Green Energy
A papal visit to Israel would be a mistake, was my first thought when it was announced. But then, the pope is first and foremost head of the Catholic Church and not a former Hitler youth. If it only were that easy! Now he is there and everything goes as expected. Benedict's remarks did not go far enough, there was no apology expressed, something was missing, there had been no mention of the Germans or the Nazis and he uttered not a word of regret. He didn't mention the number six, he used the word "killed" instead of "murdered" and as he had chosen to speak English, not the perpetrator's language, even his German accent was worth a comment. SO bad the son of a piss-poor village policemen didn't learn his English at Eton, Harrow or at least Ampleforth.
And as if that hadn't been enough, yesterday, at an "interfaith meeting" at the Notre Dame church in Jerusalem, a Palestinian cleric/judge/activist grabbed the microphone to deliver a hate-filled barrage against Israel. After hearing the translation of the -- Arabic -- words, the pope walked out. Muslims state that Benedict failed to adequately apologize for using a quote offensive to Islam in his 2006 Regensburg speech and it seems that the pope has a lot of apologizing to do.
Maybe it is inevitable that Benedict XVI is seen as German first and neither as one of the greatest theologians of our time nor as the representative of the global Catholic Church who has to understand, and deal with, the interests of all Catholics everywhere. He can not and must not speak first and foremost from a standpont of German guilt. He is speaking, too, for Catholics who have been victims of the Nazis. As the Polish pope with his koran-kissing and shameless shoulder rubbing with Muslim interests was seen as a friend of the Jews because his and the Jewish people were both targets of German eliminatory goals, Benedict is seen as German and German only. People love simple solutions.
There is an interesting discussion here (in German), from which I have paraphrased.
More on Pope Benedict for example here, here and here.
Cross posted at Roncesvalles.
- How Does One Improve One's Relationships With The Jews? Let Me Count The Ways...
Via VFR (here and here) I was made aware of a review of Ridley Scott's "Kingdom of Heaven" (I haven't seen it and it is not the subject of this entry) at NRO that includes a telling chracterization of the late pope John Paul II. In the light of...
- Germans Love Jews -- Dead, That Is!
I am probably the last person fit to comment on theological matters, so I refrained so far from saying anything in view of the ongoing discussion about the ex-excommunication by Pope Benedict XVI of that Holocaust-denying renegate bishop. However, the...
- Muslim Whining About The Pope
U.S. Muslims perceive slights, from the April 20, 2008 edition of the Washington Post: ...[M]any Muslims in America remain wary, saying the pope has created the impression that he is insensitive to their faith. [...] Some Muslim leaders invited to meet...
- From Vatican Reporter:
At least one writer for Catholic press out of the Vatican is now saying that Pope Benedict XVI has no intention of backing down from his call for dialogue. This after another Vatican insider reportedly said that the Pope's reference to a dialogue...
- I Am Warning The Liberal Establishment - You Are Bringing Yourself To Your Doom
What will be the effect of the behavior of the Islamic world in reaction to Pope Benedict's remarks? From Wretchard at Belmont Club: ... it would be untrue to say the recent controversy over the Islamic world's reaction to the Pope's remarks...
Green Energy
Jewish-Catholic Hermeneutics
A papal visit to Israel would be a mistake, was my first thought when it was announced. But then, the pope is first and foremost head of the Catholic Church and not a former Hitler youth. If it only were that easy! Now he is there and everything goes as expected. Benedict's remarks did not go far enough, there was no apology expressed, something was missing, there had been no mention of the Germans or the Nazis and he uttered not a word of regret. He didn't mention the number six, he used the word "killed" instead of "murdered" and as he had chosen to speak English, not the perpetrator's language, even his German accent was worth a comment. SO bad the son of a piss-poor village policemen didn't learn his English at Eton, Harrow or at least Ampleforth.
And as if that hadn't been enough, yesterday, at an "interfaith meeting" at the Notre Dame church in Jerusalem, a Palestinian cleric/judge/activist grabbed the microphone to deliver a hate-filled barrage against Israel. After hearing the translation of the -- Arabic -- words, the pope walked out. Muslims state that Benedict failed to adequately apologize for using a quote offensive to Islam in his 2006 Regensburg speech and it seems that the pope has a lot of apologizing to do.
Maybe it is inevitable that Benedict XVI is seen as German first and neither as one of the greatest theologians of our time nor as the representative of the global Catholic Church who has to understand, and deal with, the interests of all Catholics everywhere. He can not and must not speak first and foremost from a standpont of German guilt. He is speaking, too, for Catholics who have been victims of the Nazis. As the Polish pope with his koran-kissing and shameless shoulder rubbing with Muslim interests was seen as a friend of the Jews because his and the Jewish people were both targets of German eliminatory goals, Benedict is seen as German and German only. People love simple solutions.
There is an interesting discussion here (in German), from which I have paraphrased.
More on Pope Benedict for example here, here and here.
Cross posted at Roncesvalles.
- How Does One Improve One's Relationships With The Jews? Let Me Count The Ways...
Via VFR (here and here) I was made aware of a review of Ridley Scott's "Kingdom of Heaven" (I haven't seen it and it is not the subject of this entry) at NRO that includes a telling chracterization of the late pope John Paul II. In the light of...
- Germans Love Jews -- Dead, That Is!
I am probably the last person fit to comment on theological matters, so I refrained so far from saying anything in view of the ongoing discussion about the ex-excommunication by Pope Benedict XVI of that Holocaust-denying renegate bishop. However, the...
- Muslim Whining About The Pope
U.S. Muslims perceive slights, from the April 20, 2008 edition of the Washington Post: ...[M]any Muslims in America remain wary, saying the pope has created the impression that he is insensitive to their faith. [...] Some Muslim leaders invited to meet...
- From Vatican Reporter:
At least one writer for Catholic press out of the Vatican is now saying that Pope Benedict XVI has no intention of backing down from his call for dialogue. This after another Vatican insider reportedly said that the Pope's reference to a dialogue...
- I Am Warning The Liberal Establishment - You Are Bringing Yourself To Your Doom
What will be the effect of the behavior of the Islamic world in reaction to Pope Benedict's remarks? From Wretchard at Belmont Club: ... it would be untrue to say the recent controversy over the Islamic world's reaction to the Pope's remarks...