A picture is worth 1000 words
Posted on 06/05/2004 11:07:10 AM PDT by quidnunc
It is too much of a simplification to say Europe and America look at the problem of the resurgent Islamic Jihad in different ways. (Canada being more like Europe than America.) There are two radically different approaches — surrender, or fight — but both may be found on either side of the Atlantic. As President Bush again tours Europe — celebrating the 60th anniversary of the capture of Rome yesterday, and of the Normandy landings tomorrow — we are again reminded how much has changed.
In Rome, Mr. Bush had an audience with Pope John Paul II. In exchange for the Presidential Medal of Honour he received from his visitor, the Pope gave Mr. Bush a remarkably condescending little homily on Iraqi sovereignty (redundant, for the U.S. has just restored it), with an allusion to Abu Ghraib ("the prisoner abuse scandal dealt a bigger blow to the United States than the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks," said the Vatican's foreign minister), and to the moral authority of the United Nations (which sustained Saddam's regime through it's oil-for-food scam, and is incidentally the chief driving force behind international campaigns promoting contraception and abortion).
As John Paul II, he is Holy Father of the Church, but as Karol Wojtyla, he is in many ways a typically myopic post-modern European. As head of the Vatican bureaucracy, this Pope takes the Western politician who — though a Texas Methodist — has views most compatible with those of the Catholic Church; the one who has most earnestly consulted with learned Catholic advisers; the one who has taken risks with his own Protestant political base to praise the Pope's mission; then effectively spits in his face. And to what end? To curry favour among a shallow intellectual class that holds the Pope and his Church in utter contempt?
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(Excerpt) Read more at davidwarrenonline.com ...
The resignation of George Tenet this week, as CIA director, gives a glimpse of how this "civil war" proceeds even within the U.S. government. While it is only my speculation, I am fairly confident I understand what happened. Mr. Tenet's resignation was not accepted as a propitiatory offering against the nasty review of the CIA's failures that is upcoming from the Senate Intelligence Committee. He was instead dropped because he failed to prevent a cabal of agents within the CIA from carrying out a private vendetta against Ahmed Chalabi in Iraq, that was ultimately designed to undermine Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the "neocons" in the Pentagon, and through them, the whole Bush administration.
This is what I also suspect.
The Catholic Church ought to replace its popes before they die. The current pope is going senile. Instead of languishing while waiting till the current pope dies, they could have a fresh infusion of vigor.
You took the words out of my keyboard. It's somewhat surprising that the R. C. Church, as old as it is, never figured out what to do with such a situation except wait for the grim reaper.
It's probably more accurate to say that the pope is senile.
GREAT article!
The pope is not senile, and many european bishops around him are trying to hijack what he actually said...check the other thread from Zenit, which accurately mentions what was discussed.
Remember, there are millions of Christians in Arab lands, and many are being persecuted...if this war deteriorates into a religous war, Bush would be responsible.
On the other hand, he praised Bush for his pro life positions.
And many of his comments about America are obviously not accurate: He hasn't been here for years, so is probably getting wrong information from PC american bishops...who if you notice are gradually being replaced by strong bishops who are starting to say: No Communion for pro abort politicians...etc...
The problem is that for Catholics, like other churches, the bureaucracy is filled with liberal NWO types...and they can't wait until this pope dies to put in their man.
Many people --including Peggy Noonan--feel that the only thing holding back this schism/hijacking of Catholic christianity by liberals is the present pope. Even if he is too "weak" to stop these liberals from manipulating the anti catholic liberals in the press, you can be sure his prayers are powerful in preserving truth in the church...remember the bible verse about the power of a righteous man?
I think the problem is the Church's dogma that the Pope is God's physical representative on Earth. Given that belief, it gets too hard replace them.
More likely, the Catholic Church is a two thousand year-old institution that has seen leaders and crusades come and go. It's not that the Pope is senile or "curry[ing] favour among a shallow intellectual class that holds the Pope and his Church in utter contempt," but that the Catholic Church as an institution views things with very old eyes, and judges policies and their chances for success accordingly. The Pope may not judge correctly, but if he doesn't it's not because contemporary liberalism or self-hatred prevail in his Church.
FYI
If AP and co., had spent as much time investigating and reporting Saddam's atrocities, or, even moreso - the lies of Osama's original jihad statement in 1998, and at least after 911 - plastering that NEWS across our front pages of the world's papers for days, as they did with the unrespresentative prison atrocities - would there have been a 911? Would our troops be still facing and fighting new jihadist recruits today?
Would there be peace in the mideast if we simply took away Israel's right to exist?
Would there be peace in the world if the Western world tried to replace God with allah to appease the murderers? Or to replace God with man...fascism, communism, socialism...every new generation believing they can re-create utopia on earth, Eden in man's image - and with countless dead as a result - often quietly, conveniently, without the noise and personal responsibility that comes with freedom....in gas chambers, abortion mills, prisons, mass-graves, hospitals...
There are worse things than war, and death on earth.
Saddam was a monster, actively seeking to purchase long range missiles fitted with chambers for chem weapons, who had already invaded his neighbor and wiped out over 40 villages - children, and women - and financed other terrorists.
In a post-911 world, how can anyone defend the anti-war stance, leaving the mass-murderer in power? It's as unfathomable to those who read the accounts of Saddam's victims, as difficult to understand as those who still defend Hitler - vegetarian, animal lover, who united his country, strengthened the economy on the blood of millions of terrorized, mass-murdered Jews, and those who fought to save them.
it would explain the anti-semiticism and hatred of the neo-cons.
A picture is worth 1000 words
The image of the pope kissing that Koran has great significance to Muslims, proving to them that the pope was symbolically embracing their religion.
If, on the other hand, the pope had attempted to hand the Muslim cleric a Bible, the Muslim would have recoiled as though he was being handed a deadly snake.
"he failed to prevent a cabal of agents within the CIA from... ultimately designed to undermine Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the "neocons" in the Pentagon, and through them, the whole Bush administration."
You believe there is a cabal of agents who want to destroy the President?
I believe that there is a cabal of agents in the CIA and a cabal of State Department employees who have an agenda which is opposed to the policies of the Bush administration and who are hostile to the Bush administration, and to Bush himself.
One of the knocks on Tenet is that he allowed the CIA to become politicized .
As for the State Department, do you recall the flurry of Dubya-hating e-mails flying over the department's computer system which came to light?
Colin Powell finally had to tell this employees to cease and desist the Bush-bashing.
Don't recall the email episode. But it doesn't surprise me.
David Warren - Clear-thinking Canadian - BUMP [please freepmail me if you want or don't want to be pinged to David Warren articles]
If you want to bookmark his articles discussed at FR: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/k-davidwarren/browse
His own website: http://www.davidwarrenonline.com
His page at the Ottawa Citizen: http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/columnists/davidwarren.html (access to the articles there is by paid subscription)
Not even being old, sick, and otherwise highly respected excuses such behavior and words. John should go to confession and ask forgiveness.
I agree with you.
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