Atlas Shrugs

The Pope, Hagee and the Jews that step and fetch

Caroline Glick has outdone herself and that's near impossible. I am appalled at the lack of moral courage and yiddishkeit the Jewish leadership here and in Israel have shown and Glick exposes all. Jewish leadership is anything but. More's the pity. Soul-less, I tell ya.
If you read no other link, read this one. Gd bless Caroline Glick.

JEWS UNITED FOR ISRAEL'S FRIENDS J Post hat tip wolf

[...].Ahmadinejad was hoping that while in the Italian capital he would be able to have a photo-op with Pope Benedict XVI. To secure the meeting, Ahmadinejad - who has called for all nations to convert to Islam or be destroyed (except for the Jews who can do nothing to avoid destruction) - has been sweet talking the Vatican for months. In his latest move, during a meeting in April with Archbishop Jean-Paul Gobel, the Vatican's representative in Iran, Ahmadinejad referred to the Vatican as a "positive force for justice and peace."

But Benedict was unmoved by Ahmadinejad's flattery. His request for an audience with the pontiff was unceremoniously rejected.

Not surprisingly, the Israeli government has nothing to say about Benedict's humiliation of Ahmadinejad. This is unsurprising because the Olmert-Livni-Barack-Yishai government has never bothered to pay attention to anything that the pope does. His bold moves in recent years to challenge Islamic leaders to repudiate murder and coercion in the name of Allah have elicited no support and indeed no reaction of any kind from Jerusalem.

The Olmert-Livni-Barack-Yishai government's neglect of the Vatican is regrettable, but it is par for the course for this government which has limited Israel's foreign policy to appeasing Palestinian terrorists and kowtowing to the State Department. The best that can be said for this state of affairs is that at least Israel's neglect of the Catholic Church - like its neglect of Africa, Asia, Europe, South America and Australia - is benign. In contrast, the treatment that the Vatican has received from some American Jewish leaders has been far from neglectful and far from benign.

RATHER THAN stand with the Catholic church as Benedict moves boldly against radical Islam, American Jewish leaders led by ADL Director Abe Foxman have been attacking the church for its theological decisions. Last year, fresh from his bitter campaign against Mel Gibson's movie about Jesus, Foxman began targeting the Vatican for its decision to permit wider use of the traditional Latin Mass which includes a prayer for Jews to convert to Christianity.

Foxman defines the term asshat.

Pope Benedict's actions clearly show him to be a friend of Israel and the Jewish people. Unfortunately, due to the grave absence of Jewish leadership in both Israel and the US today, he has little to show for it.

[...]

This week in Washington, DC, AIPAC is hosting its annual policy conference. It will be an illustrious affair. Heavy-hitters from both American political parties will be in attendance, as will scholars and activists from Israel and the US. But one name is noticeably absent from the three-day program. John Hagee - who in three years has transformed CUFI into a grassroots pro-Israel movement that dwarfs AIPAC in size - is not on the program. And this is a horrible thing.

AIPAC's decision to shun Hagee says something terrible about the state of American Jewish politics today. Quite simply, Hagee has become a victim of liberal American Jewish leaders' decision to place their leftist political preferences above their concern for Israel's survival and for the well-being of American Jewry.

Pope to Baptize Prominent Muslim

Converting out of Islam, by the Pope, this man  is going to need secret service detail 24/7/365. G-d bless him and the work that he does. I love him.

Pope to Baptize Prominent Muslim NY POst hat tip Davida

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Italy's most prominent Muslim commentator is converting to Catholicism by being baptized by the pope at an Easter vigil, the Vatican announced Saturday. An Egyptian-born, non-practicing Muslim, Magdi Allam has infuriated some fellow Muslims with his criticism of extremism and support for Israel.

The deputy editor of the Corriere della Sera newspaper, Allam often writes on Muslim and Arab affairs. He told the Il Giornale newspaper in a December interview that his criticism of Palestinian suicide bombing generated threats on his life in 2003, prompting the Italian government to provide him with a sizeable security detail.

[..]

Married to a Catholic, with a young son and two adult children from his first marriage, Allam indicated in the interview that he would have no problem converting to Christianity. He said he had even received Communion once - when he was 13 or 14 - "even though I knew it was an act of blasphemy, not having been baptized."

Allam also explained his decision to entitle a recent book "Viva Israel" or "Long Live Israel," saying he wrote it after he received death threats from Hamas.

"Having been condemned to death, I have reflected a long time on the value of life. And I discovered that behind the origin of the ideology of hatred, violence and death is the discrimination against Israel. Everyone has the right to exist except for the Jewish state and its inhabitants," he said. "Today, Israel is the paradigm of the right to life."

In 2006, Allam was a co-winner, with three other journalists, of the $1 million Dan David prize, named for the Israeli entrepreneur of the same name. Allam was cited for "his ceaseless work in fostering understanding and tolerance between cultures."

 

Hey Condi, even the Pope gets it

Perhaps Pope Benedict would like a job at State (oh yeah, that's right, they're godless over there) or in the Bush administration so that he can restate the obvious. The Pope is right pf course. Any reasonable man can see that.  The thing is, the the biggest terrorist of all Iran, is on the nuclear precipice no thanks to the NORKS, and so it stands to reason that all of their little Iranian foreign legions (Hamas, Hezb'allah, Islamic jihad etc.) will be nuked up shortly as well. Your state department tax payer dollars at work!

