Vatican uproar over cardinal's alarmist Islam YouTube video

A Catholic cardinal has caused uproar at the Vatican by screening a spurious and anonymous YouTube video that makes alarmist predictions about the growth of Islam in Europe.

The widely debunked seven-minute clip, called "Muslim Demographics" was the talk of an international gathering of bishops on Monday, two days after Cardinal Peter Turkson screened it during a free discussion period.

Turkson, a Ghanaian who is based in the Vatican and is president of its Council for Justice and Peace, sparked consternation among his fellow bishops over the clip.

"As we were arriving this morning I was asked several times, 'Who planned it?, Whose was it?, Who is behind it?", Father Thomas Rosica said at a briefing for journalists, who are not allowed to attend the sessions of the synod, a three-week bishops' conference.

He said the clip had sparked "the most animated" discussion so far at the synod, and one bishop said he would rebut Turkson by presenting a report with contrary data. Pope Benedict did not attend the meeting at which the video screened.

The clip has made Islam top of the agenda at the synod, attended by 262 bishops. "Islam is the buzzword," Rosica said.

Turkson could not be reached for comment on why he chose to screen the video during the Vatican meeting, where the bishops are discussing ways of winning back lapsed Roman Catholics in developed countries. The clip has been viewed over 13 million times on YouTube since it was uploaded by an anonymous user in 2009.