The New York Times editorial board is now presuming to preach political correctness to the Pope. Apparantly Gail Collins is shocked that the head of the Catholic Church thinks that Mohammed brought nothing new but “things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”
The world listens carefully to the words of any pope. And it is tragic and dangerous when one sows pain, either deliberately or carelessly. He needs to offer a deep and persuasive apology, demonstrating that words can also heal.
Never mind that the Pope wasn’t precisely endorsing that view, the issue is whether the pope has the right to say what he believes or whether he should tailor his message to avoid offending people.
Whenever a Pope weighs in on doctrinal matters he is going to offend people, including a healthy portion of Catholics. It’s best not to take him seriously unless your faith tells you that you must.
Should the Pope go around quoting 14th-Century Byzantine Emperors that said Mohammed only brought evil into the world? Definitely not. What good can come from it? On the other hand, the New York Times would be wiser to let the Pope spout off however he wants, without correction from Gail Collins. He made his bed, let him lie in it.
The Vatican spokesman, Federico Lombardi, told Vatican Radio: “It was certainly not the intention of the Holy Father to undertake a comprehensive study of the jihad and of Muslim ideas on the subject, still less to offend the sensibilities of the Muslim faithful.”
Too late, Mr. Lombardi. Muslims are not having it.
In Turkey, however, where the Pope is due to visit in November, the deputy leader of the ruling party said Benedict had “a dark mentality that comes from the darkness of the middle ages”. Salih Kapusuz added: “He is going down in history in the same category as leaders such as Hitler and Mussolini.”
Ouch. That must doubly hard to take considering that Pope Benedict XVI was a Nazi Youth. Can’t hold that against him though. He was a youth. Now he is all grown up.
…Diaa Rashwan, a Cairo-based analyst of Islamic militancy, warned that the comments were “more dangerous than the cartoons because they come from the most important Christian authority in the world. The cartoons just came from an artist.”
Why is anyone surprised? Did they think electing a conservative Pope would lead to liberal speeches? He was Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. You know what that means? It means he was a modern-day Tomás de Torquemada. He didn’t burn people at the stake, he banished Liberation Theologians. If you see someone on Fox News railing against Muslims, you can be pretty sure they have the same political views as Pope Benedict XVI.
Should he apologize? It’s up to him. If he feels that way about Islam, he should just go ahead and say how he feels. The problem is isn’t that the Pope said it. The problem is that the Pope believes it. And when Gail Collins gets the gall to ask for the Pope’s resignation, give me a call.
Religion and politics don’t mix well. Our founding fathers had that kind of figured out. Unfortunately, religious leaders (just like politicians) crave attention and money, so they are prone to saying idiotic things. What’s a few more “riled up Muslims”, when you’re getting headlines about your speech?
I prefer for the Pope to be honest and sincere. If he is honestly and sincerely substantively indistinguishable from Fred Barnes? So be it. That’s his problem.