Benedict blunder shows he has failed to master media machine

breitbart.com ^ | Sep 15 10:45 AM US/Eastern | Staff

[Nachum]

By unwittingly angering Muslims with his comments on Islam, Pope Benedict XVI has shown that he has yet to shake off his academic theological roots and master the global media machine with the same deftness as his predecessor.

In clinging to theology and orthodoxy, the bookish Benedict has shown little regard for media management in getting his message across, unlike the communications-savvy John Paul II.

Benedict railed Muslims when he quoted a 14th-century Christian emperor who said the Prophet Mohammed had brought the world only "evil and inhuman" things, portraying the Islam he founded as a religion which endorses violence, where faith is "spread by the sword".

Not for the first time in the 17-month-old pontificate, the Vatican has been forced to backtrack with a statement aimed at smoothing ruffled diplomatic feathers.

Benedict seeks to "cultivate an attitude of respect and dialogue toward other religions and cultures and obviously also toward Islam," the Vatican said.

Earlier this year, the German-born head of the Roman Catholic Church fell foul of Israel when he omitted to mention the Jewish State in the list of countries which were victims of terrorism.

In May, during a visit to the former Nazi death camp at Auschwitz in Poland, he appeared to absolve the German people from any responsibility for Nazism, saying the country had itself fallen victim to a "band of criminals" in the 1930s.

The gaffes are all the more surprising because his first year as pope had been a smooth transition from the era of John Paul II, with none of the hardline decisions many had expected from the former cardinal who earned the epithet "God's Rottweiler" for cracking down on Church dissidents.

Whereas John Paul, elected pope at the age of 58, had decades to perfect his role as Christianity's "great communicator", his timid 79-year-old successor has had little time to shed his image as a dour defender of the faith, honed by 24 years as the Vatican's doctrinal enforcer.

Despite this, he has seemed increasingly more at ease in his public appearances, never more so than during his visit this week to his Bavarian homeland, where the pope seemed almost jolly at times to be among his own people.

But at times he seems a prisoner of his former role as prefect of the congregation for the doctrine of the faith, and his years as a theology professor at Regensburg University, his message often clouded by high-flown doctrinal language.

Benedict had highlighted closer ties between Christians and Muslims, and Christians and Jews as priorities of his pontificate within days of his election in April last year.

He met both Muslim and Jewish leaders in Cologne a few months later, during his first foreign visit as leader of the world's more than one billion Roman Catholics.

In a few hours at Regensburg University on Tuesday night, he undid much of the groundwork done in Cologne a year before, and must now use his late-November visit to Turkey and its 70-million Muslim population as a major bridge-building exercise.

Given the diplomatic battle ahead to placate the Muslim world, the pope may wish to still have at his side Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, the Vatican's top expert on Islam until Benedict controversially transferred him as papal nuncio to Cairo.

Many Vatican watchers at the time believed it was a blunder to move the respected British archbishop at a time when relations with Islam had assumed such a high profile.

He also has yet to rebuild ties with the Russian Orthodox Church, which has accused Rome of proselytism in traditionally-Orthodox areas of eastern Europe.

Benedict was born in the Bavarian town of Marktl am Inn on April 16, 1927.

He has acknowledged that he was enrolled into the Hitler Youth during World War II, but much against his will. And he has been widely praised by Jewish organisations for his stand against anti-Semitism.

He was ordained priest in 1951, spent much of his early career as a theology professor and became archbishop of Munich in March 1977, later moving to the Vatican.

His housekeeper, Ingrid Stampa, has described him as a modest man of simple tastes. He rarely drinks wine as it gives him a headache, likes Italian cuisine but prefers German food, such as dumplings and apfelstrudel (apple pie).

He has shown an unexpected fondness for high fashion, wearing Prada shoes and Gucci sunglasses, and he has taken to wearing traditional hats not worn by popes for decades.

He is said to speak 10 languages, although the Italian press has commented on his German accent, and is an accomplished pianist.

Benedict's brother Georg, also a priest but three years his elder, has said that "health-wise he is not very robust. His heart is not very good." He has continued to express such worries since his election.

[plain talk]

I wouldn't call it a blunder but it would have been more powerful if the Pope simply quoted from the Hadiths regarding what Mohammed did and left it for all to judge themselves. One doesn't need to condemn Mohammed. Islam's Hadiths themselves contain all the evidence needed for any rational person to discern Muhammed's character as a cruel murderer. Most non-muslims simply don't know what's in those documents and those that do should educate the masses.

Facts are a stubborn thing.

[keats5]

Jesus didn't emphasize public relations either.

