Posted on 03/14/2013 8:49:56 PM PDT by GrootheWanderer
Falklands veterans told of their dismay last night after the Argentine president hinted she hoped the new Pope – her countryman – would mediate in the dispute surrounding the territory.
Pope Francis believes the South Atlantic islands are ‘Argentine soil’.
In 2010 the then Buenos Aires Cardinal declared: ‘The Malvinas are ours’, and last year he accused Britain of ‘usurping’ the islands.
Firebrand Argentine president Cristina Kirchner, who has for months been seeking easy home popularity by calling for Britain to enter talks on withdrawing from the Falklands, has leapt on the promotion of her fellow Argentine to the papacy to boost her case.
In a televised address yesterday she pointedly said she hoped the new Pope would ‘take a message to the major world powers that they need to participate in dialogue’.
The controversy was stoked up only days after the islanders voted almost unanimously to retain their ties to London.
Last night retired Lieutenant General Sir Hew Pike, who commanded 3 Para in the 1982 conflict, said the newly elected leader of the Catholic Church seemed not to recognise the Falkland islanders’ right to self-determination.
Sir Hew, 69, said the Pope’s statements about the Falklands gave no recognition of the islanders’ wish to remain British.
Sir Hew said: ‘It saddens me that a man of the Pope’s stature does not seem to respect the rights of a group of people to self-determination.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Okay, honeymoon period lasted less than a day.
I guess that might matter to any Catholics living in the Falklands.
Let’s see what the Pope does, if anything. Argentina should not be trying to use the Pope for this purpose. It would be an abuse that any European Pope would back away from I think. Too much like the bad old days.
It was never part of Argentina for even one day of their history
The pope is not going to involve himself in this dispute. He dislikes Kirchner, and is unlikely to put that aside to aid her in election-related chest-beating.
I’m not surprised the pope believes the islands belong to Argentina. You’ll find 90% of the Argentine population believe the islands belong to them, just as 90% of Turks will say Northern Cyprus belongs to them. The pope is free to have his opinion on these kinds of things. It has nothing to do with the church at all, and is simply a geopolitical matter.
Now, in my opinion, the Malvinas are a fictional group of islands. Argentina’s claim to the territory is weak historically, from the evidence available, and was made even weaker by an invasion in the 1980s, in which they were defeated fair and square.
I believe Argentina also has some sort of border dispute with Paraguay, and I have no doubt the pope would come down on Argentina’s side there. Is he going to funnel Vatican money to Kirchner so she can invade Paraguay? Unlikely.
Oy Veh! Here we go!
Not counting the Swizz Guard, how many divisions does the Pope have? Hardly likely that the Vatican would declare war against the Brits.
The idea of England wanting to own the Falklands might have actually made sense when they had an empire which needed for ships to sail around South America. In today's world I can't see it, and I can't see any sort of a case based on what the "islanders(TM)" might want, they're basically English people living on islands which are very close to Argentina and very very far from England. They'd be happier living somewhere closer to England.
Yeah and the brainwashed Catholics on here will follow this guy and nod in agreement and forsake their conservative principles and our long time allies. The Falklands are British, period, I stand with the Brits not the Pope.
GrootheWanderer~:” I know it’s from the Daily Mail. But I hadn’t heard any of this before. “
When the Pope speaks , he speaks as the leader of the Catholic Church
He is the religious leader of the Roman Catholic Church; not the Greek Orthodox , not the Eastern Orothodox Church.
He is ‘infallible’ when he speaks “ex Cathedra” of religious doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, only.
He holds no power , authority , or keys that are temporal.
As an Argentine priest, he lolds the power ,authority, keys , and responsibilities of his parish, only .
When Obama speaks , he holds the keys , power , and authority of his office .
He accepts no responsibility ..(blame Bush )
and he is still a liar !!...
and he is still a liar !!...
and he is still a liar !!
“You lie!” ~ Rep. Joe Wilson R-(SC) State of the Union Speech ( Wilson was right then , and he still is right !)
Sounds like our new Pope is Hispano Racist
The Falklanders have reasserted their rights to be British subjects.
Argentina needs to dump its racist Reconquista nonsense over the Falklands.
Argentina’s claim to the Falklands is stronger then the US claim to California. England should leave the Falklands, the north of Ireland, and Gibraltar; filling these places with your own settlers then using them to legitimize your claim is absurd; if any of these places were Muslim they would have already won their independence.
“Hardly likely that the Vatican would declare war against the Brits.”
It is the other way around; to this day it is illegal for a Catholic to sit on the throne of England.
Just thought I’d point out that we haven’t been ‘subjects’ since 1983. The only people considered British ‘subjects’ these days are, by quirk of legislation, Irishmen and women born before 1948.
Gibraltarians are not primarily of British descent, they are descended from people all over the Mediterranean.
Oddly enough, none of the people you mention want to be absorbed by their mickey mouse neighbours. Maybe if they weren’t so mickey mouse eh?
Also, in the case of Northern Ireland, which was largely settled by Scots in the 16th-17th century, you are on tricky grounds there even by your own standards. As Scotland was invaded and occupied by the Ulster ‘Scotti’ tribe (hence the name) from about the 5th century onwards, in which case the settlers were merely ‘returning home’ if you like. Even if that wasn’t the case, it is laughable for an American to be dishing out this argument unless he’s a native american.
As for Falklands, there were no people living there prior to British colonisation, so to all intents and purposes, the British people who live there are the aboriginal population. Putting them under the jurisdiction of another country against their will would be an act of imperialism that regardless of any wrongs that Britain might have done in the past, does not justify a 21st century wrong against British citizens living in the only land they have ever known.
If he has any sense, this is a political matter that he would do well not to get involved in, as it conflicts with his higher duty to the Catholic Church worldwide. Regardless of what he personally believes, it should be for others to argue about.
“Oddly enough, none of the people you mention want to be absorbed by their mickey mouse neighbours.”
That was the idea of planting colonists there to begin with, eh?
The northern Ireland example is absurd; much of western Europe was Celtic, and as they were pushed westwards they were left with corners of France and Spain and the islands of Britain and Ireland. The Saxon invasion, followed by Vikings and Normans, added to the mix, but the Scottish Celts remain distinctly different from those of Ireland and Wales (who differ from each other as well). Scottish Protestants were planted there to remove Catholic Irish from the land (and replace them with livestock); the Scottish were in no way “returning home”. Nice to see them today asking for the independence they helped the English deny the Irish centuries ago.
If Britain planted a flag on some uninhabited island along the Florida coast we’d have something to say about it; we conveniently ignore the Monroe Doctrine when it benefits white English speakers to do so.
If the new pope get’s involved in this dispute, then he’s a fool. This isn’t like Pope John Paul and the cold war where there was clearly a good guy and a bad guy. No one in the Falklands is being oppressed in any way. The only reason (as I understand it) that Argentine has pressed for the Falklands back is because there is thought to be possible oil deposits in the area.
If the Pope gets involved then as others mention. England can use uncle Joe Stalin’s old line. How many divisions does the Pope have?
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