Regarding comment # 24248
“Mortals of the stature of the Holy Father are not simply ‘thrust’ upon the world stage. In the cosmos there is design and a reason for the coming of such men of higher fibre and the ‘reason’ already exists”

If this is true then I wonder why Pope John who was installed Aug 6th 1978 died after only 33 days on 9-28-78. Did the cardinals get some bad vibes from God or what?

19th September 2006

I am amazed that virtually no single writer seems to stand up for the “Holy Father’. He is certainly not stating what he stated just for his personal benefit. He has a duty to his ‘flock’ and that is the responsibility whatever power that may be - has thrust upon him.His fortitude and courage in having made a speech that attempts somewhat metaphorically to caution the world is something that no World leader has so far endeavoured or attempted or had or will have the courage to do, I guess. History mayhaps will recognise him for the amazing manner in which he attempted to bring an insane world to its senses. The ‘evil’ that stalks the world is not going to rest until it has consumed all those who are not of its ilk.

Mortals of the stature of the Holy Father are not simply ‘thrust’ upon the world stage. In the cosmos there is design and a reason for the coming of such men of higher fibre and the ‘reason’ already exists. Only if all of us could take more serious cognizance of it - we could still save the world from the carnage that now goes on   for some time at least although it is obvious that Mother Nature is already venting her fury on Mankind and our end would come much sooner than what the forces of evil hunger for.

The “Holy Father” regardless of his good intentions is at best naive. Im amazed that no amount of reflection and education can serve to move people off their religious upbringing. The truth is that the terriorists want to kill me for being an infidel and the Christian religion will wait till Im dead to send me to Hell fire. Its all so loopy! I used to believe only the gullible and uneducated people of the world could be lured into the fabric of religion. Thats not true as many intelligent people are followers of Islam and Christianity so the answer must be elsewhere. Perhaps the need to connect to the “otherness’ of the universe?

