Thousands of Catholics attend first mass at Qatari church

Agence France-Presse

DOHA - Thousands of Christians took part on Saturday in the first mass at Qatar's only church, opened this week despite threats from Islamists.

Vatican envoy Cardinal Ivan Dias presided over the eucharist attended by around 15,000 worshippers at Our Lady of the Rosary Roman Catholic church in Doha, thanking "God and Qatar for this great gift."

The church, which has no bells or crosses on its exterior, opened on Friday ahead of western Christianity's celebration of Easter, which this year falls on March 23. It is the first of five to be constructed in the gas-rich Gulf state.

From early morning, Catholics began arriving at the church, which accommodates around 5,000. Big screens were erected in the grounds to allow the overflow to follow the mass, celebrated during the consecration of the building.

The mass was conducted in English, but prayers were also said in Arabic, Urdu, Hindi, Tagalog, Spanish and French in honour of the many nationalities that would be worshipping in the church.

Dozens of police were deployed around the church, which cost some 20 million dollars (13 million euros), and female officers searched the handbags of women worshippers.

Western embassies, particularly from the United States and Britain warned nationals living in Qatar to be extra vigilant after an Islamic militants on the Internet made threats linked to the opening of the church.

The US embassy on Thursday released a warning that the new church might be targeted.

"Extremists may elect to use conventional or non-conventional weapons and target both official and private interests. Examples of such targets include ... the new Christian Church complex in Doha," it said.

Worshippers said they were not concerned by the threats and were delighted to attend the "historic day."

"It is a day without precedent. I am very happy. The threats were made but I didn't pay them much attention. I trust the country's authorities," Filipino Catholic Shato Mawude told AFP.

Fellow Filipino Ariel Almyede added: "We are believers and we are not afraid ... This church is a sign of a possible dialogue between the different faiths."

Qatari Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah added: "The church sends a positive message to the world.

"It is a strong message that will help Islam. At the moment we are enjoying the construction of mosques and Islamic centers in the West, so we must be fair" towards Christians in the region and allow them places of worship.

Qatar is a close ally of Washington and hosts the command headquarters for US forces in the Middle East.

Eventually, the Catholic church will be joined by others to be built by the Anglicans, the Coptic, Greek and Syrian Orthodox and India's Mar Thoma church.

Most Gulf Arab states have long allowed Christians to worship in churches. Saudi Arabia, which adheres to a rigorous doctrine of Islam known as Wahhabism and is home to Islam's holiest sites, bans all non-Muslim religious rituals and materials.

But the papal nuncio in the Gulf, Archbishop Paul-Munjed al-Hashem, said on the sidelines of the mass that talks had begun with Saudi Arabia to convince it to become the final Gulf Arab state to allow the building of churches.

He said "discussions are underway with Saudi Arabia to allow the construction of churches in the kingdom," adding that "we cannot forecast the outcome."

"There are around three or four million Christians in Saudi Arabia, and we hope they will have churches" in which to worship, he said.

He also expressed hope in the eventual establishment of diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Saudi Arabia and Oman, saying he expected an announcement soon on ties with Muscat