Pope warns of terrorists getting nuclear weapons
Reuters via Yahoo! News
Pope Benedict, in his annual "state of the world" address, on Monday called on nations to make a global commitment on security in order to prevent terrorists from gaining access to nuclear weapons.

Papal Shot Against Islam on Yom Kippur

Atlas believes the Pope, as exhibited in previous actions, "gets" it - and understands the mortal threat of Islamic jihad.  In his latest enormous act of bravery:  Pope in ‘freedom’ blast at Islam. Charles predicts, "our 10-day forecast: extended seething, with a 70% chance of rioting and murder by next Friday."

The fact that the Pope made these remarks during the Jewish New Year, erev Yom Kippur is not lost on me.

The Pope has again risked provoking the wrath of the Islamic world, by criticising its treatment of Christians.

It's about time.

Benedict XVI attacked Muslim nations where Christians are either persecuted or given the status of second-class citizens under the Shariah Islamic law. He also defended the rights of Muslims to convert to Christianity, an act which warrants the death penalty in many Islamic countries.

His comments came almost exactly a year after he provoked a wave of anger among Muslims by quoting a Byzantine emperor who linked Islam to violence.

The best quote ever, "‘Show me just what Mohammed 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." BTW I broke the Papal taboo here on the Papal dialogue.

Yesterday, near Rome, the 80-year-old pontiff made a speech in “defence of religious liberty”, which, he said “is a fundamental, irrepressible, inalienable and inviolable right”.

In a clear reference to Islam, he said: “The exercise of this freedom also includes the right to change religion, which should be guaranteed not only legally, but also in daily practice.”

Addressing the problem of Islamic extremism, he added: “Terrorism is a serious problem whose perpetrators often claim to act in God’s name and harbour an inexcusable contempt for human life.”

Full text here. Worth the read.

Pope to Turk Govt: RECOGNIZE THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

The Pope, yet again, stands up to the oppresion of Islamic law and demands reform and recognition. G-d bless him and keep him alive.

Pope to Turkish Gov't: Grant Catholic Church Full Legal Recognition AINA hat tip Daryl

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI asked the government of Turkey to grant full legal recognition to the Catholic Church and to establish a formal dialogue with the nation's Catholic bishops to work out concrete problems.

[...]"I have no doubt that your government will do everything in its power to advance in this direction," the pope told the new ambassador.

The lack of legal status sometimes has made it difficult for the Catholic Church and other Christian communities to own and buy property officially and to build or operate churches, schools and hospitals.

Much of Pope Benedict's speech to the ambassador and the ambassador's speech to the pope focused on the success of the pope's Nov. 28-Dec. 1 visit to Turkey and on Catholic-Muslim relations.

The pope said the trip gave him an opportunity to demonstrate "the respect of the Catholic Church for Islam and the esteem of the pope and the faithful for Muslim believers."

"In the modern world, where tensions seem to be exacerbated, the conviction of the Holy See, which you also have expressed, is that believers of different religions must endeavor to work together for peace," the pope said.

The first and necessary step, Pope Benedict said, is for all believers to "denounce violence, which too often in the past has been used under the pretext of religious motivations."

Catholics and Muslims must get to know each other better and increase their respect for each other "to build a more fraternal society," he said.

"The religions also can unite their efforts to act on behalf of respect for the human person, created in the image of the almighty, and to promote the recognition of the fundamental values which should govern the path of persons and societies," he said.

Interreligious dialogue, the pope said, begins with people's everyday lives and their demonstration of respect and esteem for each other and for each other's faith.

Papal Jihad Speech Wins Award

A courageous award. Now thats refreshing. Pope Benedict's Regensburg speech, which angered Muslims and lead to Islamic violence, aka Papal Jihad, was named Speech of the Year by a German school yesterday. I should think that German school might want to increase it's insurance coverage.

Pope's Speech Irking Muslims Wins Award New York Times
Pope Benedict XVI?s speech that angered the Muslim world won a speech of the year award from a university in his native Germany.

Sharif Don't Like it

The protests and chaos I wrote about here in Turkey continues

A poster depicting Pope Benedict XVI and Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I

>
Muslims: "Here is Istanbul, not Constantinople."

Crusader Ratzinger: Demonstrators protest the Pope's visit with cartoons and slogans.

An edit over at the NY Sun posits;

The visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Turkey today will be a test of an idea which he elaborated in the Regensburg address that caused so much stir back in September: the idea that reason is essential to dialogue. To write that address, the pope drew on his experience as a university teacher in Bonn back in the late 1950s. At Bonn,the pope later recalled of the university community, “we made up a whole, working in everything on the basis of a single rationality with its various aspects and sharing responsibility for the right use of reason.” A shared commitment to reasoned dialogue fostered comity between the two theological faculties and other departments, even when there was “radical skepticism” about “something that did not exist: God.”

   What the pope was saying was complex. What masquerades as tolerance can be intolerance. And acts that might be portrayed as intolerant can benefit the cause of tolerance.

