Posted on 11/25/2014 4:22:42 PM PST by ebb tide
ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM STRASBOURG, France (CNS) -- Pope Francis said he would "never close the door" on dialogue with the Islamic State in an effort to bring peace to a region of the world suffering from violence and persecution.
He also said that "terrorism" could describe not only the actions of such extremist groups but also those of some national governments using military force unilaterally.
Pope Francis answers a reporter's question on his flight back to Rome after speaking at the European Parliament and the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France, Nov. 25. (CNS/Paul Haring)
Meeting reporters Nov. 25 on his return flight from Strasbourg where he addressed the European Parliament and the Council of Europe, Pope Francis said terrorism is a threat the world must take seriously.
Specifically asked if he thought there was even the most remote possibility of dialoguing with terrorists like those from the Islamic State, Pope Francis said, "I never count anything as lost. Never. Never close the door. It's difficult, you could say almost impossible, but the door is always open."
But Pope Francis also told journalists that the threat of terrorism is not the only horror weighing on the world.
"Slavery is a reality inserted in the social fabric today, and has been for some time: slave labor, the trafficking of persons, the sale of children -- it's a drama. Let's not close our eyes to this. Slavery is a reality today, the exploitation of persons," he explained.
"But there is another threat, too," he said, the threat of "state terrorism," when tensions rise and an individual nation decides on its own to strike, feeling it has "the right to massacre terrorists and with the terrorists many innocent people fall."
Nations have a right and duty to stop "unjust aggressors," he said, but they must act in concert and in accordance with international law.
A Spanish reporter asked Pope Francis about a man from Granada, Spain, who wrote to the pope about a priest who sexually abused him. The correspondence set off a widespread police investigation, the arrest of three priests and a layman, and the suspension of several priests by the Archdiocese of Granada in November.
The pope said he received the letter. "I read it and I phoned the person and I told him, 'Go to the bishop tomorrow,' and I wrote to the bishop and told him to get to work, conduct an investigation," he said.
Pope Francis said he had read the letter "with great pain, the greatest pain, but the truth is the truth and we must not hide it."
Another journalist asked the pope about his remarks at the Council of Europe that in audiences at the Vatican he has noticed differences between young politicians and their older peers. "They speak with a different music," the pope told reporters. No matter what countries or which political parties they belong, the young seem "to not have fear of going out of their own group to dialogue. They are courageous. And we must imitate this."
"This going out in order to find and dialogue with others -- Europe needs this today," he added.
Another reporter told the pope that his remarks at the European Parliament on employment, the dignity of human life and the role of the state in helping citizens made it seem like the pope could be a card-carrying member of the Social Democrat Party.
"I don't want to label myself on one side or another," the pope said, and, besides, "this is the Gospel."
While many reporters and pundits have tried to pigeon-hole the pope's politics, he said, "I have never distanced myself from the social teaching of the church."
If he’s going to talk to ISIS, he’d better do it on the phone.
Can the Pope be impeached?
Pretty please?
Ping
What a fool. You can’t bargain with someone who would gladly murder you if they had half a chance.
You might want to wear your orange Pope outfit.
And consider taking along the John the Baptist silver plater...
“If he’s going to talk to ISIS, he’d better do it on the phone.”
Possibly the greatest comment I’ve ever seen.
Thx:)
Only traditional/conservative Catholics seem to be on the enemy list. No mercy for them.
Does this POPE have dementia?
Hopefully, the Holy Father will recognize the face of Satan when he sits down to negotiate with same
OK.. His Popeness is beyond leftist.. he’s friggin’ insane.
Religion is Pope Francis's business.
I would expect him to know the ins and outs of other religions - not just Christianity.
How can he be so ignorant and naive about Islam? -tom
Because Francis wants to be the cool pope, the sensational pope, the hip pope. It's new and sensational for the pope to talk to ISIS.
But the FOTI? Well, they just aren't cool. The faithless media won't breathlessly cover any talks he has with them.
The streets were deserted in Strasbourg. Bergoglio’s fifteen minutes are up.
Totally. Nothing he says makes sense. His talk at Strasbourg wasn’t bad...obviously, because somebody else had written it for him and he stuck to the text, for once. However, as soon as he got to bask in the glow of the media, he went off the rails again.
One example among many: Pope Pius VIII forcefully condemned religious indifferentism in the encyclical Traditi humilati nostrae:
“And this is the lethal system of religious indifferentism, which is repudiated by the light of natural reason itself. In this light we are warned that, among many religions which disagree with one another, when one is true, anther must necessarily be false, and we are further admonished that there can be no association with light and darkness. Against these repeaters of ancient errors, the people must be assured, Venerable Brethren, that the profession of the Catholic Faith is alone the true one, since the Apostle tells us that there is one Lord and one baptism. As Jerome says, the man who eats the Lamb outside of this house is profane, and the man who is not in the ark of Noah is going to perish in the deluge. Neither is there any other name apart form the Name of Jesus give to men by which we must be saved. He who believes will be saved, and he who shall not have believed will be condemned.”[9]
Can anyone even imagine Pope Francis speaking like this? (paragraphs 2 & 3 by ebb tide)
Remember H.H. Pope Benedict XVI lecture at Regensburg and his strong criticism of Islam.
Speaking about Islam, Benedict XVI referred to remarks from Emperor Manual II Paleologos of Byzantine (the Orthodox Christian empire which had its capital in what is now the city of Istanbul ) regarding the role of this religion.
"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.”[3] The emperor, after having expressed himself so forcefully, goes on to explain in detail the reasons why spreading the faith through violence is something unreasonable. Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul. "God", he says, "is not pleased by blood - and not acting reasonably (σὺν λόγω) is contrary to God's nature. Faith is born of the soul, not the body. Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats... To convince a reasonable soul, one does not need a strong arm, or weapons of any kind, or any other means of threatening a person with death...".
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