The Papal Jihad

Over at Atlas, quick round up of the Papal intifada from IRIS;

Muslims are now attacking churches and Christians worldwide, under the pretext that they were offended by remarks made by the Pope. Actually attacks on Christians and churches occur continually, but this week is different in that they are actually being reported.

For example, on September 9, a YMCA was torched in the Palestinian city of Qalqilya by Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists and a Nexis search 4 days later found zero references to the attack in the mainstream media. Similarly, zero reports of the murder of a convert to Christianity on September 7. The death penalty for converts is consonant with all normative Muslim Law (sharia), despite the MSM's repeated downplaying of its significance.

Sept. 17: Muslim Gunmen Shoot Elderly Nun Dead in Somalia

Sept. 17: Iranian Press: Israeli-US Plot Behind Pope's Remarks
The Jews apparently control Catholicism as well

Somali Imam Salls for Pope to be "Hunted down and Killed by the Nearest Muslim"

Mujahideen's Army Threatens Pope with Suicide Attack

Arab Op-Ed: Pope’s Remarks May Lead to War

Vatican: Pope Regrets Offending Muslims

'REGRET' NOT ENOUGH: 'We want a personal apology'

5 Churches Attacked in Palestinian Areas

Understanding Pope Benedict;

Günter Grass, in his memoirs, recalls an encounter with the young Joseph Ratzinger while both were held in an American prisoner-of-war camp in 1945. The young Grass, a Nazi who had been proud to serve in the Waffen-SS, was taken aback by this soft-spoken, gentle young Catholic. Unlike God, the future pope played dice, quoting St. Augustine in the original while he did so; he even dreamt in Latin. His only desire was to return to the seminary from which he had been drafted. "I said, there are many truths," wrote Grass. "He said, there is only one."

Sixty years later, just before the conclave that elected him pope, Ratzinger proved that he had never changed. The then prefect of the Congregation of the Faith — in effect, the church's theological backstop — preached a sermon to the assembled cardinals in which he denounced the "dictatorship of relativism." From that moment on, there was no other serious candidate.

This is not the kind of Christian who fudges issues or asks, like Pontius Pilate: "What is truth?" On the contrary, Benedict is secure enough in his beliefs and intellectually confident enough to be able to engage in lively debate with such hostile interlocutors as the postmodernist philosopher Jürgen Habermas. Daniel Johnson, NY sun

The official Vatican translation of Pope Benedict XVI's remarks, delivered in Italian Sunday about his Sept. 12 speech that sparked anger among Muslims;

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The pastoral visit which I recently made to Bavaria was a deep spiritual experience, bringing together personal memories linked to places well known to me and pastoral initiatives towards an effective proclamation of the Gospel for today.

I thank God for the interior joy which he made possible, and I am also grateful to all those who worked hard for the success of this pastoral visit. As is the custom, I will speak more of this during next Wednesday's general audience.

At this time, I wish also to add that I am deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address at the University of Regensburg, which were considered offensive to the sensibility of Muslims.

These in fact were a quotation from a Medieval text, which do not in any way express my personal thought.

Yesterday, the Cardinal Secretary of State published a statement in this regard in which he explained the true meaning of my words. I hope that this serves to appease hearts and to clarify the true meaning of my address, which in its totality was and is an invitation to frank and sincere dialogue, with great mutual respect.

Pakistani Muslims chant slogans to condemn remarks by Pope Benedict XVI during protest in Karachi September 17, 2006.

Religious iteams are seen burnt at the damaged Greek Orthodox church in the West Bank town of Tulkarem, Sunday Sept. 17 2006. The stone church built 170 years ago was torched before dawn and its entire inside was destroyed.

Yesterday, the pope insisted that he did not agree with Manuel. But it is clear that he sympathized with this monarch of a doomed Christian civilization enough to use him as a mouthpiece through which he could pose his own implicit questions to Islam. Does the Muslim understanding of Allah allow rational debate about the morality of violence, given that the doctrine of jihad is a central pillar of Islam? If Allah is above reason, might violent jihad, including terrorism, be not merely justifiable but obligatory, as many Muslim scholars argue?

By now, the answer to these questions is clear: churches firebombed in the West Bank and Gaza, a nun murdered in Somalia. Such persecution is, alas, routine in many Muslim lands, and Catholics are not the only victims. But it is clear that Muslim leaders — even those of "pro-Western" countries such as Turkey or Pakistan — are not yet ready for the "frank" dialogue proposed by the pope. By pointing out that violence is a part of medieval Islam, not a "distortion," as Western liberals like to think, Benedict has touched a raw nerve.

No, this pope is not naïve. It is our liberal, theologically illiterate politicians who are naïve. We are already at war — a holy war, which we may lose.
Daniel Johnson, NY Sun edit

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