ANTI-WAR CROWD EXPLOITS THE POPE

Catholic League ^ | March 28, 2003 | William Donohue

[NYer]

ANTI-WAR CROWD EXPLOITS THE POPE

 

Catholic League president William Donohue spoke today on how the pope’s words on the war are being exploited by anti-war activists:

 

“It comes as no surprise that the pope is viscerally anti-war.  But he is also no pacifist.  Pope John Paul II has said repeatedly that war cannot be decided upon ‘except as the very last option.’  What he has not said, though such words have been attributed to him, is that there is no legal or moral justification for the war.  In any event, it is striking how many new friends the Pontiff has these days.

 

“Jessica Lange is anti-war and pro-abortion.  The NARAL enthusiast is now praising the pope for his position on the war.  What she fails to mention is that when the pope told a gathering of world leaders to say ‘No To War’ on January 13, he began by admonishing them to say ‘No To Death’; he specifically cited ‘the incomparable dignity of every human being, beginning with that of unborn children.’  Hear that Jessica?

 

“Michael Moore is quoted today saying, ‘The pope even came right out and said it: This war in Iraq is not a just war and, thus, it is a sin.’  But the pope never said this is not a just war, never mind a sinful exercise.

 

“The reaction of Catholic dissidents and anti-Catholics who are part of the anti-war crowd to the pope is even more comical.  The National Catholic Reporter is a Catholic weekly that never tires of railing against papal authority; ditto for Call the Action, an organization of Catholic malcontents.  Yet both are now lauding the pope for his leadership on the war.  Even that inveterate Catholic basher Frances Kissling is now speaking of the ‘humanitarian’ vision of the Vatican and the ‘religious authority of the pope.’  Maybe she’ll convert to Catholicism yet.

 

“We’ll call these people sincere when they stop exploiting the pope’s words on the war and start showing real and consistent respect for his teachings on all subjects.”

[NYer]

LOL! Can't help but see the humor in this.

[sinkspur]

What he has not said, though such words have been attributed to him, is that there is no legal or moral justification for the war.

The Pope has said that this war is a "crime against humanity."

Is a "crime" legal? Is a crime moral?

Or is Donohue playing with words?

[ninenot]

Worst are the Catholic priests who twist the situation and come out condemning GWB & Co to hell for this action.

The "just cause" for this action lies in the inhumane treatment SH provides his own people, in addition to his collection of illegal and immoral weapons.

[Romulus]

The Pope has said that this war is a "crime against humanity."

Source that quote.

[Coleus]

Catholic Just War
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/853217/posts

Just War in the Catechism of the Catholic Church
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/858990/posts

[Cicero]

I agree with Donohue on this. The Pope has prayed for peace and urged that diplomatic means be used if possible. Nothing wrong with that. The antiwar crowd has twisted and distorted his words and actions for their own purposes. Normally they could care less what the Pope says.

As a Catholic, I haven't seen anything really troubling in the Pope's remarks. Some of the Italian bishops have been off the walls, but not the Pope himself. In any case, what he says is a prudential judgment, and Catholics are free to disagree on this point. Catholic philosophy and theology teach that although religious figures have a duty to advise, the actual decision to go to war is up to the head of state.

[madprof98]

As a Catholic, I haven't seen anything really troubling in the Pope's remarks.

I'm sure Frances Kissling says the very same thing whenever the pope makes one of his oh-so-predictable stands against abortion. It's not just the Left that is willfully indifferent to the prophets these days.

[NYer]

Catholic philosophy and theology teach that although religious figures have a duty to advise, the actual decision to go to war is up to the head of state.

Thank you for pointing this out. The entire story, however, has left me quite giddy. Can you imagine Cardinal Ratzinger trying to explain to the pope that his anti war statements have earned him acceptance amongst his worst enemies. All of those listed support abortion which is responsible for far more deaths on a daily basis than the conflict with Saddam Hussein. The absurdity is totally tantalizing!

[sinkspur]

It's not just the Left that is willfully indifferent to the prophets these days.

The Pope suggested the coalition "negotiate" with Hussein.

Exactly how would that happen. What would we give up to get Hussein to give up his WMDs?

The Pope is very naive.

[Cicero]

I'm sure Frances Kissling says the very same thing whenever the pope makes one of his oh-so-predictable stands against abortion. It's not just the Left that is willfully indifferent to the prophets these days.

There's no comparison at all. When the Pope says that abortion is wrong, he is speaking in union with 2000 years of Church teaching on a matter of faith as morals. He is speaking in union with biblical teaching. It's as straightforward as saying that murder is wrong and stealing is wrong.

To the contrary, the question of whether or not a particular war is justified is a matter of "prudential judgment." There is a recognized right of self defense, and a recognized duty for a head of state to protect his people. Unlike some Catholic figures, the Pope has never said that this war is wrong and has never even come near telling Catholics that they must think it is wrong.

You have a very superficial picture of the Catholic Church.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

"Even that inveterate Catholic basher Frances Kissling is now speaking of the ‘humanitarian’ vision of the Vatican and the ‘religious authority of the pope.’ Maybe she’ll convert to Catholicism yet. "

Clever.

