Well, we’ll see.
The Pope is between a rock and a hard place. Pope Benedict used some hard words at Regensburg, but he, too, tried to reach out to Islam.
The reason is not hard to find: there are Christians living in Muslim countries all over the world, and if the Pope says what he really thinks about Islam, then they get killed at a higher rate than they already are.
The Popes have been fully aware that the Muslims have a habit of burning churches and murdering or forcibly “converting” Christians. The problem is, what to do about it. It’s easy enough to say that Mohammed was a murderous, slave-taking, violent pederast from the safety of Rome, but it’s harder if you are a Christian living under the Muslim regime. Or to put it in opposite fashion, it’s OK to be a martyr to the truth when you are the martyr, but it’s less satisfactory when you say things that lead the killing of other people.
This guy has been used to fighting Communists under very difficult circumstances. Hopefully that has taught him something about fighting Islam.
Great points. I always thought this way too.
“....the Pope says what he really thinks about Islam, then they get killed at a higher rate than they already are.”
.
So how can the Pope have a dialog with muslims?