS) -- Bishop Juan Asenjo Pelegrina of Cordoba, Spain, has rejected calls by Muslims to be allowed to worship in the Cordoba cathedral, which in medieval times was a mosque. Bishop Asenjo said the Cordoba Diocese is "not against Muslims having a worthy place of worship, just as it also wishes this for Christians living in countries with a Muslim majority," but "the shared use of Cordoba cathedral by Catholics and Muslims would not contribute to peaceful interfaith relations." Spain's Islamic Board, which represents a community of 800,000 in the traditionally Catholic country of 44 million, recently wrote to Pope Benedict XVI requesting Vatican authorization to share the cathedral. In a Dec. 27 statement responding to the request, Bishop Asenjo said he believed Cordoba's "relatively small" Muslim minority -- less than 1 percent of its 350,000 inhabitants -- did not need extra facilities. Bishop Asenjo said his diocese favored "relations of respect and appreciation" with Muslims and hoped to maintain dialogue.

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