Now the pope disappoints
Mainly because he just had to go to Turkey, and in doing so, it's sad to see that he basically capitulated to them by not opposing their demands to enter the EU. Douglas Murray (via Melanie Phillips) writes about what appears to be a volte-face by pope Benedict:
How is it possible that he changed so much, asked a young Islamist girl called Merve Celikkol, who concluded to the New York Times reporters on the ground that the Pope is ‘a hypocrite’. The answer to the charming Merve’s question is clear. He has changed because he has been forced to pacify the Islamic beast, and because support for Turkish entry is clearly in the Pope’s calculation the least he can offer.It's a good thing we have the blogosphere on which to talk about these things, because simply put, we cannot allow Turkey to enter the EU, which needs to be disbanded as it is, as this can also run the risk of enabling terrorists to infiltrate Europe even more. Turkey's entry into the EU needs to be opposed, and the pope must be convinced to rethink what he's doing now.
As the numerous mea culpas given out by the Vatican after the summer’s events made clear the Papacy does not want to antagonise Islam. And with good reason. The result of quoting a medieval source in a lecture at a German university was the murder of a nun in Africa, the torching of churches in the Holy Land and the murder and mutilation of Christians in Iraq . No leader of a billion believers could help reflecting that his flock may be equally if not more at risk from the consequences of any further scholarly citations.
This Papacy has, in other words, had its ‘Mit Brennender Sorge’ moment. In 1937 the Pope dipped his toe into the political climate, found it too scalding for his taste, and withdrew. Pope Benedict has just had the same experience, and it is much to be regretted. He has signalled to Islam that there are concessions he can make, and reactions other than outrage in the face of intimidation and violence. It is a shame. We needed Benedict, and his withdrawal from the debate is a considerable loss for the forces of reason and Western preservation.
Labels: Christianity, turkey