   The Turkey question is deeply important to the entire world. We are longing for evidence that a Muslim country can remain tolerant.

Screaming "Allah Akbar," Priest Killed 20,000 Muslims Protest Papal Visit

Pope's Turkey Trip Stokes Muslim Rage

 

The Pope will be traveling to Turkey shortly. The Religion of Peace is  most unhappy about this. Violence  and demonstrations, a Pries murdered on Sunday, shots fired at the Italian consulate a couple of weeks ago...........

PRIEST MURDERED Tiscali

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish leaders said on Monday the killing of a Catholic priest appeared to be the work of a lone gunman, but also signalled fears of a possible link with the rage sweeping the Muslim world over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad.

Police have issued a sketch of the gunman who shot Andrea Santoro, a 61-year-old Italian, while he was praying in his church on Sunday in the Black Sea city of Trabzon. Turkish state media earlier gave the priest’s surname as Santaro.

"We strongly condemn this incident... We believe it is the work of one individual. His motive should become clear in due course," Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told reporters.

A Vatican embassy spokesman in Ankara quoted eyewitnesses as saying the gunman, believed to be 16 or 17 years old, shouted "Allahu Akbar" (Arabic for "God is greatest", a common Muslim chant) as he shot Santoro dead.

While more than 20,000 Muslims in Istanbul on Sunday held the biggest protest so far against Pope Benedict's visit to Turkey this week. 

Thousands rally in Istanbul against papal visit AFP
Chanting Islamist slogans and brandishing banners against Western intervention in the Middle East, thousands of people have rallied here in protest against Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Turkey, which starts on Tuesday.

And let we not forget, a couple of weeks ago

Shots fired in Turkey Pope protest CNN

"I don't want him here, if he was here now I would strangle him with my bare hands," the suspect, who identified himself as Ibrahim Ak, 26, told a Dogan news agency television camera as he was detained by police, according to The Associated Press.

"I fired the shots for God," Ak said as he sat handcuffed inside a police van outside the consulate. "Inshallah (God willing), this will be a spark, a starter for Muslims."

"God willing, he will not come, if he comes, he will see what will happen to him Inshallah," Ak said.

Papal Jihad: MUSLIM SHOOTS AT ITALIAN CONSULATE

The Religion of Peace engages in dialogue - Islamic style. The Papal Jihad continues. I said here and I'll say it again, I don't think Pope Benedict should go to Turkey. It was a Turk that shot Pope John Paul, remember?

TURK SHOOTS AT ITALY CONSULATE OVER POPE VISIT

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A man fired a weapon in front of the Italian consulate in Istanbul on Thursday to protest against Pope Benedict's visit to the predominantly Muslim country later this month, raising concern over the Pontiff's safety there.

"I did what every Muslim has do to. God willing, the Pope will not come to Turkey, but if he does he will see what will happen to him," 26-year-old Ibrahim Ak told the DHA news agency while sitting in a police car after he was detained.

Benedict's first visit to Turkey on November 28-December 1 has been overshadowed by Muslim anger since a lecture he gave in September at a German university in which he quoted a 14th century Byzantine emperor in a passage seen as critical of the Prophet Mohammad.

Michael Rubin over at NRO weighs in:  Turkey and the Pope Redux

Shots were fired in front of the Italian consulate in Istanbul by a Turkish Islamist.  Unfortunately, the incident is becoming the rule rather than the exception in Turkey.  Following the Danish cartoon crisis, a Turkish Islamist murdered an Italian priest. Another Turkish Islamist murdered a Supreme Court justice in protest of a ruling against the veil.  The Prime Minister embraced Hamas’ most unrepentant hardliner whom even the French wouldn’t go near and then met one-on-one with Fatih al-Hassanein, a Sudanese financier of al-Qaeda (Turkish officials present in the October 2 White House meeting say this was a topic of conversation with President Bush).  The AKP refuses to explain billions in illegal subsidies.  Incitement in AKP circles is out-of-control.  In my own case, long before I had ever written about Turkey, a newspaper close to Prime Minister Erdogan’s party labeled me “an enemy of Islam.”  Unfortunately, our public diplomacy is failing. MEMRI had just issued a report showing how many Turks perceive the US Ambassador, Ross Wilson, to support the Islamists.  It’s been almost a year since Wilson arrived in Ankara.  Diplomacy is not about doing the ostrich-head-burying routine.

 

Hijacking, The Papal Jihad

Can we just talk, or so said the Pope? Apparently not.

TURKISH PLANE HIJACKED TO PROTEST POPE

A Turkish Airlines plane carrying more than 100 passengers from Tirana, Albania, to Istanbul, was hijacked Tuesday and landed at Italy's Brindisi airport, company spokesman Ali Genc said.

Turkish television channel NTV, quoting unnamed security officials, reported that the plane was hijacked by two Turks to protest Pope Benedict XVI's planned visit to Turkey next month. hat tip mdd

Standoff continues

"We expect the action to end soon," Genc said.

Private Turkish television NTV said the hijackers wanted to make a protest statement about Benedict.