[OPS4]

This is anti-catholic tripe. Read the full tranlation of one of the most thought out presntations on the problem written in Modern times.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1702192/posts

[Elsiejay]

In what sense did the Pope retract?
And what does "railed" mean?

[newzjunkey]

Pope Benedict XVI has shown that he has yet to shake off his academic theological roots

Of course that's exactly what a POPE should do! This doesn't pass the laugh test. In fact, you couldn't write comedy better than this intentionally!

[Prince Charles]

Maybe the headcutters can invite the pope to a dialogue in a cathedral in one of their own countries. Why, wait a minute... there are no cathedrals in muslim countries. In fact, the Jesus haters will saw your head off if they catch you in possession of the Bible.

[shhrubbery!]

I hope this dog-costume designer's little project isn't considered sacrilegious by Catholics.

(Can you imagine what would happen if the designer had dressed her sweet little dogs in jihadist costumes?)

Unlike Muslims, it seems, Christians (and Jews) normally have a sense of humor about themselves.

Dogs Spitzel and Zorroline wear a Pope Benedict XVI and a cardinal costume designed by owner and German fashion designer Hildegard Bergbauer, as they sit in a garden in the Bavarian village of Hailing, September 13, 2006. REUTERS/Alexandra Beier

Dog costume designer Hildegard Bergbauer "is very religious and says the costumes are not designed to poke fun at the church or the Pope ... the designer says she is sure this is something Benedict XVI would understand." --NDTV.com

[Antoninus]

Only a feckless liberal would mistake unbelievable courage for a "blunder." What's next?

"Christ's blunder on the cross shows he hasn't mastered dealing with the Sanhedrin and the Procurator."

[BlackjackPershing]

Why hasn't he mastered the media machine, because he didn't spew PC crap? He spoke the truth and should be defended.

[Prost1]

What a bunch of hogwash....

He was right on and it is about time the Catholic Church stood for something other than harboring queers!

[Peelod]

This is NOT satire-
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2006/09/13/couricandco/entry2006771.shtml

My First Week

(CBS)
Hi, everyone!

Okay, I’ve been waiting to exhale for some time now…and I finally have!!! Last night was my one week anniversary…and the good news is, I’m still employed! (I think) I’ve had no problem sleeping in until 7 every morning…and I’m really really enjoying my new gig. There’s a lot of excitement here about trying new things, and the people with whom I’m working are terrific-smart and funny and very dedicated to putting on the best product we can. I’m still getting used to the half hour format, but it’s gratifying to see how much we can get in…I so often experience information overload, being able to get a recap of the news summarized and synthesized is something I really like...hopefully some viewers feel the same!

Well, it’s been a whirlwind. I wish I could say that last Tuesday was just another day at the office -- or just another first day on the job – but it was so much more than that. I woke up more than a few times in the wee hours of that Tuesday morning…and to nobody’s surprise, the first day was jam-packed with the excitement and tension that comes with any new job. There were interviews and rehearsals and meetings throughout the day. I felt the usual butterflies in my stomach before the broadcast – actually, the butterflies felt more like gigantic peacocks (but that may have something to do with my last job). For the first time in a long time I actually had the sensation that my heart was going to actually penetrate my chest and end up on the scripts in front of me…it was beating THAT HARD.

There was some celebrating after the broadcast…some of my close friends got together to watch the show and had a martini waiting for me when I arrived at 7:30. I’m not a big drinker, but I have to say, that really hit the spot. But nothing was nicer than seeing my two daughters, probably more relieved than I was, that their mother had not completely embarrassed them on national television. They are so great. There was a little dancing and merriment (whatever that means) before I had to head to Washington to interview the president the next morning. (Good thing they cut me off after one martini!) Another crazy, surreal kind of day.

[farlander]

Blunder !? Whoever said that was a blunder ?! He spoke his mind. Which happens to be the exactly the same thing most of us (at least here) are thinking.

[Northern Yankee]

I can't imagine his remarks were not well thought out.

Seems historically accurate to me. Like liberals they can't handle the truth.

[tkathy]

I can hardly wait to see how he responds. He has never struck me as a "loose cannon" type to shoot off his mouth without deep thinking at least.

[Hydroshock]

Speaking the truth, no matter how inconvenient to some, is never a blunder.

[cgbg]

Never has the expression "from his mouth to God's ears" seemed more appropriate.

[Ciexyz]

I agree, a BARF ALERT is needed for the title of this thread.

[Piers-the-Ploughman]

The Pope has a fondness for cats; any pics of a feline pontiff?

[antonia]

[Benedict blunder shows he has failed to master..... (not worth repeating) ]

Blame the all powerful victim.

[AmishDude]

These days you don't mention Islam without knowing there are consequences no matter what you say.