Italian Catholic bishop calls for converting Muslims to Christianity
The Catholic bishop said that welcoming Muslim migrants in Europe must be accompanied by open preaching of the Gospel and witness to Christ.
On May 29, Roman Catholic Bishop Antonio Suetta called on Catholics to actively preach Christianity among Muslims living in Europe, European Conservative reports.
In a pastoral letter published for Pentecost, the head of the Diocese of Ventimiglia-San Remo said that the reception of Muslim migrants must go hand in hand with open witness to Christ. According to him, Christians should not hide their faith in the face of migration processes and the growing secularization of European society.
Bishop Suetta stressed that the Church’s duty is to preach the Gospel to all nations. He noted that although Christianity and Islam share certain moral values, the two religions understand the nature of God and the path of human salvation in fundamentally different ways.
Suetta also warned against abandoning missionary work out of fear of offending members of other religions. In his view, peaceful coexistence alone is not enough if Christians stop sharing what they believe to be the truth of the Gospel.
At the same time, the bishop emphasized that conversion must never involve coercion. He called for dialogue with Muslims through respectful conversation, charitable service, prayer, and the personal example of Christian life. The Diocese of Ventimiglia-San Remo also announced the launch of programs aimed at studying Islam and strengthening the Catholic identity of the faithful.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that Italian authorities deported an imam for justifying marriages with nine-year-old girls.