Karlitekin added that the hijackers declared that the would surrender "the moment they hijacked the plane," which was flying from the Albanian capital of Tirana to Istanbul with 107 passengers and a crew of six. Most of the passengers were Albanians, Genc said.

The Turkish captain issued an alert that his plane was hijacked and he was contacted by Greek air traffic controllers at 5:55 p.m. (10:55 a.m. EDT), 15 miles north of Thessaloniki, Greece, said Dimitris Stavropoulos, spokesman for Greece's Civil Aviation Authority.

The captain told the Greek controllers: "I have two undesirable people who want to go to Italy to see the pope and give him a message," according to Stavropoulos.

The plane later contacted Italian air traffic controllers and asked to land in Brindisi, a southern city on the Adriatic coast, and it was escorted to the ground by two Italian military jets, according to Nicoletta Tomiselli, a spokeswoman for the Italian air traffic agency ENAV.

UPDATE: Papal hijacking takes a strange twist. Over at Stop the ACLU here;

Earlier reports on Tuesday that the hijackers were protesting Pope Benedict XVI's planned visit to Turkey were apparently incorrect; authorities now say that the hijackers have requested political asylum.
Turkish officials said one of the hijackers, identified as Hasan Ekinci, wrote a letter to the pope in August asking for help in avoiding service in the Turkish army.
"I am a Christian and don't want to serve a Muslim army," he wrote, adding that he had been attending church since 1998.

Well I'll be .............. if it's not one thing , it's another.

 

Pope: Let my People Go

It seems to me the Pope is making incendiary remarks again. I wonder how long it will take the jihadis to figure out the Pope is talking about them. Pope Benedict is urging Germany not to deport  Christians fleeing religious persecution ( from whom?)

Pope Benedict XVI called on Germany to respect the rights of asylum seekers, in particular Christians, who had fled their countries fearing persecution, Germany's new ambassador to the        Vatican said.

"The Holy See calls on the competent authorities not to deport foreign Christians persecuted for their faith in their home states," Germany's new amassador to the Vatican, Hans Henning Horstmann told the Ansa news agency.

According to a resume of the meeting between Benedict XVI - who is himself German - and Horstmann published by the Vatican, the pope "recalled that Germany has become a new homeland for many people threatened in their countries of origin for religious and political reasons" and "suggested that the right to asylum should be guaranteed by law" in Germany.

Analysts say Benedict XVI was referring to a number of recent reports by German civil rights groups criticising Berlin's record on asylum seekers.

One such document published by the ProAsyl group and entitled "Germany, World Champion for Expulsions" says Germany expelled 40,000 asylum seekers, most of them from        Kosovo,        Afghanistan and        Iraq, during the past three years.

Red Square made it easy for the misinformed...... it's the jihad, stupid.

Islamic Preacher that Called for Pope's Execution not Prosecuted

Check this act of dhimmitude out. The Radical Islamic preacher that said the Pope should be subjected to capital punishment for citing historical text will not be prosecuted. The Preacher said it on TV no less ........ attempting to incite Muslims worldwide.

Here's is my post on that rally.

Radical Muslim who made death threats against Pope escapes prosecution

A furious row has erupted after it emerged that a notorious preacher will not be prosecuted for issuing a death threat to Pope Benedict over his remarks about Islam.

During an organised demonstration, Muslim radical Anjem Choudary said that anyone who insulted Prophet Mohammed would be 'subject to capital punishment'.

He made his remarks in a TV interview while protesting at the rally.

The protest took place outside the Roman Catholic Westminster Cathedral at the height of the furore over the Pope's quoting of a 14th century emperor who said the Prophet brought 'things only evil and inhuman'.

Police received about 25 complaints about the protest which left members of the central London Cathedral's congregation 'upset' and 'intimidated'.

But Scotland Yard has concluded that 'no substantive offences' were committed on September 17.

The force has also decided that lawyer Choudary's comments, which actually came in a media interview rather, did not constitute an offence.

Papal Dialogue: Atlas Breaks the Taboo

Bostom is stunned that the critical conclusion of the now infamous dialogues referred to by Pope Benedict has not been publicized. At the end of these marathon exchanges between Byzantine Manuel II and the Muslim cleric, the Muslim cleric effectively converts Christian.

Before Death Conversion? By Andrew Bostom, The American Thinker

The official “day of rage” demonstrations over Pope Benedict the XVI’s Regensburg address are behind us, and a deluge of Muslim-Christian dialogue engagements (starting here; etc.; etc.)  loom ahead. But a taboo subject remains unraised, something far more inflammatory than what the pontiff actually said, and yet directly linked to his words.

Following the unhinged violence and hateful displays that have transpired across the Muslim world since the Pope’s 9/12/06 lecture, no one desires to further incite any hair-trigger moderate Muslim leaders, or individuals, whose seething passions may just now, thankfully, have ebbed (for the moment). But for closure, or at least full disclosure, there remains one elephantine aspect of the offending late 14th century exchange between the Byzantine ruler Manuel II Paleologus and his learned Muslim interlocutor that has not yet entered the public discourse.

The implications of this omitted, oddly taboo discussion, are profound, transcending any concerns about its potential inflammatory nature.

