I was raised Catholic but left it for non-denominational Christianity in the very early 70's. I say this to let you know I do not consider the Pope the successor of Saint Peter 'heir apparent' in direct line with St. Peter nor do I believe in Papal infallibility.
I will still defend the Pope on his right to quote from the Emperor Manuel Paleologos II or any other emperor or pauper for that matter. He can quote from Anton LaVey's Satanic Bible if he so chooses.
For those who missed it:
The pope quoted from a book recounting a conversation between 14th century Byzantine Christian Emperor Manuel Paleologos II and a Persian scholar on the truths of Christianity and Islam.
"The emperor comes to speak about the issue of jihad, holy war," the Pope said.
"He said, I quote, 'Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached,'"
Most news sites I read stopped short of adding the following lines -
- Link Here -
But in reiterating his concerns about a modern world "deaf" to God, he warned that other religious cultures saw the West's exclusion of God "as an attack on their most profound convictions".
"A reason which is deaf to the divine and which relegates religion into the realm of subcultures is incapable of entering into the dialogue of cultures," he said.
This is what the Pope quoted the emperor as saying, stated himself and the majority of the speech is not being reported. The section on Islam was very short... He did not explicitly agree with nor repudiate the quote.
Benedict said "I quote" twice to stress the words were not his and added that violence was "incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul".
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Turkey's top Islamic cleric, Religious Affairs Directorate head Ali Bardakoglu, asked Benedict on Thursday to apologize about the remarks and unleashed a string of accusations against Christianity, raising tensions before the pontiff's planned visit to Turkey in November on what would be his first papal pilgrimage in a Muslim country.
- News link here -
So Ali Bardakoglu can unleash "a string of accusations against Christianity" but the Pope can't quote from an old book!
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"We do not accept the apology through Vatican channels . . . and ask him to offer a personal apology . . . to Muslims for this false reading (of Islam)," Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah told worshippers in his Friday prayers sermon.
Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah shows his devoted followers how to walk in forgiveness...
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"Anyone who describes Islam as a religion as intolerant encourages violence," Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said.
She should have added, "We won't tolerate being called intolerant!"
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"Muslims have the right to be angry and hurt by these comments from the highest cleric in Christianity," Qaradawi said on Al Jazeera.
Qaradawi shows his ignorance of "OTHER" religions. The pope is the 'highest cleric' in Catholicism. There is no HIGHEST CLERIC in Christianity. - Muslums need to learn how to shake it off and let 'Allah' defend himself. Isn't that what floods, tsunamis and earthquakes are for?
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The Pope's comments were a hot topic on a pro-Hamas radio show for children.
"What do you say about the man who said some bad words about Islam and the Prophet Mohammad?" the radio host asked eight-year-old Hanin.
"He is ugly and his words are ugly," she answered.
Don't teach you children to pray for the "salvation" of peoples souls. Don't teach them to pity and feel sorry for those "outside of the faith'. Heaven forbid you should teach your children to get over it. There will be people that disagree with your faith and way of life...
prying1 sez: I Thank God there has been no rioting yet however Friday, a Greek Orthodox church youth center in the Gaza Strip was slightly damaged due to a small explosion which broke doors and shattered glass. The church itself was not damaged and there were no injuries. - It cannot be shown to be a result of the Popes statements.
These statements from Muslum people that should (or perhaps do) know better are more inflamatory than the Pope's speech. Especially when you put the Pope's words back into context.
August of 04 car bomb attacks on five Catholic churches in Iraq brought out Muslim bigwigs to say things like the following:
"We regret that such criminal acts have targeted our Christian brothers and we urge them to display restraint as did before their Muslim brothers, when their mosques and holy places were targeted as well," spokesman Mohammad Bashar Al-Faidi told a press conference in Baghdad.
Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, the country's most revered Shiite Muslim spiritual leader, also condemned the attacks.
"We denounce and condemn those terrible crimes... We should all, government and people, be working together in order to put an end to the attacks against Iraqis," said a statement from his office in the holy city of Najaf .
Where were the Muslums with signs and denouncing the terrorists then?
Where are they now???
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