Pope Benny's Latest
This article in the Daily Mail indicates that the Pope has launched another attack on Islam. Unlike the previous attack, which I criticized due to the fact that it bascially said that the basis for the entire Islamic faith was corrupt and evil, this is actually just criticism of the practices of some of Islam's followers. And that is something that I don't think should be off limits.
In fact, if you read the article carefully and ignore the editorial comments of the Mail author, the parts in quotes don't make any mention of Islam. It is only the Mail's author that indicates that the comments about extremists and religious freedom are directed towards Muslims and not also to other faith groups and governments. Of course, he may be right, but I'd like to see a transcript or at least some corraborating stories before I jump to the same conclusion he did.
One of the reasons that I question the actual anti-Islam spin of the report is this piece at the bottom:
Pope Benedict is particularly concerned about the persecution of Christians in Iraq since the invasion of 2003.
Before then, there were about 1.2million Christians in the country. But the number has dropped to below 600,000.
And from that, I remembered seeing this piece:
Pope Benedict XVI refused a recent request by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to discuss the Middle East and Iraq, Vatican sources say.
. . .
There are at least two reasons why Pope Benedict may have decided peremptorily against a private meeting with Ms Rice.
First, it was Ms Rice who just before the outbreak of the Iraq war in March 2003 made it clear to a special papal envoy sent from Rome, Cardinal Pio Laghi, that the Bush administration was not interested in the views of the late Pope on the immorality of launching its planned military offensive.
Secondly, the US has responded in a manner considered unacceptable at the Vatican to the protection of the rights of Iraqi Christians under the new Iraqi constitution.
So when the Pope is criticizing the protection of minority religious rights, he's probably not just taking about Islamic countries.
