THE POPE STANDS UP (and walks out on Palestinian leader Sheikh Taysir al-Tamimi)

NY Post ^ | May 12, 2009

[presidio9]

In an action that spoke far louder than words, Pope Benedict yesterday walked out of an interfaith meeting in Jerusalem after the chief Islamic judge of the Palestinian Authority launched into an anti-Israeli diatribe.

The pontiff, on his first day in Jerusalem, did not realize at first that Sheikh Taysir al-Tamimi, speaking in Arabic, was condemning the "crimes of the Jewish state" and accusing Israel of having "slaughtered women, children and senior citizens."

But as soon as he was told the nature of the sheikh's tirade, he stood and left the meeting, which took place at Notre Dame church, before it had concluded.

It's not as if the organizers shouldn't have seen this coming: Back in 2000, Tamimi did the same thing during a visit by the late Pope John Paul II.

A spokesman for the Holy See later condemned the remarks, saying that

[WVKayaker]

Don't you know Jesus wasn't talking to Catholics. They made their own deal with another guy.

Rich and powerful, yep. Just as Jesus warns, the Vatican flaunts it's wealth!

Matt : 5... These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' 8Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; 10take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep.

I assume all of the poor are now provided with everything they need... (do I need the: /sarcasm?) or not!

[Petronski]

Don't you know Jesus wasn't talking to Catholics. They made their own deal with another guy.

Are you referring to Satan?

Are you saying the Catholic Church is satanic?

[Petronski]

...go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor...

I'm guessing you haven't done this either. Why is that?

[Marysecretary]

Good one for our anti-reformed haters. Feel the love yet?

[Marysecretary]

Jest wonderin’ how much all this costs. Good thing the Vatican is rich, LOL.

[pillut48]

I’m guessing because I’m not the Pope and I don’t live in the Vatican? :-)

I just like to believe, is that the sort of place Jesus would choose to live in here on earth when He returns?

My heart tells me no, not so much.

[Petronski]

I’m guessing because I’m not the Pope and I don’t live in the Vatican? :-)

Jesus made no such distinction in that quote.

...is that the sort of place Jesus would choose to live in here on earth when He returns?

Of course it is. It IS His Church after all...he's already got clear title!

[pillut48]

Sorry, hit send too fast when my daughter came home and called for me. :-) She's excited because today was the last day of school!

As far as:
...go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor...

I'm guessing you haven't done this either. Why is that?

As a matter of fact, I grew up below poverty level, and only got to go to college because of my military veteran father's Social Security benefits (I'm the only person in my entire family who completed college). I started working at age 14 as a waitress, and up until a few years ago have worked my whole life, more often than not with a full time job AND a part time job (I'm now 47). At one point in time to make ends meet I was working a full time job and 4 part time jobs in the early 90s! I almost lost my apt. because I got behind on my bills despite working all those jobs, and you know things are bad when you go to the store with your last 5 dollars to buy milk and bread and peanut butter, and on the way out a homeless man stopped me and asked if I could spare any money. I honestly didn't have a dime and had been so worried about my situation (I adopted unwanted pets back then, 6 dogs, 4 cats, a rabbit, hamsters, goldfish from school, etc) and how I'd provide for my 'family' I burst into tears and told the homeless man my situation.

He listened quietly while I cried, patted my shoulder when I stopped, and then HE GAVE ME A QUARTER and told me GOD WILL PROVIDE. I turned to give him the quarter back, but he was gone when I looked around!

One reason I believe in angels. :*) FWIW, a few days later I received a check in the mail for an insurance reimbursement I had overpaid that was almost the exact amount of my rent! :*) God DOES provide, we just have to trust in Him and let HIM do it, LOL.

