Cardinal Jose
Policarpo warns Catholic women

LISBON, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Portugal's Cardinal Jose
Policarpo has warned young women
in the predominantly Catholic
nation against marrying Muslims.
"The advice that I
give to young Portuguese girls is -- be
careful with relationships, think twice about
marrying Muslims,"
the patriarch of Lisbon said.
"It is getting into a pile of
troubles, that not even Allah
knows where would end."

Policarpo made the
statement at a gathering on Tuesday
evening in a well-known casino that
organizes meetings of public
figures with paying guests. His comments were repeated
on
several television stations on Wednesday.

There are about 40,000 Muslims
in Portugal, which like
neighboring Spain was once ruled by Muslims from north
Africa,
where many Muslim immigrants come from.
The country's biggest Islamic
organization said it was upset
by the comments.

"We were in a way hurt by the
choice of words by the
patriarch of Lisbon about our community and about the
dialogue
that we have sought with all religious denominations, and
especially
with the Christian religions," the Islamic Community
of Lisbon said in a statement.

The Vatican discourages Catholic women from marrying Muslims
and Policarpo
echoed that position in blunt terms.
"I know that if a young European
of Christian background
marries a Muslim, as soon as they go to his country,
they'll be
subject to the regime of Muslim women," Policarpo said.
"Just
imagine it."
Policarpo, a leading cardinal who was tipped as a contender
in the 2005 conclave that elected Pope Benedict, also said
dialogue with Muslims
was not easy in Portugal.
"It is only possible to dialogue with those who want
to have
dialogue, for example with our Muslim brothers
dialogue is very
difficult," he said.