The Ecumenical Age May Be Past

The fact remains that Italy and England, like the rest of Western Europe, have very low Church attendance, generally between 10% and 18%. The overall effect of this decline ... a vacuum was created, leading to the most powerful insurgent movement of the late 20th century, right-wing fundamentalism. The U.S. and Western Europe face a crisis in tolerance, since the churches are now dominated by literalists who rebuke liberal Christianity and hold no toleration for non-Christian faiths. Not just Islam is scorned. John Paul II, himself a theological reactionary, went out of his way to dismiss any claim that Buddha was Christ-like, affirming that from a Catholic viewpoint, Buddhists are all pagans.In other words, the calming ecumenical movement spearheaded by John XXIII has ebbed. Militant Islam is simply a more violent example of the same trend -- although invisible to outsiders, the vast majority of Muslims don't agree with the malevolent factions that have co-opted the faith. The most tolerant Christians remain passive, like the most tolerant Muslims. Meanwhile, the thirst for some kind of belief must be quenched.The Ecumenical Age May Be Past