They liked the last one better
April 16, 2008 by ken88
(Pray for Benedict)
Unease with Pope Benedict XVI’s approach to Islam has led a U.S. Muslim group to decline joining in an interfaith event with him later this week. The pope has been praised by supporters for his frankness in approaching Islam and interfaith dialogue in general, but critics have called him insensitive.
Muslims in many nations reacted angrily when the pope quoted a 14th century Byzantine emperor connecting Islam with violence in a 2006 speech at Germany’s Regensburg University. “Our going there is more out of respect for the Catholic Church itself,” said Muzammil H. Siddiqi, chairman of the Fiqh Council of North America, which interprets Islamic law. “Popes come and go, but the church is there.” But many Muslims said the pontiff insulted them on Easter Sunday in St. Peter’s Basilica, when he baptized Magdi Allam, an Egyptian-born commentator who has criticized what he called the “inherent” violence in Islam. (Read Rest)
Why wouldn’t they like the last pope better? He let them build this huge Mosque in Rome:
It would have seemed unthinkable until only recently that a mosque could be built in Rome, the Eternal City and the center of the Roman Catholic Church. In the 1960s, at the time of the Second Vatican Council, when the Church was rethinking its attitudes toward other faiths, a group of Arab ambassadors had raised the idea of a mosque for Rome with the Italian government….
Such a man came in the person of Pope John Paul II. It was his personal intervention that had encouraged the authorities to grant permission for the building of Rome’s mosque. In his tireless work of promoting dialogue and respect between all people of faith, that pope had also once recommended that Roman Catholics join their Muslim friends and fast for world peace on the last Friday of Ramadan. (Read the rest from Muslim site)…..(Another Acount of the Mosque, also picture source)
Oh Yeah, almost forgot, on a completely unrelated note: (Muslim cleric proclaims Rome will soon be conquered by Islam)
He also kissed their Koran.
I am pleased that not everyone has forgotten the failings of the last Pontiff. Whilst truly he was a good shepherd, and his struggles in his illness were truly heroic, he was also a great enemy of Catholic tradition. This is one who not only reverenced a book that is ridicules the sacrifice of the Cross, but who consented to the placing of a pagan idol atop a tabernacle containing the Blessed Sacrament.
When we compare his licentiousness with pagans to the restrictions he placed, or rather willed to continue, on the traditional Mass it leaves one entirely scandalised.
Yes, we’re supposed to turn a blind eye to these things, and I usually do, but sometimes….When I hear all the “JP the Super-Duper” stuff, I wonder what folks are thinking.
Not to be overly negative towrds JPII, but it just shows that B16 has taken a turn towards more “normal” Catholicism. The Muslims see it.
Fr. Neuhaus is referring to JPII as John Paul the Great on EWTN’s coverage of Benedict’s visit. The Pope doesn’t even call him that.
Thanks Terry,
I know, I saw it, he said it over & over & over. I hope people don’t think I have any kind of grudge against JPII. I think he was, as a person, a holy man of great faith. It’s just that some of the things he said/did as Pope that were inconsistent with the office.
BTW: Am I the only person who thinks that Fr. Neuhaus comes off as the most arrogant man in the world?
1)Fr. Neuhaus is referring to JPII as John Paul the Great on EWTN’s coverage of Benedict’s visit. The Pope doesn’t even call him that
Actually the Pope has. Many times. You should pay attention.
2) One would expect a greater amount of love and respect for the pope from so-called traditionalists. Apparently such is not the case anymore.
Perpetual Malcontent, (aptly named it seems)
Who says I don’t love & respect JPII? Look through some of the archives of this blog. I have defended him, and asked folks to pray for him. I tried to show some of the positive of his Pontificate.
Also, look at my earlier comment: “I think he was, as a person, a holy man of great faith. ”
But, some of the things he did were well…you tell me. Read the above in the post, why did he give his weight to build a mosque in Rome? Why did he ask we fast for Ramadan? We did he ask St. John the Baptist to intercede for Muslims? Kiss the Koran?
Are these things normal for a Roman Pontiff? Are we to overlook everything? If so, where will it end? Can a pope do no wrong? Infallible is not Impeccable.
Ken - I don’t know if he is the most arrogant man in the world - but I get the impression he and his colleague think they are terribly important.
I understand your point. But memorializing your grievance* for the Vicar of Christ with the pictures above just seems inconsistent with traditional Catholicism, you know, all that honor your father and mother thing. You call him Pope, Holy Father, yet you treat him more like any earthly politician than your father. If you were a good son, I doubt you’d do the same with your earthly dad and post a blog entry of his failures as a father with mocking pictures after his death.
I’m not calling for a total ban on discussion of JPII’s faults or failures. I know there are. And he did admit that he was less than the ideal pope. But mockery has no place for this discussion.
By the way, I love your blog. I visit everyday. But sometimes you seem to be taking the road to becoming one of those self-appointed popes in the blogosphere who think they’re better than the real thing. But I do apologize if my initial comment sounded like a personal attack. It isn’t.
[*too harsh a term. sorry English is my second language and my vocabulary's shrinking!]
Very little of my opinion makes it on this blog. Look through, few words are mine. Am I “pontificating”? Again, almost none of the words in this particular post are mine. I posted text from media stories. Also, I posted it under “humour”, hence the silly pictures, and a cue to readers to take it with a grain of salt, with tongue placed firmly in cheek (I guess it didn’t work). There was no mean-spirited “mockery” intended. Some folks just have a thinner skin than others, and my sense of humour is naturally vulgar. This was more an affirmation of Benedict bringing the Church back around to normalcy, than an “attack” on JP II.