Vatican holds talks with Saudis about opening a church in Arabia
By Mark Greaves
28 March 2008

The Vatican is negotiating with Saudi Arabia for permission to build the kingdom's first ever church.

Archbishop Paul-Mounged el-Hachem, one of the Pope's most senior Middle East representatives, said discussions began a few weeks ago.

It is believed that Benedict XVI raised the subject during his historic meeting with King Abdullah in November - the first ever meeting between a pontiff and a Saudi monarch.

Archbishop Hachem, papal nuncio to Kuwait, Qatar, Yemen, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, said: "Discussions are underway to allow the construction of churches in the kingdom."

He said that a church in Saudi Arabia would be an important sign of "reciprocity" between Muslims and Christians, but added that the Vatican could not predict the outcome of the discussions.

He made his remarks after the opening of Qatar's first church earlier this month. The church, built in the desert outside the country's capital Doha, drew a congregation of 15,000 to an Easter Mass.

There are about one million Christians in Saudi Arabia, many of whom are immigrants from countries such as India and the Philippines.

They are forbidden from building churches, worshipping in public or even wearing crucifixes or any other signs of faith. The last priest was expelled in 1985.

The Saudi religious authorities enforce a strict interpretation of Islam known as Wahhabism and cite a tradition which dictates that only Muslims should be allowed to practise their faith in the Arabian Peninsula.

Christians complain that the rules are not clear and that the authorities sometimes crack down on congregations who gather to worship in private.

But if the Saudi government allows the construction of a church - and thereby grants Christians the right to worship in public - it could lead the way towards formal diplomatic relations with the Vatican. The Holy See refuses to establish relations with countries that do not allow religious freedom.

The Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi said it would be a "historic" achievement if the Saudi government granted permission for a church.

Senior Catholic and Muslim scholars will gather for formal talks at the Vatican in November.

The talks will focus on the theological and spiritual foundations of the two faiths as well as the subject of "human dignity and mutual respect".