Cardinal Cormac Murphy- O'Connor is spot on.
LONDON (CNS) - Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor of Westminster distanced himself from remarks made in a speech by Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury, but he added he was "saddened" by the way the archbishop had been misunderstood.


Cardinal said:
"I don't believe in a multicultural society," he said. "When people come into this country they have to obey the laws of the land.

"There are going to be certain things which might clash in the overall culture of the country. That's where one has to make a judgment," he said.

"There are aspects of Shariah that are practiced that we certainly wouldn't want in this country. The laws of this country don't allow forced marriages or polygamy," he said, adding that governments had "a right to make sure that those laws are kept."

The cardinal said that multiculturalism had "meant a lessening of the kind of unity that a country needs."

"It is not enough for people to live within their own cultures and then say 'We'll live within the freedoms that are given in this country within a totally separate culture,'" he said.

"Of course you can keep the variety of traditions, but when you enter this country there are common values which are part of its heritage, which should be embraced by everybody," he added.

The cardinal, one of six children of Irish migrants, said it would be better if Muslims contributed beyond their own families to the common good, saying they would then "become a normal part of this country and, indeed, cherish those values that should be common to everyone."

"Everyone in Britain must obey the law and, therefore, the question of how one can be a loyal British citizen and a faithful member of a religious group is a very pertinent question," he said Feb. 10

WOBBLES... *phew*... at least HE is the evil one :)

Steven.. mistyped that thing about the Gay lobby.. I was just using it to show how none of these 'equality' things is ever static or satisfied. Its always incremental.

Christianity absolutely condemns in the harshest terms.. homosexual behavior.. unquestionably and uncompromisingly. BUT... there is no call in the New Testament...for either a State... OR.. for the physical punishments of the Torah to be implemented as state policy.
The condemnation of homosexual behavior is stated.. thats it. The judgement is up to the Almighty. (Romans 1 for those interested)

Derekops.. I agree with the spirit of what you wrote, but not the literality. YES.. we need to 'do' something, but 'retaliate' is kind of after the horse has bolted stuff.
I'd much rather see a concerted effort to mould and shape young Australia in terms of knowledge of and appreciation for

-history.. going back as far to the time of Christ up till now.
-civics.... public behavior.. respect for elders etc.
-ethics... and preferably a foundation for them.

Sadly, as I think about that.. I'm in conflict with those who say 'secular' government. Not because I don't support it per se..but because only with some kind of religious input will the State have an enduring basis for ethics. MIUAUG has never worked and never will.

I guess we have to live with the reality of a friendly (I hope) tension between the Spiritual and the Secular at government level.

I absolutely draw a qualitative line between Sharia and say the Westminster confession, which does enter the field of civil law.
I think the harshest the WC is.. relates to magistrates fining those who work on the sabbath.... but I need to study it more.

Ifry..ultimately "Sharia" stands for Islam.. therein lies the problem.

Irfan,

"It also hasn't stopped claims that an entire legal tradition developed over a period of 1,400 years (and still developing) is little more than a system of non-anaesthetic amputations."

I thought all amputations were now done under anaesthetic. ... On reflection ... I suspect, beheadings and stonings are not.

Steven,

"Impeach Judge Bradley now!"

I agree with you.

Where is UNICEF? I know they do a lot of reporting and, indeed, wringing of hands ... but how effective are they, and what actually do they do on the ground?

Middle Eastern nations have lied by signing the United Nations 1948 Declaration on Human Rights which includes religios freedom paragraphs. A Roman collar, crucifix, bibles, Catholic Mass Lectionary, Missals and the Mass worship are forbidden in Saudi Arabia and some otehr Middle Eastern nations.
Lying and signing international legal documents seems to be OK for some. The U.N. needs to wake up and enforce compliance.
The use or not of anesthesia for amputations, steonings etc is beside the point and another example of moral relativism( a tyranny according to Pope Benedict XVI). Objective moral norms needs to be upheld in the Middle East by UN member nations to publicly state that such Mosaic and sharia punishments are contrary to objective morality.
Jesus said that big sins lead to Hell if unrepented of however, stopped the stoneing of the woman caught in adultery; Jesus though allows the death penatly as does the Church traditioanlly for treason, 1st degree murder, rape which affect the common good of society.

Sharia law on this side of the Tasman? Are you for real Irfan or just testing our knowledge to see if we are aware of what goes on between the four walls of your Mosques?

Sharia law is alive and well in oz, how else would your Imams accommodate for polygamy within their flock to survive under our Australian laws?

Women in Islam are inferior to men under Mohammad’s "sacred" law, should they resort to any fairer legal system creates such a threat to Islamic men (not to mention great job insecurity to all their imams).

Sharia law is just the foot in the door to Islamise a country were Islam is not the ruling majority – such a country is called “darul harb” or the house of war. Islam is not at home until Sharia is implemented (such places are called: darul Islam)

The Gospel is about objective truths found int eh person and the words of Jesus Christ. Islam is diamentrically opposed to the message of the Gospel in all respects.
Muslims who really beleive in Islam should either get out of thier ignorance and for many others in that religion should stop PRETENDING that they do not know the difference between the Gospel and the Koran.
On the subject of MARTYRS for example Catholics know that to become a martyr, is when someone kills you for holding to faith in Jesus Christ and His Gospel; in Islam it is the opposite- you go out and kill others and explode yourself in an act of suicide. Such ignorance by many ; wilful sin for others.
Islamic Heaven with 72 black eyed houris comes form the pagan religions as Islam is a mishmash of Judaism, Catholicism and some gnosticism and the surrounding pagan warlike sensual religions in that region. It is the pagan part that Islam takes up in jihad, alleged martyrdom and a sexual Heaven.