Debate has emerged in France due to news about the diocese of Tours helping fund a new Muslim worship center. According to La Nouvelle République, Salah Merabti, president of the Muslim community of Indreet-Loire — which is about 150 miles southwest of Paris — recently thanked the local Catholic diocese for its contribution to the mosque, which is just a part of a brand new community center.
He told the paper that his co-religionists received 150,000 euros from Coca-Cola Algeria, as well as funding from local elected officials, the Jewish community and the Catholic diocese. “This is comforting,” he said. In 2019, as many as 9,000 Muslims showed up at the construction site to celebrate the end of the Ramadan fasting period. In 2020, COVID restrictions kept them away.
Following the revelation, Abp. Vincent Jordy justified the contribution by saying that it was merely a symbolic gesture in gratitude for a contribution Muslims allegedly made towards the visit of St John Paul II in 1996. In a signed statement on the archdiocesan website, Abp. Jordy dodged some of the blame. He declared:
An article published on April 13 in La Nouvelle République, titled “The mosque of Tours awaits its roof, its dome and its donations,” evokes the financial situation of this site. In this regard, it is emphasized that various contributors are participating in this project, including the diocese of Tours. Questions that have reached us about this article lead us to provide the following clarifications.