The Swiss bishop Marian Eleganti has harshly criticized the Vatican’s decision to enable a prayer room for Muslims inside the Vatican Apostolic Library, provided with a ritual carpet for Islamic prayer.
In exclusive statements to LifeSiteNews, the prelate warned that “Islam is naturally expansive” and that allowing this type of symbolic gestures in the heart of the Holy See could be interpreted as a form of cultural and religious concession.
“As soon as a Muslim prays there, in some way—I can’t assure it completely—, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it is perceived as a point of foothold or an advanced post of the domination that Islam naturally seeks,” he explained.
“Islam wants absolute dominion”
Bishop Eleganti, known for his defense of Catholic orthodoxy, maintained that “Islam wants absolute domination; it is intrinsically intolerant and has made Christianity disappear wherever it has been imposed”.
He also recalled the religious asymmetry between both confessions:
“We would never be allowed to install a chapel in Mecca, the holiest place in Islam, where we could celebrate Holy Mass,” he emphasized.
The prelate also warned that Islam “is not truly inspired by God, but deliberately conceived in an anti-Christian sense”, by denying the divinity of Christ and the Most Holy Trinity.
“It is a religion that combats the divine filiation of Jesus and his absolute role as mediator between God the Father and men,” he stated.
The Vatican’s decision and the criticisms
In early October, the vice-prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Library, Giacomo Cardinali, confirmed to the newspaper La Repubblica that a special room with a carpet for Muslim prayer had been arranged.
“Some Muslim scholars asked us for a room with a carpet to pray, and we gave it to them,” he declared.
The news has provoked a wave of criticism among Catholic commentators, who see in this gesture a sign of religious indifferentism and doctrinal ambiguity regarding the Catholic identity of the Vatican.
“An emotional religion, without truth or distinction”
The Swiss bishop lamented what he described as a “naive and surrealistic” view of Islam within some sectors of the Vatican.
“Those who support this show a purely emotional religion: we are kind, open, tolerant, welcoming, dialogical… But it is a religiosity that no longer takes truth or differences seriously,” he explained.
Eleganti denounced that there is an attempt to “achieve unity with heterodox religions without raising the question of truth”.
He also recalled that “Muslims already have large mosques in Rome”, so “there is no need for them to pray in the Vatican”.
“No one understands that, and I don’t think it’s right,” he concluded.
A gesture that reopens the debate on interreligious dialogue
Monsignor Eleganti’s statements reignite the debate on the limits of interreligious dialogue and the risk of diluting Catholic identity in the name of a misunderstood openness. The prelate’s criticism reflects a growing concern within the Church: that the search for harmony with other religions does not become a renunciation of revealed truth and the centrality of Christ.