As far as giving everything to the poor, if I were still single and had no dependents, I'd still be working with the underpriveleged (I don't know how much money I spent over the years helping out below poverty level kids at school who needed school supplies, or shoes, or whatever and couldn't afford them)...I've worked with the homeless when I attended church in Dallas, and it was a blessing to me. :*) Now we don't live above my means or anything, but God has blessed me and mine abundantly and much more than I ever deserved, and I try to always give as much as I can to church for regular offerings, special offerings, the local charity outreach program, etc. If I worked I would give even more, because I'm not a manicure/pedicure/salon visiting/haircut getting (maybe 2 times a year I'll get my hair cut professionally)/hundred pairs of shoes (I only have 3 pairs total)/fancy clothes wearing kind of person. I have a friend who calls me 'granola girl' because she says I would clean up 'good' ;-) but I'm very very down to earth (rarely ever wear makeup or perfume or anything like that).

So anyway, that's how I try to emulate Jesus in my life. :*)

[Petronski]

And the Catholic Church emulates Christ by spending vast sums on worldwide charitable endeavors, not one of which is not pro-life, and very few if any of which come with a press release.

[pillut48]

My little bit of $ would help maybe a portion of one family's lives. I can't even imagine how many millions (billions?) of people could be helped if the Vatican were taken apart and the Pope lived in a more modest residence...not a condemnation, just curious.

Another question: do you believe that the Vatican will transform into the "New Jerusalem" when Jesus returns someday? There's supposed to be lots and lots of gold there as well, IIRC.

[WVKayaker]

Luke 12: 13Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."

14Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?" 15Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

16And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'

18"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."

20"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'

21"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." ...

32"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

[Petronski]

My little bit of $ would help maybe a portion of one family's lives. I can't even imagine how many millions (billions?) of people could be helped if the Vatican were taken apart and the Pope lived in a more modest residence...not a condemnation, just curious.

Most of it is held in trust by the Vatican but belongs to the State of Italy. Treaty of Lateran in 1922 or 1923.

Another question: do you believe that the Vatican will transform into the "New Jerusalem" when Jesus returns someday? There's supposed to be lots and lots of gold there as well, IIRC.

I've never given it any thought. I suspect Jesus will create His New Jerusalem in a place of His choice and in a manner that we cannot anticipate or for that matter that we will not comprehend....Him being God and all.

[Petronski]

Ministering to more than a billion people is a big job.

[WVKayaker]

Acts 15: 5Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses."

6The apostles and elders met to consider this question. 7After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? 11No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."" -Love, Peter

Romans 3: 19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

21But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. - Love, Paul

[WVKayaker]

It doesn't take much imagination to see these modern times repeating history...

Matthew 23: 1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2"The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. 3So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

5"Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries[a] wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi.'

8"But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. 9And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ.[b] 11The greatest among you will be your servant. 12For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

13"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.[c]

15"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.

16"Woe to you, blind guides! You say, 'If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.' 17You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18You also say, 'If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.' 19You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22And he who swears by heaven swears by God's throne and by the one who sits on it.

23"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

25"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

27"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. 28In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

29"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30And you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' 31So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers!

33"You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation.

37"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. 38Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'[d]"

Pope is Latin for Father...

[Marysecretary]

Yoke is right, cheez.

[OpusatFR]

They can’t seem to understand that all of it belongs to all of us 1,000,000,000 Catholics.

If the art was sold, it would be locked up in a private collection never to be seen again.

If the artifacts of history written for thousands of years were sold, they would be locked in private collection instead of being available to scholars of any faith.

Arguing with people who refuse to see the hundreds of billions of dollars from the Catholic church supporting hundreds of millions of charities throughout the world is not worth discussing.

Dismantling the greatest of the architectual achievements in the Western Civilization reminds me of the idiotic Islamists blowing the buddahs in Afghanistan.

Totus Tuus. All for the love of Christ.

You have the patience of a saint.

[OpusatFR]

Your interpretation is, well, wrong.

Try again.

[Marysecretary]

Amen, Kayaker.

[WVKayaker]

Please specify where Christ is being misinterpreted. It is clear as day what He is saying, unless filtered by Rome. Please inform our readers of my errors, not from your churches catechism, but from the Word of God. Oh, that's right, Rome is supreme in the matters of definition. Black means white in their terminolgy.

Christian charity is not a choice. Jesus said sell those riches and feed the poor.

You need to sell off your 1,000,000,000th share, FRiend...