At the end of the 26-round marathon dialogue of seven centuries ago alluded to by Pope Benedict, the Muslim “muderris” (theologian), overwhelmed by continuous glimpses of Christian truth, hovers at the threshold of abandoning Islam and embracing Christianity. The muderris openly marvels at the magnificence of Christ and the Christian teachings, while proclaiming his readiness to journey to Constantinople (the last significant stronghold of the once mighty Byzantine Christian empire), and study with the theologians there. The drama of the dialogue thus concludes with the muderris’ effective inner conversion to Christianity, and his promise to Manuel II to pursue this profound change of heart.

Today, (9/25/06) in the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, Pope Benedict met with Muslim ambassadors Muslim ambassadors representing a broad spectrum of Islamic nations, hoping to assuage some of the anger over his Regensburg remarks. The inflamed jihadist passions throughout the contemporary Islamic world in the aftermath of the Regensburg comments—threats on the life of the Pope (“Pakistanis protest, cleric says Pope should be crucified” ) , or predictions that the “Green flag of Allah will fly over the Vatican”—recall the Vatican’s own early tribulations under physical, as opposed to mere verbal attacks from the true believers in jihad.

In 846 a fleet of Arab jihadists arrived at the mouth of the Tiber, made their way to Rome, sacked the city, and carried away from the basilica of St. Peter all of the gold and silver it contained. This was a typical Muslim jihad naval razzia. Earlier, by 827, the Arabs had conquered Sicily, which they kept under their suzerainty for two and a half centuries. Thus was Rome itself under serious threat from a nearby Muslim colony.

During the same ninth century when Rome was assaulted and Sicily was conquered, the Muslim armies occupied Bari and Brindisi in Italy, for thirty years; Taranto for forty; Benevento for ten; they attacked Naples, Capua, Calabria, and Sardinia several times; they put the abbey of Montecassino to fire and the sword; they even made razzias into northern Italy, arriving from Spain and crossing over the Alps.

In 847, the year after the aforementioned naval assault on Rome, the newly elected Pope Leo IV began the construction of walls around the entire perimeter of the Vatican, 12 meters high and equipped with 44 towers. He completed the project in six years. These are the “Leonine” walls, and significant traces of them still remain. But precious few today understand that these walls were erected to defend the Holy See of Peter from an Islamic jihad. And many of those who do know this remain silent out of misplaced discretion. As Vatican reporter Sandro Magister has observed,

“Bridges, not walls” is the fashionable slogan today.

But is Pope Benedict XVI willing to pursue the “Bridges” rhetoric to the same logical conclusion drawn by todays Islamic religious and political leaders, and in turn, consistent with the indomitable spirit of Manuel II Paleologus, who gamely presided over a Byzantine Empire in its death throes, even seeking to win spiritual “converts” among his Muslim adversaries to the bitter end? Will proselytization, with the ultimate goal of gaining new converts, remain unidirectional—boundless petro-dollar funded opportunities for Muslim da’wa, linked to frank colonization in the West, including Rome itself (i.e., no longer merely “nearby” colonization as in 9th century Muslim-ruled Sicily), while Catholic (and other Christian) missionary work in Islamic nations remains prohibited, often via state sanctioned violence, and draconian punishments for any such “unregulated” efforts?

Manuel II’s was a voice from the doomed—a near terminal plea for faith in a reasonable God by the leader a thousand year old civilization on the brink of destruction.  Last weekend an Italian nun—assassinated by jihadists in Mogadishu enraged by Benedict XVI’s address—spoke ‘forgive!’ as she gasped her final breaths. Will this Pope muster the courage of their convictions, charting a new direction for his flock, and by example, Western civilization, that averts a similar fate?

Let us—even atheists like myself—pray.

Muslim leaders to Pope: What Problem?

Reciprocity, so said Pope Benedict today on the need for dialogue with Muslims. His message? The future depends it.
Not backpedaling (thank Gd) on his positions - the Pope asked Muslim leaders for reciprocity - code word for religious freedom for Christians living in Islamic nations.

Of course the Muslim leaders were having none of it and basically said, never mind........

"We did not expect the Pope to comment the reactions to his Ratisbon speech and he did not do so. The issue, anyway, was already solved", stated ambassador Mario Scialoja, representative of the World Muslim League at today's meeting with Pope Benedict XVI,.............More here

The text of the speech is here.

As I underlined at Cologne last year, "Inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue between Christians and Muslims cannot be reduced to an optional extra.

"It is, in fact, a vital necessity, on which in large measure our future depends" (Meeting with Representatives of Some Muslim Communities, Cologne, 20 August 2005).

In a world marked by relativism and too often excluding the transcendence and universality of reason, we are in great need of an authentic dialogue between religions and between cultures, capable of assisting us, in a spirit of fruitful co-operation, to overcome all the tensions together.

Continuing, then, the work undertaken by my predecessor, Pope John Paul II, I sincerely pray that the relations of trust which have developed between Christians and Muslims over several years, will not only continue, but will develop further in a spirit of sincere and respectful dialogue, based on ever more authentic reciprocal knowledge which, with joy, recognises the religious values that we have in common and, with loyalty, respects the differences.

Inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue is a necessity for building together this world of peace and fraternity ardently desired by all people of good will.

