Posted on 09/18/2006 4:43:25 PM PDT by sionnsar
Rowan Williams defends Benedict XVI. Sort of:
The head of the Church of England Monday defended the pope over his comments on Islam and violence, saying they had been taken out of context by protesters.
Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams, who also leads the worldwide Anglican Communion, suggested the Pope had quoted a Medieval description of Islam to demonstrate how religions painted distorted pictures of each other’s history and beliefs.Speaking on BBC Radio, Williams said the row demonstrated how religious teachings could be misrepresented to encourage conflict.
"There are elements in Islam that can be used to justify violence, just as there are in Christianity and Judaism," he said.
"These religious faiths, because they are held by human beings who are very fallible, can be distorted in these ways and we all need to recognise that."
The Pope is, of course, not an Anglican and is not gifted with Dr. Williams' off-the-charts talent for ambiguously obfuscatory circumlocution. So to anyone who understands Anglican, the following is even more incendiary than anything Benedict said:
He continued: "The big question that comes out of this for me is how much are we prepared to listen to the other person telling their story and how much are both sides prepared to be self-critical in discussing aspects of their history that are not pretty and not edifying."
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams.
With all due respect --- their history takes a back seat to their modern day savagery.
What an awful thing Rowan Williams has said!!! That last paragraph. It makes him sound as though he's putting money on horses.
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