veiled4allah: for those with catholic interests

Jeanne d'Arc of Body and Soul has an interesting post about how the U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican has invited a pro-war Catholic scholar to help him talk the Vatican into supporting war on Iraq. Inasmuch as the Vatican is a sovereign country, it's fair game, just as the Bush Administration is trying to convince other countries to support war.

However, the Vatican is also the leadership for a religious denomination (i.e., the Catholic Church) and the Vatican's antiwar stance is based on its interpretation of religious doctrine. If the Bush Administration is trying to seek a change in religious doctrine, that puts a different spin on the matter. I don't think this is unconstitutional in itself or anything, but it's getting into a grey area. The government should not have any say in doctrine. That's an "inherently religious" matter and the Supreme Court has consistently held that the government must not interfere in inherently religious matters; that would constitute establishment of religion.

I was brought up as a Catholic although my family were never observant. And Catholic theology never reached anything in me. But I still have a great deal of respect for the Church's stands on certain issues (though not on all issues).

Awhile ago I noticed that a disproportionate number of female converts to Islam that I know were formerly Catholics. I don't know if this is typical or not (or maybe it has something to do with the way nuns dress... my mom has told me more than once that if I had become religious as a Catholic I would probably be a nun!)

While I'm on the subject of Catholicism, I recently came across a blog by a young woman who has converted to Catholicism: Not For Sheep. A lot of Katherine's experiences as she immerses herself in learning her new religion resonate with me. If you're interested in seeing Catholicism through the eyes of a new convert, do check out her blog, inshallah.