In this area, our contemporaries expect from us an eloquent witness to show all people the value of the religious dimension of life.

>Likewise, faithful to the teachings of their own religious traditions, Christians and Muslims must learn to work together, as indeed they already do in many common undertakings, in order to guard against all forms of intolerance and to oppose all manifestations of violence; as for us, religious authorities and political leaders, we must guide and encourage them in this direction.

Indeed, "although considerable dissensions and enmities between Christians and Muslims may have arisen in the course of the centuries, the Council urges all parties that, forgetting past things, they train themselves towards sincere mutual understanding and together maintain and promote social justice and moral values as well as peace and freedom for all people" (Declaration, Nostra Aetate, 3).

The lessons of the past must therefore help us to seek paths of reconciliation, in order to live with respect for the identity and freedom of each individual, with a view to fruitful co-operation in the service of all humanity.

As Pope John Paul II said in his memorable speech to young people at Casablanca in Morocco: "Respect and dialogue require reciprocity in all spheres, especially in that which concerns basic freedoms, more particularly religious freedom. They favour peace and agreement between peoples" (no. 5).

Dear friends, I am profoundly convinced that in the current world situation it is imperative that Christians and Muslims engage with one another in order to address the numerous challenges that present themselves to humanity, especially those concerning the defence and promotion of the dignity of the human person and of the rights ensuing from that dignity.

When threats mount up against people and against peace, by recognising the central character of the human person and by working with perseverance to see that human life is always respected, Christians and Muslims manifest their obedience to the Creator, who wishes all people to live in the dignity that he has bestowed upon them.

I wish this courageous leader a lot of faith and a lot of luck.

UPDATE: NY Sun agrees with my take as opposed to  al-Reuters and AP headlines - all about the "Pope's respect for Muslims" and nothing about reciprocity.

Benedict's Challenge
New York Sun Editorial
If anyone thought that Benedict XVI had backed off after the furor kicked up earlier this month by his comments on Islam, yesterday's remarks by the pontiff, delivered to nearly two dozen Arab and Muslim ambassadors, should set things clear. The...

Silence Speaks Volumes

Atlas Opening Week at the UN VLOG

Other news on the Global war on the jihad;

Another Church Attacked in Gaza
Pakistani Islamist Leader: Crucify the Pope
Norway Muslim Synagogue Plotters Were Planning to Behead Israeli Ambassador
Nasrallah Boasts: Still Have 20,000 Rockets
Palestinians: The Pope is a Jew
Palestinian Pope Demonstrators: "Conquering Rome is the Answer"
IDF General Denies Nasrallah Assassination Planned at Hezbollah Victory March
Nasrallah's 'hiding' is about as authentic as a Jesse Jackson 'rolling' hunger strike, if Nasrallah is able to appear in public on the condition that he is surrounded by other terrorists. Israel's leaders have pushed the envelope on pusillanimity with the redefinition of 'civilians' to mean 'terrorists not currently engaged in attacks.'
Iraqi Terrorists Using Kidnap Victims as Unwitting Suicide Bombers
Muslim culture has contributed almost no constructive innovations, but the inventions of depravity are unceasing
Palestinian Rocket Hits Israeli College
Meanwhile Israeli leaders bring out the bizarre ritual of self-humiliation known as "declare that Palestinians must end terror attacks before negotiations, before dropping that demand and then negotiating."
Oslo Synagogue Detainees Planned to Blow Up U.S., Israel Embassies
They only wanted to get the Saturday people first; now they are coming for the Sunday people as well
UK Minister: Hezbollah's Hiding Weapons in Civilian Areas Had Gone to "New Depths"
Vandals Attack Synagogues in Russia

More at IRIS

UPDATE: Daryl sent me these photos from yesterday's rally for a Pope jihad in front of Westminster's Cathedral;

Media Incited Muslims to Papal Jihad

The fourth estate has been infiltrated by the enemy, the fifth column. Who would want to set the Muslims off? Who owns these outlets and what is their objective? The line between liberalism and islamism is increasingly obscured by shared objectives. hat tip Dennis

BBC, NY Times and Guardian Appear to Have Stage-Managed Muslim Anti-Pope Hatred

Ratzinger, now Benedict, has been favorite Catholic target of liberal media for years by Hilary White

LONDON, September 18, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) ­ The international furor over the Pope¹s comments at Regensburg last week appears to have begun through a series of carefully stage-managed media reports

Tracing the media coverage from the day of the Pope¹s speech in Regensburg, Germany, a distinct shift in approach, what media analysts call a meme, of ³Islamic outrage², is clearly traceable starting with the BBC¹s coverage three days later.

The day after the speech, Wednesday the 13th, the Pope's lecture elicited little response from apparently bored secular journalists who had little interest in what was considered his obscure and academic points on the relationship between religious belief and the secular world.

Catholic news sources who reported the day after the lecture were also quiet. Pope spends quiet afternoon at home with brother, was the leading headline at Catholic World Report.

On Thursday the 14th, however, under the headline Pope's speech stirs Muslim anger,  the BBC began with a report that police in Kashmir had seized newspapers carrying coverage of the pope¹s speech in order ³to prevent tension. The BBC¹s coverage did not include any quote from the Indian-administered Kashmiri police force.

