Islam, Christianity, Pope, fall of Europe, and homeschooling

What's not to like?

I guess it is "Fall of the West" week at CDR Salamander, but this is one of the most important interviews I have read in awhile - mostly because it folds in so much of what is REALLY important right now. I haven't read Hugh Hewitt in awhile, my bust.

The following is an interview with HH and Father Joseph Fessio, Provost of Ave Maria University in Naples, Florida, and student and friend of Benedict XVI.

JF: But as background, I want to say without exaggeration, and without trying to become histrionic here, I see the trends...I've seen them for years, in Europe, of depopulation as you've mentioned. And their immigration is coming from the South, which is mainly Islamic. And there are, I think there are 98 Islamic countries in the world, and 97 of them do not have religious freedom. The only one that does is Mali, where Timbuktu is, you know. It's in a desert, so you can hardly count it. Sorry about any Malians who are listening to this program. And that's what's going to happen to Europe. Once there's an Islamic majority, it is going to not...it's going to eliminate religious freedom. However...and therefore, Western civilization as we know it. However, in the United States, we also are not having children. There's abortion. There's contraception. There's the ideal of a one or two child family. But where is our immigration coming from? From Ecuador, from Mexico, from Cuba, from Guatemala. And these people are Christians. And so, I believe without being...you know, having hubris as an American, I believe that Christians in the United States are the ones who will be able to save not just Christianity, but Western civilization, if we maintain our fidelity to the scriptures, our fidelity to Christ, our fidelity to family life, and our fidelity to fertility and fruitfulness in marriage. So I believe we are in a world historical century, which is going to depend upon the strength of Christianity in these United States.
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HH: And so what happens in Europe?

JF: Well, Hugh, I've got one of the very few things that I've said, which I'm proud of, because it's become kind of almost a slogan to some, is that home schools are the monasteries of the new dark ages. That is...and you non-Catholic Christians have a lot more of them than we Catholics do, but we've got a lot. And I think that is where families are having children. They're passing on the faith to their children. They're giving them wisdom and the knowledge of our culture. And we have an advantage here, because the homosexuals, and the pro-abortionists, and the pro-contraception people, are not having children by definition.

HH: That's in the Steyn article as well.

The intellectual firepower of some of these priests almost makes you want you to become Catholic; but you know me - I'm closer to one of these guys. You can read the whole transcript here.

I also had a thought this AM....the next big wife-type holiday is Valentines Day. If PalmPilot was smart, he would find a way for PalmTreePundit to get an online interview with Father Fessio on homeschooling. Just a thought there shipmate......