[reed_inthe_wind]

"Vatican's position of appeasing Arab dictators"

Make up your mind folks. Do you want crusades under the banner of the Vatican, a medieval theocracy that influences divisions of military; well then put the Reformation back in the bottle.

Besides, Muslim diminitude destroyed the lambs of the Catholic church through the centuries - talk about hating the victim.

"Given Rome's internal rivalries, however, it remains an open question whether a pope and his Vatican that behaved like Winston Churchill in the face of communism will continue to behave like Neville Chamberlain in the face of jihadism and Islam."

More bullshit. Winston Churchill was a military man from day one. The only weapon the Vatican has is to choose martyrdom.

[sinkspur]

Winston Churchill was a military man from day one. The only weapon the Vatican has is to choose martyrdom.

The Pope was very strong in his denunciations of communism, especially communism in Poland. He supported SOLIDARITY openly.

The Pope is silent on abuses of Christians in Muslim countries and tut-tuts at George Bush, who is seeking to keep the Vatican itself from getting wiped out.

John Paul II is simply afraid of radical Islam.