The BBC's September 14th report was transmitted around the world in Arabic, Turkish, Farsi (the language of Iran), Urdu, the official language of Pakistan; and Malay. The next day, the anticipated furor had became a reality.

Immediately after the appearance of the first BBC coverage, the Pakistani parliament issued a declaration condemning Benedict's speech and demanding an apology.

Later the same day, the BBC published, under the headline, Muslim anger grows at Pope speech a report on the Pakistan government's reaction. It quoted the head of the Islamic extremist group, the Muslim Brotherhood, saying ³the Pope's remarks Œaroused the anger of the whole Islamic world.

The same day, the Guardian, following the BBC¹s lead, ran the headline, ³Muslim anger builds over Pope's speech.  From that moment, the internet was flooded with reportage from around the world on the Pope's alleged attack on Islam and the predicted response from Islamic groups began.

On the 13th, the New York Times, focusing on the Pope's critique of Western secularism ran the headline, ³The Pope Assails Secularism, with a Note on Jihad. The report contained no hint of their later demands for papal apologies.

Ian Fisher wrote, Several experts on the Catholic Church and Islam agreed that the speech ‹ in which Benedict made clear he was quoting other sources on Islam ‹ did not appear to be a major statement on, or condemnation of, Islam.

By the weekend, however, the New York Times had dropped its examination of the content and intention of the pope¹s lecture, and joined the chorus of demands for apologies in its editorial. The BBC continued stirring the pot on the 15th, with commentary from their religious affairs correspondent, Rahul Tandon, who wrote darkly that the former Cardinal Ratzinger had ³appeared to be uncomfortable with Pope John Paul II's attempts to improve dialogue with the Islamic world.

Benedict¹s unpopularity with the secularist mainstream media is legendary. Since before his election as Pope, Joseph Ratzinger had been for years the secularist and leftist media's favorite Catholic target. Led by the BBC, the Guardian and the New York Times, media editorials had long since dubbed him ³The Rottweiler² and the Panzer Cardinal,for his defences of Catholic doctrine, particularly on abortion and contraception.

Thousands of stories and editorials are appearing online ­ with no sign of slowing ­ carrying headlines such as that from Australias The Age: ŒRottweiler¹ bares teeth. The Guardian today has issued an editorial headlined, An Insufficient Apology, featuring the familiar secularist accusations against the Catholic Church¹s past.

On Sunday, Toronto-based columnist, David Warren, wrote in the Ottawa Citizen on the media-instigated uproar that has led to retaliatory attacks in Israel against Christian churches and clergy and the murder of a nun in Somalia.

By manipulating the event, Warren says, the BBC was having a little mischief. The kind of mischief that is likely to end with Catholic priests and faithful butchered around the Muslim world. Warren wrote, The BBC appears to have been quickest off the mark, to send around the world in many languagesŠword that the Pope had insulted the Prophet of Islam, during an address in Bavaria. While the pope, Warren said, was not offering a crude anti-Islamic polemic, the content of the Pope¹s speech, and his key questions in the dialogue between religions and the secular world, will now be ignored.

Warren pointed to coverage by Rahul Tandon who implied that, since his election as Pope, though Benedict has surprised many with his attempts to improve dialogue with the Muslim worldŠ,there have been signs of his earlier views. These Tandon identified as theological conservatism.From now on,Warren writes, the reporting will be about the Muslim rage, and whether the Vatican has apologized yet. That is the drama the media will seek to capture -- the drama of the cockfight -- because they know no better kind.

Read Rahul Tandon¹s BBC commentary: Pope Benedict XVI and Islam

Read the New York Times coverage from Ian Fisher:

Read Commentary by David Warren:

Read the text of Pope Benedict¹s Regensburg speech

 

INTERVIEW WITH WILLLIAM DONOHUE ON THE POPE

One Jerusalem.org set up another newsmaker interview with William Donohue, President of the Catholic League. When Muslims distorted Pope Benedict's words and instigated violent rampages the MSM invited Bill Donohue to defend the Pope. After all, the Catholic League represents millions of Catholics across the United States.
This is a difficult time for Donohue, hectic , heavy police presence and  insanity related to the Pope's innocuous, but deliberate remarks.
Donohue said the Pope is an intellectual unlike previous Popes. He said the Pope knew exactly what he was doing and what he was saying. And this is a conversation that the civilized world must have. When faith becomes unhinged from reason, it leaves a trail of blood.  You need faithcoupled with reason.

"If the Koran is not the problem, then either they have some pretty lousy teachers (killing nuns, taking to the streets screaming death to Pope) - barbaric reactions -- until this changes I see no chance for  dialogue."

Donohue expressed sincere admiration for Australia's clear towards Muslims in their country. "Do not come here and try to change us." In other words, be Australian or leave. Even today John Howard took a tough stand on the the Muslim reaction to the Pope's remarks, telling them to "move on."

Here is the audio: Download william_donohue91906.wav run time roughly 40 minutes. Donohue  called the bloggers' assessment of the Pope's motivations "perfect":

Donohue:  "Oriana Fallaci,  who ironically died on Friday the same day that this whole thing erupted,  had said that Pope Benedict the XVI is the only man who fully undertstands Islam as a world leader and can stand up to -- as she saw the signs of Eurabia."

