Re: In Europe, Palazzi charges, local Moslems are confronted by "religious colonialism." While he estimates that only about 200 out of the half-a-million strong Moslem community identifies with the Moslem Brotherhood, the Brotherhood controls more than 90 percent of Italian mosques. He also says that Saudi ambassadors pressure local European governments to look upon Moslem Brotherhood clerics as the official representatives of local Moslems. However, they have a counterbalance in the ambassadors from countries like Morocco and Egypt, who point out that the extremist Moslem Brotherhood is banned in their own country.
Okay... Now, who do you think appoint bishops and archbishops worldwide?? Are American (Catholic) bishops appointed by an all-American committee or by Vatican authorities in Rome?? American bishops like Belgian bishops and just every bishop in the world is picked arbitrarily by the Pope, a head of a foreign, sovereign state!
A couple of years ago, the Church had to select a successor to the bishop of Namur (a French-speaking city in Belgium)... well, customarily, the Vatican used to consult the local flock before making its decision, so the people of Namur made it known that they didn't want Mgr André-Mutien Léonard, a conservative, to become bishop of Namur --to no avail. The Church authorities retorted that the Catholic Church was not a democracy, hence its decisions didn't need approval by the hoi polloi. Period.
Now, talk about Saudi Arabia meddling in Muslim affairs in other countries...
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