By

Kathy Gyngell

October 17, 2025

A FEW weeks ago we published what some might consider to have been a provocatively titled article, ‘Is the Catholic Church complicit in the Islamification of Europe?’ The evidence it contains was, however, compelling.

Now we learn that the Vatican has acceded to a Muslim plea for a dedicated prayer room in the historic and spiritual heart of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Herald reports that Fr Giacomo Cardinali, Vice Prefect of the Vatican Library, said in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that Muslim academics had requested an area in which to pray, and the library had agreed.

‘Some Muslim scholars have asked us for a room with a carpet for praying and we have given it to them,’ said Fr Cardinali.

It reflects the mindset that TCW writer Joseph D’Hippolito describes as helping ‘build the Trojan Horse which Muslim migration to Europe represents’.

There is always a good liberal reason. In this latest case Fr Cardinali’s is an enlightened intellectual one. He has referred to the Vatican’s library’s modern collections: about 80,000 manuscripts, 50,000 archival items, nearly two million printed books, and hundreds of thousands of coins, medals, engravings, and prints.

Founded in the mid-15th century and often regarded as the intellectual heart of the Catholic Church, the library houses a vast array of manuscripts and texts from across the world’s religions and cultures.

According to the report, Fr Cardinali said its collections include ‘incredibly old Korans’ alongside Hebrew, Ethiopian, Arabic, and Chinese works. ‘We are a universal library,’ he explained.

But that is not a justification for giving way to a prayer room request. It is a justification for non-discriminatory access to the library.

As Breitbart has pointed out in its comment on this story, ‘the opportunity given by the Vatican for Muslims to pray in their own designated area is at odds with Islam’s own strictures for its holy city . . . Non-Muslims are not allowed to enter Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Non-Muslims who attempt to enter Mecca can face severe consequences, including imprisonment and deportation.’

We can only speculate on why the Vice Prefect of the Vatican Library did not make this point to the Muslim intellectuals demanding this privilege.

To Islamic scholars it must reflect a lack of commitment by Catholic leaders to their belief in the primacy and inviolability of the Christian faith.

https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/the-vatican-goes-fluffy-on-islam-again/