Posted on 09/15/2006 2:33:34 PM PDT by Southside_Chicago_Republican
Pope Benedict XVI's comments on religious radicalism are another sign of his intention to bring his voice into one of the world's most critical showdowns: Islam's internal struggles between moderates and extremists.
The remarks — tucked into an address at a German university where he formerly taught theology — were interpreted by many experts in interfaith relations as a signal that the Vatican is staking a new and more demanding stance for its dealings with the Muslim world.
Benedict, they say, appears to increasingly view the West's confrontation with radical Islam as a fateful moment in history that demands the Vatican's moral authority — just as his predecessor, John Paul II, reshaped the dimensions of the papacy by openly taking sides in the Cold War.
The risk for the Vatican is whether it will be perceived in the Muslim world as part of a broader Western cultural and political campaign against Islam.
"We have seen a hard line from this pope," said Ali El-Samman, president of the interfaith committee for Egypt's High Islamic Council. "It's a disappointment for many Muslims. But just because we are disappointed in a pope doesn't mean we are against all Christians."
The Vatican said Benedict did not intend the remarks to be offensive and sought to draw attention to the incompatibility of faith and violence.
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 Muhammad 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.'"
Benedict, who is supposed to visit Turkey this fall in his first trip to a Muslim nation, did not explicitly agree with the words nor did he repudiate them.
In the backlash, some of the more subtle — yet potentially far-reaching — references have been overshadowed.
The speech suggested deep dismay over the current conditions of Christians in the Middle East and the rest of the Muslim world, said John Voll, director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University in Washington.
"This reflects the intention of Pope Benedict to distinguish himself from his predecessor on his approach to interfaith dialogue," said Voll. "And by this, it means more reciprocity."
Voll said the pope may increasingly instruct Vatican envoys to stress issues of forced conversions of Christians and limits on Christian rights and worship.
"It's the next step after John Paul began opening doors" with historic pilgrimages to Muslim nations, including a visit to a Syrian mosque in 2001, Voll said.
As John Paul's chief watchdog on Roman Catholic doctrine, Benedict — then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger — had little role in shaping the Vatican's contact with Islam and other faiths.
Some experts say Benedict's theological scholarship gives him an affinity for Orthodox churches and Judaism because of many shared traditions and holy texts, but leaves him less equipped to deal with Islam at a time when suspicions dominate relations between the West and Muslim world.
The speech, some say, shows the pontiff intends to carry on with his strong defense of the values of the Christian West rather than compromise for the sake of building bonds with Islam.
"They went to the speech expecting to meet Pope Benedict, but instead they met Professor Ratzinger," said the Rev. Khalil Samir, a Vatican envoy for interfaith links in Lebanon.
In July 2005, about two months after assuming the papacy, Benedict was asked if he considered Islam a religion of peace. He said: "Certainly there are elements that favor peace. It also has other elements."
The Rev. Robert Taft, a specialist in Islamic affairs at Rome's Pontifical Oriental Institute, said it was unlikely the pope miscalculated how some Muslims would receive his speech.
"The message he is sending is very, very clear," Taft said. "Violence in the name of faith is never acceptable in any religion and that (the pope) considers it his duty to challenge Islam and anyone else on this."
""openly taking sides in the Cold War' !!!!!
"What 's "cold" about the continued deliberate murder of innocent non-combattants?"
======
That was John Paul II taking sides in the Cold War (see below). You must be too young to remember.
"just as his predecessor, John Paul II, reshaped the dimensions of the papacy by openly taking sides in the Cold War."
It's about time someone has the balls to call this herd of scum what it is!
"...unhinged..."?
They're light years beyond merely 'unhinged', R. They're murderous subhumans... no, I won't say what should be done with the lot of them. That's coming all too soon enough, IMO.
Well you ought to be against all Christians. They are Infidels. And Christians don't intend to give up their belief in Jesus Christ and start believing that Allah is the one and only God; and Mohammed is his prophet.
Are you having trouble understanding the fundamentals of Islam.
This makes me extremely nervous.
CRUSADE versus jihad. Film at 11.
The heathen gnash their teeth....
I didn't read it that way at all. I read it to mean that the Pope knew what he was doing in breaching the subject. And, considering what's gone on the last year, who (least of all, the Pope) is suprised at the way the Muslims have reacted? They kind of proved his point. I expect the Pope to stand his ground.
I am so sick of all this. So what if the Pope said what he said. It is true. Muslims are causing terror. Not Christians and not Jews. All this PC bullcrap is making me sick. Christians are not bombing and beheading people, Muslims are. There, it is said. It is the truth.
It is amazing how anyone can make fun and ridicule Christians and no one is OFFENDED. Heavens forbid anyone says anything about Muslims. It is sickening and I AM SICK OF IT.
I see shades of the past with John Paul, Reagan and thatcher, taking on communism and winning the Cold War after many years and many speeches.
This is bigger problem however, but the Pope's choice of the "Forced Conversion" doctrine in Islamic faith is a good one. It is central to most everything that is despicable within the religion and is a great point to pound on..
I expect him to speak on this theme frequently enough to keep them in turmoil and perhaps get some of them to begin the thinking and introspective process. just as john Paul did to the Communists. It is the only hope we have to get them to moderate and join the 21st century.
The alternative is unthinkable, but it could be the only thing left if we fail to change the dynamics.
The Pope spoke the truth about islam and its so-called prophet muhammad.
A good reason for Pope Benedict XVI not to travel to Turkey and not to allow Turkey to join the UE.
No, see, you're completely missing the point. They aren't against all Christians. They're just against the ones they can't force to live in cowering, poverty-ridden dhimmitude.
Let's get ready to rumble!
bump for later
" Analysis: Pope's `jihad' remarks a sign"
A sign of what happens whenever someone deviates from the Orwellian 'Religion of Peace' mantra.
Christianity has blood on it's hands as well. But the Crusades and Islamofascist terrorism are quite different in motive.
The Pope knows exactly what he is doing. This article is not critical of him, it is supportive. I think people are misinterpreting what the Pope and the Vatican intended to do with those comments.
He is the right Pope for the times.
This is not by coincidence. I believe it is Divine Will.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.