BENEDICT XVI REPUDIATES HIS NAMESAKE

The namesake of Pope Benedict XVI, Giacomo Della Chiesa, Benedict XV, served as Pope from 1914 to 1922. As a wartime Pontiff he followed a policy of strict neutrality. He did not condemn any of the warring countries engaged in World War I.  Instead, he turned the Church’s attention to ministering to those innocents who suffered the wrath of war. 
He tried to broker a peace; however, his attempts were frustrated by pro-Austrian sentiments held by many of members of the College of Cardinals. The entry of the United States and the Allies attitude that a peace could not be won until Germany had been defeated, thwarted Pope Benedict’s attempt to mediate a European peace.
By the end of WWI, the Papacy lacked the prestige of bygone eras; Benedict was excluded from peace negotiations.  During the last years of his Pontificate he implemented the administrative modifications within the Church brought about by geopolitical changes of the Treaty of Versailles. During his Papacy official relations with France resumed, and a British representative to the Vatican was recognized, the first since the 17th Century.
Upon his succession to the Papacy, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger chose Benedict XV as his namesake. He aspires, through the example of his Papal role model, to dedicate his Pontificate to reconciliation. 
Unfortunately, the current Pope Benedict, rather than being the Good Shepherd of Catholics, and moral guide for many others has squandered his spiritual influence.
His anti-Islam remarks last week delivered at Regensburg University did not promote a spirit of reconciliation and religious tolerance.  On the contrary, the quote of a 14th-century Byzantine emperor, “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.” This, the Pope said, was contrary to God’s nature.
These remarks have been justly met with the religious uproar of the Islamic world and have ignited acts of violence aimed at Churches, caused the death of a nun and reports that the terrorist group al-Qaeda has vowed a war against “the worshippers of the cross.” This remark by Pope Benedict is the opposite message the Prelate delivered at a meeting of Christians and Muslims in Cologne soon after he assumed the Papacy. However, the Pontiff is wary of Islam as a global power and has encouraged moderates in their battle against radical Islam.
Moreover, Vatican insiders report six months into his Papacy and after his profession of moderation, the Pope called a two-day secret session on Islam.  At this closed door meeting, the Pope told delegates that unlike Christianity, which distinguished (in Christ’s words) between “that which is God’s and that which is Caesar’s”, Islam sought to “integrate the laws of the Koran into all elements of social life”.
Whereas Jesus and the Gospels offered a model to follow, the Koran was imposed rigidly with “no distinction between civil and religious law”, he told the conference. Christianity could engage with Islam only as a “culture” and remind it to “respect human rights”, including the rights of Christian minorities in Muslim countries.
Remarks made last week were more in keeping with the secret session than the meeting of reconciliation held in Cologne.
Undoubtedly, the Pontiff knew his words would cause uproar in light of the furor over unflattering cartoons appearing in European newspapers of the Prophet Mohammed. Here, rather than a frontal assault, the Pope’s thinly veiled remarks a recount of a conversation on the truths of Christianity and Islam that took place between a 14th-century Byzantine Christian emperor, Manuel II Speleologist, and a Persian scholar, seemed to stray from the theme of Pope’s address “Reason & Faith in the West.” Newspapers throughout the Arab world have been critical of the Pope’s remarks characterizing it as “It was Provocative” a rather diminutive description based upon other pejorative reactions.
In another sign of a tougher policy toward Islam, Benedict abolished the Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, creating a new body of outreach to Egypt and the Arab League.
This obviously obtuse remark delivered by a Prelate well schooled in doctrine, dogma and theology of the Church was no mere oversight.  They were included in this Papal message to support a long held belief by this Pontiff. Benedict, as the former head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, in Dominus lesus supported orthodoxy and doctrine of the Catholic faith claiming that other religions “objectively speaking…are in a gravely deficient situation in comparison with those who, in the Church, have the fullness of the means of salvation.” The document deeply offended other Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists and proved a setback to the ecumenism advocated by of the Second Vatican Council.
Similar Papal flaps may be unavoidable.  The Pope’s newly appointed Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone was Benedict’s second in command at his former post.  Bertone lacks diplomatic experience.  He has explained his new role has helping to spread the spiritual mission of the Church which he says transcends politics and diplomacy.  Some Vatican insiders see in Cardinal Bertone a man of action, but wonder if he will have enough patience to occupy himself with the nuances of international affairs
This “orthodox doctrine” of faith had caused a deep rift between western-Catholicism and Vatican conservatism on social issues. However, this return to pre-Vatican II orthodoxy demonstrates the Church’s modification of evangelical mission to a more Third World episcopate where convention and “superstition” are more readily acceptable. The role of this pre-Vatican II Catholicism has increased with the growth of the Opus Dei Movement. (For a more see my upcoming essay, Deserted Catholic.)
The Pope’s current remarks and past writing, wary of Islam rising to the level of a global power seem in keeping with a world view held by the Church since the late 11th Century with the Papacy of Urban II. While Pope Benedict’s remarks do not rise to the level of a Holy War against the “infidels” it does bear a resemblance to the cries of a millennium ago. Bellicose rhetoric aimed at the Islamic World, particularly among fundamentalist, is just another destructive step in a contemporary clash of civilizations.
Pope Benedict’s visit to Turkey in November may ignite another controversy since the Pontiff in 2004 opposed that country’s admission into the EU. A top leader in Turkey’s ruling Islamic party said the Pope was following in the footsteps of Hitler and Mussolini. These two horrific appellations and the ideologies of death they represent have been used to liberally in our contemporary discourse.
However, in keeping with the namesake of his Papacy, Pope Benedict XVI, should be a source of reconciliation not a cause of conflict.  His remarks last week seriously endanger the Pontiff’s ability to be a source of neutrality and moral authority.  By his actions he may be casting the Vatican into an insignificant role in world affairs at a time when Christ’s teachings of peace, love and tolerance are sorely needed.

america needs more folks who are willing to think & to speak out as Sam Harris does

his presence adds to truthdig’s good standing in blogistan

I loved Sam Harris’ book and thought he was a refreshing and wonderful leader for left-wing sanity.  Imagine my disappointment today when he published a fascist-esque diatribe in today’s LA Times that justified the aggression of the US and Israel in the Middle East while calling the left “soft on terrorism”. His comments belied the reality of hundreds of deaths of innocent civilians in Lebanon, and the Guantanamo-like conditions in Gaza and the West Bank.  The response to “fanatic” religiosity should not be “aggressive Judeo-Christianity” or “aggressive atheism” but a compassionate pacifism and humanitarianism that models a more enlightened philosophy.

18th SEPTEMBER 2006

The ‘Holy Father’ has said his piece. Perhaps it was his inner intention to create a dialogue on the points raised by him. Or, it may have been hios intention to draw the attention of the Christian World and the Hindu and Buddhist worls, amongst all others, to the dangers that have to be confronted by the massive rise of Islam and its influence all over the world and in the midst of other religious communities.

I am NOT a Christiab but am reasonably versed superficially with the New Testament and the Acts of the Apostles which I studied in school for over 11 years.

However, the Holy Father’s thoughts should NOT be taken in vain. We must admit that the Father is a very educated and intelligent man with a deep knowledge in comparative religions and the sciences relating to the quantum world.

I hope that everyone the world over would sit and think more deeply and dispassionately on his speech because the Holy Father certainly has a ‘message’ for all humanity.

Sam Harris is a breath of fresh air. His comments on religion are so lucid and well presented that he is most welcome amid the madness of religion that pervades our culture. I look forward to more of his writings….......

Intersting, thanks !