Hmmmmm. Doesn'the separation-of-Church-and-State crowd usually prefer the Vatican to "stay out of politics"? Which is it? One wonders... The darkening of the intellect has so blinded them they are unable to see the irony of their own contradictions.

[ultima ratio]

Oh, come on. The Vatican Secretary of State called it an American war of aggression. The Vatican press accused Bush of starting a war for Iraq's oil. Nothing at all about 250,000 butchered Iraqis, nothing about the rape rooms and torture chambers where in one instance a small boy had his eyes gouged out before his parents or in another where a small three-year-old girl had her feet deliberately broken before her mother to get the woman to confess the whereabouts of her husband. Nothing about men being put feet-first and alive into giant shredders. Nothing about tongues cut out for trivial remarks or the heads of prostitutes chopped off and publicly impaled to terrorize the populace. Nothing about the public executions with townspeople, men, women and children, forced to watch while neighbors were brutally put to death.

No, it's a little late for papal back-tracking and damage control. The Pope's inability to come to grips with evil and to confront it, has been at best naive and at worst morally blind. Politically, it has been very destructive and has played into the hands of the Iraqi regime which has suckered the left for three decades. Saddam's still doing it, feeding off the knee-jerk European anti-Americanism of the sort expressed by JnPII.

Having said this, I will concede the Pope has spoken with more circumspection than was widely reported. It is the way of popes to be coy in what they say--in case they need future cover. And it is the way of the media to understand what they really mean and to interpret their words accordingly. But this Pope certainly knew how much influence his voice would have in the anti-war movement. What is unacceptable is that he hadn't done his homework or shown any understanding at all of the depth of the evil we are now confronting. The simple fact is that JnPII has never expressed compassion for the many victims of Hussein's tyranny, nor condemned the tyranny of Saddam. Nor has he properly understood why it is imperative for the United States and its allies to eliminate such a monster.

[madprof98]

You have a very superficial picture of the Catholic Church.

Oops! Sorry about that. On behalf of all those who take the pope seriously, I most humbly apologize to the I'm-an-American-first Catholics who most obviously know better.

[OLD REGGIE]

(sinkspur) The Pope has said that this war is a "crime against humanity."

Source that quote.

"When terrorist organizations use their own followers as weapons to be launched against defenceless and unsuspecting people they show clearly the death-wish that feeds them. Terrorism springs from hatred, and it generates isolation, mistrust and closure. Violence is added to violence in a tragic sequence that exasperates successive generations, each one inheriting the hatred which divided those that went before. Terrorism is built on contempt for human life. For this reason, not only does it commit intolerable crimes, but because it resorts to terror as a political and military means it is itself a true crime against humanity." WORLD DAY OF PEACE

Please note it is Terrorism which is called a "Crime against humanity" by the Pope.

====================================================================================

There is an article which claims the Pope called a war with Iraq a "Crime against humanity". Though there is a supposed quote the pertinent document is not referenced.

POPE CALLS FOR FAST AGAINST WAR ON IRAQ

Pope tells British PM in first such meeting in decades war on Iraq would constitute a 'Crime Against Humanity'

Crime Against Humanity

"al-bushra" is a self described Arab-American Roman Catholic Community. al-bushra

[RobbyS]

The Pope's inability to come to grips with evil General Sherman, who knew a little about it, said that war is hell. Face it: even in a good cause, war results in evil being done. Iaruis died; our men die. It boils down to what is the lesser evil, and that is something we will know only after the fact. I know who is wrong in this matter. Our Lord spoke a parable about the king with inferior forces was enjoined to treat with his enemy and get the best terms possible.

[ultima ratio]

War may be hell, but not all wars are evil and this one is not. It is just for the same reasons the Second World War was just. The problem is the Pope is too morally blinded to perceive the difference between a murderer like Saddam whose horrendous crimes have been well-documented, and Bush who is determined to disarm this monster.

[RobbyS]

Apart from the fact that you do know know what the pope "perceives", consider this analogy: a patient suffers from a cancer; a doctor decides against the will of the patient to cut the cancer out; a third party objects on the ground that the operation will kill the patient. The doctor may be right, but one thing is sure: the patient will be cut open. I happen to be on the side of the actual "doctor,"but I can see that evil consequences may follow, especially when the patient is operated on without painkillers and with dirty instruments.

[ultima ratio]

You and people like you are tiresome. Nothing will convince you of how wrong-headed this pope has been. He has said nary a word about Saddam's cruelties and tyranny. Instead, like all knee-jerk European anti-Americans, he has castigated the US through press releases and remarks by papal officials. All Catholics should be ashamed.

As for your phony analogy about doctors and cancer, you can stash that nonsense. We might have had a diplomatic solution had people like the Pope and Chirac been willing to put some bite behind UN threats. Instead, they tied Bush's hands diplomatically and assured a war would follow.

This Pope has been consistently and absolutely wrong about a lot of things--in this case too morally blinded by his anti-Americanism to hear the cries of Saddam's victims--cries which should have been audible to him twelve years ago when he also opposed Gulf War I. What was his excuse back then, do you suppose?