PLAATS: Well, I think what it is, the war on terror is obviously, it’s a theological war. We have a radical Islamic group, so we believe that a guy with the training of a pastor understands the theological nature of the war. That also makes him very well-prepared in regards to this war on terror.
This might be the dumbest thing I ever heard. If “being a pastor and understanding the theological nature of the war” makes one well prepared, I think we should get the Pope to be Commander in Chief, or maybe at least someone who when he says he has a theology degree really does.
CNN Interactive
Pope John Paul II: Cold Warrior with a cross
'They trembled before the pope'
On June 2, 1979, just eight months after his consecration as pope, John Paul II returned to his native Poland for a nine-day visit that heralded the beginning of the end of the Soviet empire.
The pope said Mass that day in Victory Square in Warsaw, a place more often the scene of army parades and rallies orchestrated by the ruling communist government.
Officially, Poland was atheist, and the government had confined and thwarted the church at every turn, stopping just short of outright confrontation. But Poland had been a stronghold of Catholicism for more than a 1,000 years. It would take more than 35 years of communism to snuff out that faith. (snip)