"This was all intentional. Not some aside...........listen to it all

Latest roundup on the Papal Jihad here. Others on the call were my fave Jim of Gateway Pundit's  Omri at Mere Rhetoric, Jerry at Israpundit

 

The Papal Jihad Roundup

Son of Libyan Dictator Qadafi calls for the Popeto convert Islam.

Al-Qaeda Threatens Jihad over Pope's Remarks - Jenny Booth
An Iraqi militant group led by al-Qaeda has threatened to massacre Christians in response to remarks about Islam by Pope Benedict XVI. An Internet statement by the Mujahideen Shura Council, an umbrella group led by Iraq's branch of al-Qaeda, threatened reprisals against "worshippers of the cross" for the pope's remarks. "We shall break the cross and spill the wine....(You will have no choice but) Islam or death," said the statement, citing a saying of the Prophet Mohammed promising Muslims that they would "conquer Rome...as they conquered Constantinople. We tell the worshipper of the cross that you and the West will be defeated, as is the case in Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya. God enable us to slit their throats, and make their money and descendants the bounty of the mujahideen." (Times-UK)

Gazans Warn Pope to Accept Islam - Khaled Abu Toameh
Muslim religious leaders in Gaza on Sunday warned Pope Benedict XVI that he must "accept" Islam if he wanted to live in peace. Two more churches in the West Bank were targeted on Sunday, bringing to seven the number of churches that have been attacked over the past three days. In Tulkarm, arsonists set fire to the only Orthodox church in the area, causing heavy damage to the 150-year-old structure. (Jerusalem Post)

Anti-Pope Demostrations rage on
Schools and shops in Kashmir shut their doors in protest and demonstrators burned an effigy of Pope Benedict XVI. In Lebanon, armed police stood guard outside some churches, and Muslims in Indonesia marched through the capital yesterday as tensions remained high over the pontiff's remarks on Islam.

Angry Turk workers urge Pope's arrest during visit

Church Patrols in England after Pope's remarks

Catholic Leader Is ‘Doomed,' Al Qaeda in Iraq Proclaims

Muslims Want Further Apology From Pope

Pope burned in effigy in Iraq as Mideast anger simmers

IRIS BLOG: 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.

September 19th
Catholic Leader Is ‘Doomed,' Al Qaeda in Iraq Proclaims
Summit Held To Mull Pope's Planned Trip to Turkey
  Aides May Fear Fixing Pope's Errors
Italian Nun Forgave Her Killers as She Lay Dying

September 18th
The Pope Must Die, Says UK Muslim
7 Churches Firebombed in Palestinian Areas
Iraq's al-Qaeda Threatens to 'Destroy the Cross'
Gazans Warn Pope to Accept Islam
Iraq al-Qaeda Says Pope, West Are Doomed
Muslims Rage Against Pope
Benedict Rues Reaction to His Remarks 
Italian Nun Shot Dead In Somalia 
Islamic Leaders Are Divided Over Pontiff's Expression of Remorse 
Benedict Has a History of Wariness Toward Islam 
Pope Says Remarks Intended As Invitation to Dialogue 
The Statement of Regret
The Offending Comments

September 17:
Muslim Gunmen Shoot Elderly Nun Dead in Somalia
Iranian Press: Israeli-US Plot Behind Pope's Remarks
The Jews apparently control Catholicism as well

September 16:
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
The Original Speech

More of The Pope and Islam at the The NY Sun.
Beware the enemies within the West, Madeline Bunting is the perfect example.

'A man with little sympathy for other faiths'
Pope Benedict is being portrayed as a naive, shy scholar who has accidentally antagonised two major world faiths in a matter of months. In fact he is a shrewd and ruthless operator, argues Madeleine Bunting - and he's dangerous. hat tip Norman

"The Pope Should Face Execution"

A notorious Muslim extremist told a demonstration in London yesterday that the Pope should face execution. Anjem Choudary said those who insulted Islam would be 'subject to capital punishment' here.

Demonstrators held placards saying: 'Pope, Go to Hell, Trinity of Evil: Western Crusade against Islam.'

Choudary said, "Whoever insults the message of Mohammed is going to be subject to capital punishment. I am here to have a peaceful demonstration. But there may be people in Italy or other parts of the world who will carry that out. I think that warning needs to be understood by all people who want to insult Islam and the Prophet."  Article here

Constitutional rights for terrorists? These well meaning schmucks are going to be the end of us all (I don't think radical extremists give a rat's ass about Geneva when they capture Americans, I mean really. Did the Viet Cong adhere to Geneva when McCain was captured. I don't consider Red Hot Chili Peppers to be torture anyway ow water boarding or sleep deprivation.)  When Bernard Lewis said;

And looking around I can't help thinking that if Churchill had to face the obstruction and opposition that Bush now faces, that we probably wouldn't have won the war. Bernard Lewis, 9/11/06 Hudson Institute 

We lost already lost our freedom to speak out. Speak and risk death, in that way Islam has won.

RELATED:  Boy killed as Islamists raid cinema

 

The Papal Jihad

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.

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

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"